‘No, Sir.’
‘I didn’t think so.’
Stepping closer to me, he lowered his voice to a chilling whisper that only I could hear.
‘I am not commonly given to expletives, Mr Linton, yet under the present circumstances I find myself justified in enquiring what the bloody hell you think you are doing here!’
‘Coming with you,’ I said cheerily, though the tone of his voice made my whole body quiver.
‘Did I or did I not tell you to stay away from this, Mr Linton?’
‘You did, Sir. But it is after hours. You cannot tell me what to do now.’
Thunderclouds full of lightning flashed in his dark eyes.
‘Did you or did you not hear what I discussed with Warren, Mr Linton?’
‘Yes, Sir. I did.’
‘And? Well?’
‘Well what, Sir?’
‘Tonight’s operation will be deadly dangerous. The moment we are spotted, we will be shot down like animals. Our corpses will be thrown from the docks and never again see the light of day!’
His words sent a cold shiver down my back. To die… to actually die. I had never contemplated it before. I was nineteen, still so young, and had hardly seen anything of the world. And I could die tonight, if I continued on this mad course. Why not turn back? Why not turn away from him, let him go alone? He surely wouldn’t fault me for it.
‘Never see the light of day again? My, my.’ I shook my head. ‘I’m sure that would worry me a lot, once I was dead. Terrible fate for a corpse.’
What was I doing? This was no time for sarcasm? This was serious!
Yes, it is, a tiny voice in the back of my mind said. Deadly serious - which is exactly why you have to go with him.
‘Never, ever joke in my presence again, Mr Linton,’ Mr Ambrose said in a voice that could have frozen an erupting volcano. ‘I do not appreciate it.’
‘Really? I would never have guessed.’
‘The same goes for flippancy, Mr Linton.’ He stepped forward until we were almost nose to chiselled chin. Damn, he was tall! ‘I meant what I said. This is dangerous.’ For a moment I saw a flash of something in his eyes that I think I was not supposed to see. Anxiety, maybe? For what? For the recovery of his lost file?
Or for you?
No! Impossible!
It was gone too quickly for me to see, in any case. Again, a coating of frost closed the brief opening in his armour.
‘I know that it is dangerous,’ I said impulsively, reaching out to touch him. ‘That is why I have to come.’
Hell’s whiskers! Why did I just say that? What if he interpreted something into it that I hadn’t meant? Or worse, what if he interpreted something into it that I had meant? I snatched my hand back before it made contact with his face.
Quickly, I added, trying for a lighter tone: ‘After all, I can’t let you go in there with only him for protection.’ I gestured at Karim. ‘You’ll be dead before you take two steps.’
Though my words had been too low for him to have heard, Karim seemed to have guessed the general message of my gesture. He gritted his teeth, and his massive right paw closed around the hilt of his sabre.
Mr Ambrose took another step forward. We were now standing almost close enough to touch.
‘And what,’ he hissed, ‘makes you think that I will take you along? I could have Warren take you and hold you here until Karim and I have returned. He might be afraid of Dalgliesh, but even he should be capable of restraining someone like you.’
Heat rose to my cheeks. I knew what he meant - someone like me: a girl.