Wincing as deep chuckling sounded from above, Mary risked a glance upward, the two men standing at the top of the stairs grinning down at her. Ripping her gaze away, Mary frowned.They… they were too valuable, nothing would happen to them, but…her thoughts fading away as the voice of one of the men above rushed wildly, “Do you see that? I think our military boy’s angry. Look, his face is all narrow-like!”
“As red as his uniform you mean,” Timothy goaded, the Colonel forcing his expression to become neutral.
“Still prefer viewin’ our little Miss here. What do you think, Sam? Would you rather see the red face of our soldier or the pretty one of her’s?”
Moving as much as his ropes allowed, the Colonel shielded Mary from view; the exclamations of disappointment and outrage loud from the other men as she pressed her face into his back.
“Soldier boy won’t share, will he?” one of the men cooed. “Feed the pair and come back up; John might pinch from our pot if we’re not there–cards were doin’ me well, a pretty face or not, I’d rather enjoy my winnin’s!”
“Alright, alright,” Timothy sneered, the sound of metal on stone deafening, “you two can manage yourselves. Ropes or no, I ain’t stickin’ round to feed ya–if John don’t steal, those two will!”
Footsteps fading, Mary took several steadying breaths as she lifted her head.
“They are gone,” the Colonel growled before he turned toward her, voice softer, “Are you alright?”
Lifting her bound hands to her cheeks, she answered, “You must think me a pathetic sight, hiding from them as I did.”
“I am thankful you did. We will be gone soon, and neither of us shall endure them again–lest for me to testify, and that is a task I would relish.”
“Soon,” she agreed, a breath of doubt in her mind. Yet, as they examined the meager portion of food–naught aside from another morsel of bread able to travel with them–Mary could not bemoan every state of their circumstances; leastwise, not when she considered the brave face of the man beside her.
Between his skill and our determination, there may yet be a solid chance at freedom,she bolstered herself as much as shedared, the full hope of escaping before dawn a thing she feared for the strength of her want.At least, whatever the outcome, she need not face it alone.
∞∞∞
Displeased with the string of bad hands after his encounter with them, Timothy had passed along the task of seeing to their needs to John. As always, he did all he could to make Mary comfortable, first untying her bonds and seeing to her rapidly healing arm, then providing a meal that, while of no greater quality, came with enough food to see them well-fed before their journey, with a little left over to bring with them.
Thanking him for his kindness, Mary waited until he had locked the door behind him before pulling the scissors from her pocket.
“Hopefully these are enough to cut through your ropes, Colonel, for I do not have another solution to hand.”
Wrists held out, he grinned as she set to work. “It shall feel good to be free of these. It has been an age! Oh, but this ‘colonel’ business will not do, we are comrades in all this; please, call me Richard.”
Face warming, she fixed her gaze to the ropes she now battled, “Very well… Richard. I suppose you ought to simply call me Mary then. No colonel, no miss, just us.”
“Just us,” he echoed softly, her eyes pulling to his without her full permission, though the leaping of her heart made it all worthwhile.
She could get used to this,she half-thought, her attention drawn downward as the tension of the ropes gave way.
Lips broad, Mary turned to the bright eyes of Richard, his fingers pulsing for several moments before he shook his hands and arms.Half their plan had been made good, or near half, for his ability to move freely paired with hers removed many uncertainties.
“Here,” she said, holding out the scissors to him once his freedom had been well enjoyed. “It is best you keep these; we did, after all, talk of them as a weapon once. Hopefully it does not come to that, however…” she let her words fade away, the image of what might be required unpleasant.
“Of course,” he nodded, accepting the scissors before tucking them into a pocket, “There, all settled. Now then, a bit of stew to eat, a few tokens to collect for our journey, a tending of our wounds, then whatever rest we can find. I suspect it might be a long night.”
Tossing and turning proved in no short order that Richard had been accurate in his assumption. For, as minutes dragged into hours, dawn appeared no nearer in coming. Yet, through Richard’s steady reassurances and the natural passage of time, their captor could at last be heard unlocking the door.
Laying the rope over Richard’s hands before hiding her own in the folds of her dress as she lay back down, the two feigned sleep in the hope of drawing him near.
“Pair still as close as love birds it seems,” a voice snickered from above, “might as well enjoy ourselves with another game a’ cards. They ain’t goin’ nowhere.”
“Better hope your luck improves,” another man laughed, whatever retort might come next covered by the slamming of the door.
Sitting upright, Mary stared toward the darkened space of the doorway above, whatever hopes they had of escaping that morning snatched away.
“We never would have been able to make our escape with all of them awake,” Richard's voice noted sadly, his words accurate, though a poor balm to her lost dream. “We might have tried something only to fail; we can try again tomorrow.”
A quick nod and Mary forced a faint smile.Another chance would come.
