Page 139 of Ruby Red (The Ruby Red Trilogy 1)

“Oh, we shall take it, you may be sure of that!”

And as I watched it through the window, the fight went on, still like a well-rehearsed ballet. The wounded man was now lying motionless on the ground, so that the others had to fight around him.

Gideon parried every attacking thrust as if he knew in advance what his opponents were going to do, but no doubt they had also had fencing lessons since childhood. Once I saw one of the men’s blades hiss toward Gideon’s shoulder while he was busy parrying his other opponent’s thrust. Only an agile sideways turn prevented the sword from striking home. Presumably it would have taken half Gideon’s arm off. I heard wood splintering as the man’s blade struck the coach instead.

This couldn’t be true! Who were these characters, and why were they after us?

I quickly slid across the seat and peered through the window on the other side. Wasn’t there anyone around to see what was going on here? Could you really be attacked like this in Hyde Park in broad daylight, in the middle of the afternoon? The fight seemed to last forever.

Although Gideon was holding his own against two men at once, it didn’t look as if he could ever fend them off completely. His opponents were forcing him to retreat more and more, and in the end, they would surely win the fight.

I had no idea how much time had passed since I heard the first shot, or how long we still had to wait before we traveled back, but it was probably unlikely that we’d dissolve into thin air before the eyes of Gideon’s attackers. I couldn’t bear it any longer, sitting in this coach just watching them prepare to murder Gideon.

Maybe I could climb out the window and fetch help?

For a brief moment, I wasn’t sure whether the huge hooped skirt would fit through the gap, but a second later, I was standing on the sandy carriageway trying to get my bearings.

I heard only gasping from the other side of the coach, along with curses and the pitiless ring of blade on metal blade.

“Surrender, why don’t you?” gasped one of the strangers.

“Never!” Gideon replied.

Cautiously, I made my way forward to the horses. As I did so, I almost fell over something yellow. I only just managed to suppress a scream. It was the man in the yellow coat. He had fallen off the coachman’s box and was lying on his back in the sand. I saw, with horror, that part of his face was missing and his clothes were drenched in blood. The eye of the undamaged part of his face was wide open, looking into nowhere.

The shot I’d heard had been aimed at him. It was a ghastly sight; I felt my stomach churn. I’d never seen a dead person before. I’d have given anything to be sitting in the cinema now so I could close my eyes and know it wasn’t real.

But this was real. This man was dead, and Gideon was out there in genuine danger of death himself.

The clash of metal roused me from my numb state. Gideon groaned, and that finally brought me back to my senses.

Before I knew what I was doing, I’d spotted the sword at the dead man’s side and clutched it tightly.

o;Gwyneth?”

“What?”

“I didn’t mean to insult you. I wasn’t putting you down—I just meant you were an average girl, understand?”

Oh, wonderful. It got better and better.

“Perfectly,” I said, glaring at him. “I couldn’t care less what you think of me.”

He looked at me calmly. “You can’t help it.”

“You don’t know anything at all about me!” I said indignantly.

“Maybe not,” said Gideon. “But I know lots of girls like you. They’re all the same.”

“Lots of girls like me? Huh!”

“I mean, girls who aren’t interested in anything but hairstyles, clothes, films, and pop stars. And you’re always giggling, and you go to the loo in groups. And you make snide remarks about some girl named Lisa or whatever for buying a cheap chain store T-shirt for five pounds.”

Even though I was irate, I burst out laughing. “You mean to say that all these girls you know make snide remarks about someone called Lisa for buying a cheap T-shirt?”

“Well, you see what I mean.”

“Yes, I do.” I didn’t really intend to say any more, but it just burst out of me. “You think all girls who aren’t like Charlotte are stupid and superficial. Just because we had a normal childhood instead of all those fencing lessons and instruction in mysterious prophesies. The fact is, you haven’t ever had time to get to know any normal girls. That’s why you have all these pathetic prejudices.”

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