Page 79 of Betrayal from Beyond
“No one upstairs,” Dalton reported when he returned. “But I found women’s clothes. And men’s. Some finely tailored. Fancy. At least one toff has been staying here.”
Niall nodded, staring down at Kara. “Could you go to the kitchens and check for any sign of what they might have given her? I don’t want to leave her.” He harbored a terror that she might stop breathing. “And check to see if there is any coffee?” Perhaps she would wake faster if they could give her a stimulant?
Dalton went through. Niall could hear him rummaging.
“There’s a great, fancy tea warmer in here!” he shouted. “What are they called?” A pause. “A samovar!”
“Don’t drink anything!” Niall called back. A Russian accent from the man who had attacked them. A samovar. He glanced again at the tea service and the citrusy, spiced tea.
“Niall?” Gyda stood in the doorway that led to the office and the front door. Her gaze fell on Kara, and she rushed over. “Odin’s arse! Is she all right?”
“She’s been drugged.”
Dalton came back, carrying a large bottle. “There are slim pickings in the larder, but I found this.”
Niall took it. “Horse medicine? Likely it is opium, then.” He looked at Gyda. “Russian tea. A Russian assailant. What would Petra be getting up to with Russians?”
“I don’t know, but I think you had better come outside.”
“I don’t want to leave her.” Niall looked again at the bottle. “What if she’s had too much? It could kill her. We need to get her awake.” He turned to Dalton. “Was there coffee?
“No. I’m sorry.”
“Let Dalton stay with her, for just a moment,” Gyda said. “You need to see this. Then we’ll get her back to Chiswick and call a doctor.”
Niall looked at his friend. Gyda’s expression was solemn. More worried than angry, for the first time in two days.
“Watch her carefully,” he told Dalton. “Make sure she is breathing.”
The man paled. “What if she stops?”
“Shout.” Niall stood, pushing the thought away. “Show me. Then we go.”
“Bring a lamp,” Gyda ordered him.
He followed her out past the barn and the semicircle of outbuildings, to a field that lay bare in the moonlight.
But not exactly bare. Gyda stepped through several feet of scattered dirt and rock and set her lantern on the ground.
He gave a grunt of surprise. “Is that—”
“Yes.”
A crater. A massive hole blown in the field. “How far?”
“Give me your lamp.” Taking it, Gyda walked around the circumference of the thing, stepping carefully. When she reached the other side, she set the lamp down.
“It’s big,” Niall said. “What is Petra doing? Hauling around a cannon and explosive shells?”
“And if so, what does she mean to do with it?”
Niall closed his eyes. “We’ll figure it out.”
“We don’t know where she’s gone,” Gyda said bitterly.
“We will find her,” Niall vowed. “But first, Kara.”
*
