finding Elizabeth.
He was able to make much better time though the woods due to the lack of mud. He was careful to be observant of his surroundings so that he would not be caught by surprise again. After an hour he was out of the woods and crossing fields. At the edge of each field he had to climb the rock wall or work his way through the hedge, but he was satisfied with his progress. After a couple more hours, he was on a road that he was fairly certain led back to Stamford. Hoping that he was now ahead of Elizabeth and her family, and that he was on the right road, he headed toward Stamford.
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Morning was a welcome relief for Elizabeth and her family. It had stopped raining, but the roads were going to be muddy all day. Elizabeth's father struggled to his feet despite the protestations of his wife and Elizabeth. The movement caused him to start coughing violently. He held himself up against the wagon until he had stopped coughing. Surveying the road ahead, he decided that to get down the gentle slope, they could stay off the road and in the grass, but then they would have to get back on the roadway.
After a brief meal of cheese and bread, Elizabeth and her brothers helped their father into the wagon. Elizabeth's hat had fallen off and her father insisted that she return it to her head and put her hair under it. She did so and they continued on their way.
Descending the hill was much easier without being on the road. At the bottom of the hill were rocks and trees, so they moved back onto the muddy road and continued slowly on their way. They didn't see anyone on the road for a couple hours and then they past one wagon, two men on foot and a horseman in short succession heading in the opposite direction. Each time, Elizabeth looked down and used the hat to cover her face as much as possible.
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Bromley felt more comfortable on this road than on the road that he had been on the previous day. He had seen very few other travels on that road, but he had already past a couple travelers on this road. If he passed a wagon going the opposite direction, he looked closely at those traveling with it to see if he spotted Elizabeth. After a couple of hours, he was starting to get discouraged and expected that he had missed them. Such as it was, he would now be required to continue his journey home for lack of food or blankets.
Bromley was cresting a small hill when he saw a wagon a little way off that had a number of travelers with it. He wasn't sure how many. He could tell from that distance that the wagon was loaded with household belongs. Perhaps this wagon was Elizabeth's family, he hoped. As the wagon neared he studied the travelers. He knew that Elizabeth would be traveling with her father, mother and two brothers. Surely, this would be the right wagon. As the distance between he and the wagon closed further, he could see that there were two lads walking beside it. He could see that another lad was driving the wagon pulled by an ox. There was also two other individuals inside the wagon. One of the individuals sitting inside the wagon was a female. He heart raced and he quickened his pace. As he passed the wagon however, he could see that the female was an older woman. His heart sank with disappointment and he trudged on through the still muddy road past the wagon.
He was past the wagon when he heard a voice call, 'Bromley?'
He was shocked to hear his name and for a brief moment wasn't certain that he had. He turned about and faced the wagon. The lad driving the wagon was now standing in the wagon and facing Bromley. 'Bromley? Is that you?' the lad called out.
'Elizabeth?' Bromley questioned. He didn't recognize her in men's clothing with her hair inside her hat, but the voice sounded familiar.
'Yes, it is I,' shouted Elizabeth with some excitement. 'Whot are you doing on this road?' she asked.
'I am luking for you,' responded Bromley. 'Why are you dressed like a man?'
'Me father thought that it was safer for me to travel this way,' she explained.
With that she removed the hat and shook her hair loose and it fell down below her