Page 48 of The Curious Story of the Missing Lady
“Here!” came the response.
She turned, saw him receding from her into a dark patch of woods, and hurried towards him.
When she finally caught up, panting and clutching her chest, she was utterly bewildered by the sight of him. In all her many years of imprisonment, while she had aged terribly into the twisted twig figure of a crone, he, on the other hand, had not aged a single day. He was just as ravishingly handsome as he was the first day she’d laid eyes on him.
She was terribly ashamed of herself and hid her face.
“Look at me,” he said. “I still find you beautiful as ever.”
When she opened her eyes, she saw that his face was beaming. He opened his arms to her, and she went to him.
As she got within reach of them, she noticed his hands ...
They were claws.
And he smiled a mouthful of gleaming fangs.
She recoiled in horror, but he had pounced. He was a panther in disguise, and the claws swiped at her. She rolled away, but the great cat pounced again, lodging one set of claws in the fat root of a mighty oak. The sound of their rending the wood chilled her to her core ...
And persisted even after she’d awakened ...
Chapter 35
The sweet relief that is only found in waking from a nightmare came upon her slowly and steadily. She breathed deeply, and then caught the sound.
Clawing?
Not clawing, scratching. And it was coming from outside her tiny window.
She went to it cautiously and peeked out.
The moon was bright and lit perfectly the face of Lord Peter Lytton.
Madeline heard the gasp that escaped from her throat. Lord Peter responded quickly by putting his fingers to his lips.
“Sshhhh, you don’t want to be heard.”
“Am I seeing this?” she whispered. “Am I dreaming still?”
“If you’re dreaming,” he said, “you’d do me the great favour of relieving my posture out here. There’s a small ledge that sticks out a few feet underneath. It isn’t the most comfortable thing in the world, but it shall have to do. At any rate, since you can’t alter this situation on my behalf, I should say that you are indeed awake. And stuck with me, to boot.”
She laughed, joyously and quietly.
“But how ... why?”
“Your note, Madeline. I have many inconsistencies of character, but intelligence is not counted among them. I am happy to say that I was indeed able to put two and two together, as the saying goes.”
“Where is your horse?” she said as if this were the most important thing on her mind.
“He’s tied to a tree some half mile from here, poor fellow. I didn’t want to alert your Lady of my coming.”
“I appreciate that more than you know.”
“No, I believe I know enough. How long have you been here, Madeline?”
“I’ve lost track,” she said, her voice wavering.
“Well, fear not, for I am about to devise a plan to get you out of here.”
