Silence Breaking

35. Damsel Under Stress

For a moment, the man just stared into the muzzle of the gun. His mouth dropped open.

'You...how...I don't...'

'It's not that difficult to understand,' I told him. 'First, you in charge. Girl pulls out gun. Girl points gun at you. You in charge no more. End of story. Well, of yours, anyway.'

'I...how...you...'

Dear me. This fellow was really slow. When would he start begging for his life, or would I have to do that for him?

'I wonder, should I kill you?' I mused. 'I must admit, I really feel like it. You're a bastard who works for a bastard. You helped kidnap me and were probably planning to be involved in some finger-cutting later. So...why not?'

'I...no! I, um...well...'

'On the other hand – people might hear a shot. The wrong kind of people.' I pondered the conundrum for a moment, then brightened. 'Ah! I'll know what I'll do.'

'What?' he asked, wide-eyed.

'This.'

Swift as a fiery ifrit, I raised my gun and brought down the butt against his temple, hard.

'Oouf!'

'Nighty-night, soldier boy.'

Satisfied, I gazed down at the crumpled form on the floor. Now here was a good day's work if ever I saw one. But I wasn't finished yet. Not by any means.

I had no illusions. Mr Ambrose had no idea where I was. He could not come to rescue me from this hellhole. However, that didn't particularly bother me. Because that left the much more interesting option of rescuing myself.

Your plans are done, Dalgliesh! Watch out, here I come!

Bending down, I grabbed the fallen fake footman by the scruff of the neck and dragged him away from the window, so no one would catch sight of him from outside. Who knew, there might be other guards out there.

Pressing myself against the wall, I slowly approached the window, until I could peek out between the hide covering and the frame. Nothing. Not a soul in sight. No noise reached my ears, except for the occasional creak of a tree under the growing burden of snow.

Leaving only one man to guard the helpless damsel? Could any man truly be this stupid?

Yes, Lilly. They all could.

I smiled. Pride commeth before a fall, right?

Well, then let's make sure Dalgliesh falls hard!

Hurrying to the door, I took a peek outside. Nothing. No one. The snowy landscape was as deserted as Antarctica during penguin holiday season. I was about to dash outside when I suddenly hesitated.

No.

Think, Lilly, think!

It was biting cold outside. Besides, if I just ran away through the snow, I would leave tracks everywhere. When Lord Dalgliesh came back – and he would come back soon, I had no doubt – he would find my tracks and catch up to me easily. That was something I couldn't let happen.

Squinting, I searched the horizon for something, anything that could be helpful in my escape. A road, smoke from nearby village, a...

Wait a moment.

Was that water I saw sparkling in the distance?

Yes, definitely! There was a stream running through the countryside not too far away from the cabin – one that hadn't frozen over yet! A plan began to form in my mind. Hm...could it work?