We hurried down the stone path and through the open arch to the street. It was empty but for the flickering flames of street lamps and the lump of humanity that was an unconscious coachman.
Crestmoor looked up and down the street before he spun around to face the trio. “Where is the carriage? Why did you not post one of your men at the vehicle?”
“It was not our responsibility to watch it,” Durand countered. “We were only contracted to find and capture the woman, and we performed our task.”
My ‘host’ didn’t look too pleased with that answer, and turned his furious face away. “It is now. Find it.”
“You have received the woman. Anything further requires further payment.”
“Whatever it is, I’ll pay it! Just find that carriage!”
Durand’s dark eyes swept over his compatriots. “You wish for all of us to leave you?”
Crestmoor’s cheeks turned a heavy red, and each word came out in a sharp hiss. “Of course not, you fool. Keep one of your number with me while the other two search.”
Durand’s eyes flickered to Swinger, who nodded. “Very well, Mr. Crestmoor. We will find your carriage and return here with it.”
“Not here,” Crestmoor insisted as he nodded at the road. “We’ll head to my house on the straightest route. Find us along there.”
“Yes, Mr. Crestmoor.” Durand and Swinger slipped away, leaving us with Leech.
Their customer eyed the remaining man with a sharp look. “Manage the woman and follow me.”
Leech pushed me forward with enough force that I took a few stumbling steps before I caught myself. Crestmoor hardly looked over his shoulder as he led us down the road. Our path wasn’t along the busy thoroughfares, but through the side streets and alleys.
My breath came out in short, sharp gasps that sometimes sounded like whistles. That gave me an idea. I didn’t have the whistle to tell, but I had the next best thing: my blood. The only problem was that the liquid was trapped beneath a layer of flesh. I tried to free one of my hands, and the ropes chafed against my skin. That gave me a very painful idea.
I kept one eye on my captors as I furiously rubbed my hands against the rough ropes. The bristly surface cut into my wrists, tearing slowly at the skin thread by thread. I bit my lower lip to keep from crying, but continued with my flesh fiddling. I fervently wished for daybreak to reveal his vile intent, but the eastern horizon showed no signs of light.
However, there was something else on the street horizon. A heavy fog had rolled in and wrapped around us like a cold, damp blanket. I shivered and wrapped my arms around myself. The thick mist reminded me of something, but my frazzled mind couldn’t quite think of what.
Two figures loomed out of the fog. I started back, and the handkerchief stifled my scream. Leech caught my upper arms, and his hands were as clammy as his namesake.
Crestmoor stiffened, and I noticed him reach for his belt. Hissed words came from him. “Remove the handkerchief. Say a word and you’ll prove yourself more trouble than you’re worth.”
With an offer like that, who could resist? I stood motionless as the handkerchief was untied. Clean air flowed into my lungs.
Crestmoor squinted into the thick whiteness. “Who goes there?”
The fog lifted enough for us to see our foes. I choked on a bitter laugh when I beheld the mundane figures of a man with his young son. The boy could hardly have been five, with plain clothes and a handkerchief tied around his throat. The man was likewise attired in drab browns and grays, with a few patches over his woolen pants.
The father held his son’s hand and drew him closer at our meeting. “I could ask the same of you, sir!”
“Never mind that!” Crestmoor snapped as he eyed the two. “What are you doing out in the fog?”
“We weren’t planning on being out in the fog, sir,” the man countered as he nodded at his young boy. “I was just taking my child to see his mother. She’s not feeling well, ya know.”
“No, I don’t know,” Crestmoor countered as he drew out a handkerchief and lifted it to his snobbish nose. “Now, if you’ll kindly step aside and let us pass.”
“Begging your pardon, sir, but I’d think you’d let us pass,” the man countered. He tightened his grip on the young boy’s hand. “My son here is rather shy, though if you want him to show off his handkerchief, he’d do just that. It was a gift from his mother, you see, and he’s awful fond of it-”
“I don’t care to hear your prattle!” Crestmoor snapped as he waved them away with his cloth. “Now step aside and let us through.”
The man leaned to one side and looked past Crestmoor, where his gaze settled on me. “Perhaps your lady friend would like a look at it. She seems the sort to like trinkets like that. Show her the handkerchief, son.”
The young boy grabbed the cloth and waved it at me. That’s when my heart skipped a beat. I knew that handkerchief.
The man furrowed his brow as he studied me. “Your friend looks pale. Perhaps she needs to go to the doctor with us.”
