Roderick's Purpose - Ellie St. Clair Page 0,27
his tension eased upon stepping onto these shores. It was more than leaving the ship, as she had never seen this aspect of him on the other side of the ocean. No, he belonged here, even if he couldn’t admit it himself.
“Yes,” she said, “I promise.”
“Very well,” he responded with a shrug. “Although I should know better than to trust the word of a thief. Come along then.”
The train station was but steps away, and soon enough they had purchased tickets that would take them to Perth, and from there, they would board the Highland line to Inverness. It should then be a day’s journey to Tomatin, where Roderick would leave them for Aldourie. Gwen knew he was eager to return home, and she wished she had a way to show him her appreciation for trusting her and following through on his promise.
“Thank you, Roderick,” she said simply, and he nodded in reply as he helped Doc up the steps. Gwen made to follow them when she thought she saw movement behind her. She turned her head to look but saw no one. Perhaps she was being overly suspicious, although her instincts had proven fairly accurate before and had kept them out of more than one dire situation. She had been grateful Roderick hadn’t had a chance to talk to James, that he had escaped the hold before he could have been found. The ship’s crew said it wasn’t the first time they had seen such a thing before, and luckily, Roderick hadn't questioned it any more than that.
She looked around again, the hairs on her arms nearly standing on end. There were many people bustling around the station, and yet she felt as if she was being watched.
Foolish James must not have been alone, and somehow, his companions had made it to Glasgow. Gwen had no idea how she knew it to be true, but she could have sworn on it. She had to shake their pursuers — but how?
Unsure of what else she could do at the moment, she followed Doc and Roderick up the stairs to the compartment Roderick had purchased for them. Luckily, they didn’t have far to travel to reach Perth, but Roderick had agreed that Doc needed the space.
Doc stretched out on the bed, with Gwen and Roderick sitting across from him, each as far to one corner of the small bench as possible.
“I—”
“You—”
They both started, and she gave a little nervous laugh.
“I’m sorry, go ahead,” she said as the train began to move.
“I’m going to go find something for us to eat,” he said, then looked at her intently. “You’ll not go anywhere?”
“Nowhere,” she promised, giving her head a shake, and apparently he believed her now as he rose and made his way out the door.
“Gwen.” Doc’s voice was thin and reedy, but Gwen reached over to take his hand and looked into clear eyes that bore into her. “You must find the man who wants the jewel, you know that.”
“I do,” she said, nodding her head.
“I dinna think I’ll make it to see our greatest payout come true,” he said, his breath coming out in a raspy sigh. “I trust you, though, girl.”
“Thank you, Doc,” she said with a tremulous smile, hoping he wouldn’t see the concern on her features.
“There’s something else I need you to do,” he said, and she looked at him with a bit of surprise. He had asked quite a bit of her this past while, and she didn’t know what else there could be. “When you get the money from the jewel… there is a woman in my village, by the name of Aileen, should I not make it there to meet her. Will you give her, or her boy, some of the money?”
“Of course, if that is what you want,” she said before her curiosity got the better of her. “Who is she?”
“My wife,” he said, and then his eyes shut and he drifted off to sleep.
Roderick hummed a bit of a tune to himself as he made his way down the train corridor. Scotland — the true Scotland — was beginning to appear out the windows now that they had left the city, and he felt a sense of comfort and ease that he hadn’t known since… well, since he had left. He had been so eager to be free of all this land held and to create a life of his own. What he hadn’t realized was that as wonderful as adventure was, a