Randy returns to his cave empty handed

Randy stared into the old forest in frustration. Somehow she had eluded him, perhaps she was still wandering around the falls and he’d still find her there, but in his heart Randy knew that wasn’t the case. Charlotte Marlton had simply outwitted him. The same Black brand who had eluded Lord Marlton, and his men for months and who had made the King’s 43rd Foot look foolish in their attempts to put an end to his banditry was out-smarted by a lass.

“Oh but what a lass!” He reminded himself speaking aloud. Laughing he spoke to the empty forest.

“Go ahead home Miss Charlotte, I’ll see you again. I promise.” With that promise to himself he smiled and strode back towards his lair unaware of just how close he had come to recapturing his prize. His good humor dissipated as he made his way back to his cave. As soon as Lady Marlton returned to her father he’d learn where Black Brand had been hiding and men would be sent to apprehend him, or at least destroy his comfortable lair. By the time he got back to his hideout he was in a foul mood.

“Stupid, stupid, STUPID!” Randy muttered as he looked over the pile of supplies he had piled on the bed. “What was I thinking?” He added not sure which of his actions angered him the most. From the moment he saw Lady Marlton leading her horse he made one bad decision after another. What was it about her that made rational thought so difficult?

Randy added the great brass lantern to the pile of supplies he had assembled. The pile was already too large for him to carry easily but he should have enough time to make a few trips before Lady Charlotte told her father where Black Brand’s lair was. He should have watched her more carefully. The memory of Charlotte with her dress half-pulled from her shoulders was burned into his eyes; no matter how many days passed he doubted he’d ever forget how she looked.

“I should never have brought her here.” Randy announced to no-one in particular. Had he really thought that he was type of man who could **** a woman? It was probably just as well. In spite of his reputation as a brutal highwayman he doubted his ability to savagely **** Marlton’s daughter. He could not do to her what had been done to Mary. Not that it would necessarily have been ****. Charlotte had been far from unwilling when he held her in his arms and his lips had pressed against hers. “And yet I let her slip out of my fingers like a slippery brook trout!” Randy berated himself for the hundredth time as he leaned two heavy muskets against the bedframe and slung the powder horns over his shoulders.

The infantry muskets had been a ‘gift’ from one of the first patrols from the 43rd that had been sent out to capture him. He’d led the patrol deeper and deeper into the forest. The soldiers were easy to lure, he let the men see an occasional glimpse of his back just out of range of their smoothbore muskets and they followed him without any thought about where they were.

When the corporal finally began to sense Black Brand was toying with him and his men Randy cut his palm and left a bloody rag where the soldiers could not miss it, the thought that one of their wild volleys had wounded Black Brand was all he needed to keep them following him deep into the one of the damp woodland bogs.

By nightfall the exhausted infantrymen were wet, cold and hopelessly lost; it had been simple enough to slip the muskets and horns from the sides of two of the sleeping men. He felt bad for the two men who would surely be flogged for the loss of their weapons, but considering that he could have killed them all, he thought they got off lightly.

With the two muskets and a bundle of supplies Randy made his first trip to the top of the falls. The second trip included the great lantern, the flasks of oil that it burned, the best of the blankets from his bed and the rest of his food. He stashed most of the supplies inside a hollow tree and reloaded the two muskets to ensure that their priming was not wet from the spray of the falls.

From the top of the falls Randy had a good view of the clearing below. He settled into a comfortable hollow and waited to see who the Marltons would send to destroy his lair and capture him. With any luck, Lord Marlton himself will be part of the party that rides out to capture him. So far Randy had resisted the temptation to kill any of Marlton’s men sent out to bring him into custody, but he had no reservations about trying his luck at hitting Lord Marlton himself.

More likely it will be a troop of infantrymen under the command of the new lieutanant. In that case he'd simply fade into the forest, he had no desire to take on a squad of musketmen.