s she lay on the hard wooden floor of Farley’s two room cottage in Romney Marsh.
Her wrists were bound at her back. Her ankles ached from the rope cutting into her flesh. Farley had also blindfolded and gagged her. She could hear him shuffling about before he scratched a chair against the floor. Was he sitting? Was he settled?
She concentrated as she slowly, quietly slid her head against the floorboard and finally dislodged the blindfold. She took a moment to survey her surroundings.
Her room was more like a storage closet. The only light that filtered through was through the wide cracks between the wall boards. In one corner was a small cot. She had to think. She could hear someone sit heavily and then shuffle something on the table…what was that? Yes, yes, cards. He was shuffling cards, amusing himself no doubt.
She was choking on the gag in her mouth and tried to ignore this and remain calm. She rolled onto her back and using her fists she pushed herself into a sitting position, then scooted backward on her bottom till she hit the wall.
Something sharp poked at her back and with some excitement she realized this was the point of a nail.
She started rubbing the ropes at her wrist against the nail when she sat rigid to the sound of someone entering the cottage. Clearly she heard Farley whose voice was gruff and hard, “Well…did ye get it done?”
“Aye, that Oi did. First, let me tell ye, Farley, Oi got to admit, Oi was scared. Thought Oi was snabbled when they didn’t wants to take the note from me. Thought that there butler of theirs was going to pull out a gun and have at me, Oi did. Tough old bloke he was. But he took the note and told me to wait. Oi took off Oi did.”
“Did ye hide yer horse out back?” Farley asked sharply.
“Oi did, in yer shed wit yers,” Ally said. “But, we have a problem, we do. He come up lame, he did. Come have a look wit me…maybe ye got something we can use to help heal him?”
“Curst bad luck, but never mind it, Ally…if he won’t do and chances are he won’t, we’ll snabble another.” He got up from the table. “Let’s go have a look, and if he can’t be used, ye take m’horse and come back with another.”
Star heard them go outside and hurried to position herself again at the nail. It took a good ten minutes to tear through the rope enough so she could loosen and untie it. She then undid the rope at her ankles. By the time she was done, she was bloodied but fiercely determined.
She put her wrists at her back and tucked her ankles under her gown, throwing the rope around them loosely as she leaned back against the wall and waited. She would have to bide her time. After all, she couldn’t just run out of the cabin while they were so near.
She heard them re-enter the cottage and Ally said, “Oi’m hungry…whot ye got to eat Farley?”
“Look in the cupboard…maybe some day old bread. It will have to do.”
“Whot about the mort? Should we be feeding her?”
“No, leave her be. She can’t go nowhere with her wrists and ankles tied and no window in that room. Best to leave her be.”
“Right then, Oi’ll go down the road to Jeb’s house and take one of his horses and get some food from him and be back.”
“No, ye’ll stay here and Oi’ll go. He might try and side track ye which he can’t do with me. Aye, Oi’ll be quicker about it than ye,” Farley said.
“Aye, but don’t forget to bring me back some food…this bread is stale,” Ally returned.
A moment later, Star heard steps and her door was flung open.
She blinked against the daylight that streamed through from the other room and hit her in the face.
“I see ye got the blindfold off. That’s fine, no harm, so tell me, are ye hungry? Oi could feed ye a bit of bread, whether Farley wants me to or not,” Ally said. “Nod, if ye want me to come closer and feed ye.” He grinned awfully, “and Oi’d be exacting a price, Oi would…”
She wanted to tell him to go to the devil, but she had returned the gag to her mouth and was only able to silently glare at him.
He laughed out loud. “Spirited mort, ain’t ye. Well then, not hungry yet? So be it.” He seemed to think of something as he turned to leave her and stopped to turn back to her. He stepped toward her and yanked the gag out of her mouth.
Star gasped, choked and coughed a moment beneath his watchful grin and thought if she had her gun now she would shoot him dead without a second thought, without a trembling hand.
“Oi want to know about this flash, Sir Edward. Will he pay for your return?”
She shook her head, “No, you are out there. He will not. He cares much more about his money than he does me.”
“Is that whot ye think? It isn’t what Farley thinks. He said that the flash warned him away from you and your brother the other night. He let Farley live in exchange for the promise that he would never come near ye or yer brother ever again. Oi guess your flash made a mistake.”
Star was shocked to hear this and wanted to question him further but held her tongue as Ally hurried on, “So, the flash has blunt enough to pay. Good. Zounds woman, of course he’ll pay it…any man in his right mind would pay it for ye.”