Page 186 of Storm of Bells
We were sitting in the coach, trying toexamine the documents I had filched from Lord Dalgliesh’s safe bythe light of the sinking sun. We weren’t having much luck in ourhunt for blackmail material, however. Oh, it wasn’t that we hadn’tfound plenty of interesting stuff. It was rather…
Well, how should I best put it…?
‘How about this?’ Brightening, I straightenedand triumphantly waved a sheet of paper in the air. ‘This is a listof wages Dalgliesh pays to his workers in one of his factories.Have you seen how low those are? One could barely survive on twicethat much! It’s outrageous!’
Mr Ambrose gave me a look. ‘Miss Linton?’
‘Yes?’
‘You’re supposed to find material with whichwe can pressure Dalgliesh. Not material that will end up making melikehim.’
I gave him a hearty kick, which he promptlyreciprocated. I was so proud of him. He’d grasped the basicimportance of equality in a relationship.
‘Don’t say things like that! You would nevertreat your employees like that!’
His eyes narrowed infinitesimally.‘Indeed?’
‘Indeed.’ I tapped on the paper. ‘Do you seethis? He gave them holidays.’
Mr Ambrose suppressed a shudder. ‘Forget whatI said about liking.’ He held out a hand, and when I passed him astack of documents, he nodded and accepted them. ‘Let’s just getthrough those documents. As soon as we find what we’re looking for,we’ll have Dalgliesh in the palm of our hands. And then, finally,nothing and no one will stand between us.’
The moment he had ceased speaking, a knocksounded from the roof of the carriage.
‘Yes, Karim?’ Turning to the window, MrAmbrose stiffened. ‘What is it?’
‘A carriage approaching from the rear,Sahib!’
I felt a chill go down my spine.‘Dalgliesh?’
‘It couldn’t be.’ He meaningfully tapped onhis legs. ‘I doubt he’ll be moving anytime soon, remember?’
‘But Dalgliesh’s men are still on their feetand quite lively.’ Leaning towards the window, I cautiously peekedoutside. And indeed, there was a carriage there, dashing down thestreet at an impressive speed.
‘True.’ There was a frown in Mr Ambrose’svoice, if not on his face. He sent a cold stare towards the othercarriage. ‘But it still can’t be them. They’re faster than we are.The coach is catching up.’
Huh? Isn’t that what you’d be expecting ifyou were being pursued?
‘What does their speed have to do withanything?’
‘Think about it, Miss Linton. The coach hasas many horses as ours has, and they don’t look to be anythingspecial. If Dalgliesh’s men were in there, there would be enough tosubdue us—let’s say, five or six of them. They wouldn’t dare sendjust one man after us. But if there were so many people inside thecarriage, it would have to be much slower than ours. And yet…’
His words trailed off, and once again he senta suspicious stare towards the pursuing carriage, slowly catchingup.
‘So, what do you think is going on?’ Iasked.
‘I have no idea.’ Reaching into his pocket,he pulled out his revolver. There was a low metallic whirr as hesent the cylinder spinning to check for bullets. ‘But we had betterbe prepared.’
‘Sahib?’ Karim’s voice came from aboveagain. ‘They’re speeding up. They’re trying to catch us by anymeans possible.’
A low curse escaped from Mr Ambrose’sthroat.
Pulling out my revolver, I, too, checked myammunition. ‘So we fight?’
‘If that is what is required.’ He cast aglance my way, holding my gaze for a long moment. ‘Don’t worry.’Half-rising to his feet, Mr Ambrose cocked his revolver. ‘I’m notgoing to let them hurt you. Nothing and no one will catch me offguard.’
Just then, the coach drew up beside us. Amoment later, a man with long brown hair and a cheeky chin beard,dressed in a British Army uniform, leaned out of the window of thecarriage and sent a friendly smile towards our coach.
‘Pardon me for stopping you like this, butI’m in urgent need of directions. A friend of mine is gettingmarried in the vicinity. Do you perchance know the way to—wait!Miss Linton,is that you?’
