Storm and Silence (Storm and Silence 1)

You probably wouldn’t despise it quite so much if Mr Ambrose and you were alone, somewhere nice and warm, hm?

Immediately, I kicked that thought out of my mind, where it didn’t belong.

Changing your clothes, I told myself. That’s all the reason why you’re undressing now. To change your clothes. And he has got his back to you. He is not looking. He wouldn’t even want to. And you do not want him to want to, understand?

Glancing up at the back of the two men, I saw that Mr Ambrose had his arms crossed behind his back, and his little finger was twitching with the tempo of a sewing machine.

‘Hurry up, Mr Linton,’ he hissed, straightening his perky blue hat. ‘If one of the soldiers comes around the shed now…’

‘I thought they had gone.’

‘They might come back. If they find you like this…’

‘What do you think they will do?’ I asked in a voice that, for some unfathomable reason, sounded teasing.

‘Sound the alarm and come back with heavy artillery,’ he growled.

Now that was a blow below the belt! Or not really, because currently I wasn’t wearing any belt. In fact, I wasn’t wearing much of anything, except a pair of drawers and my corset. It was getting rather chilly, particularly around the shoulders, and I shrugged into the red uniform as quickly as possible. I had expected it to feel awkward, but it didn’t. Wearing Uncle Bufford’s Sunday best for so long had made me become accustomed to wearing trousers. The military outfit, with its burning colours and padded shoulders, rather gave me a feeling of confidence, though that feeling was slightly offset by the ridiculous hat.

With a deep breath, I fastened the last button.

‘All right,’ I whispered. ‘We can go.’

Mr Ambrose didn’t move.

‘You are fully clothed?’

‘Yes.’

‘Karim, turn around and check if sh- he is fully clothed.’

‘Sahib,’ Karim protested, not moving an inch. ‘I can’t…’

‘Do it, Karim!’

‘Yes, Sahib. As you command, Sahib.’

One hand over his eyes, with only a minuscule crack open between two fingers that could be closed the moment he detected any sign of indecency or devilry, Karim slowly turned towards me. I rolled my eyes. To tell the truth, I was getting slightly miffed, and had almost forgotten the hundreds of soldiers around us and the mortal danger we were in. I mean, I surely didn’t look that bad in underwear…

‘She is decent,’ he announced in a low rumble. Then, thinking again, added, ‘As least as decent as she can be.’

‘I see. Then let us waste no more time.’

Without turning to glance at me, Mr Ambrose strode to the corner of the shed and peeked out into the courtyard.

‘There are no soldiers nearby,’ he whispered. ‘There are two of them farther down the courtyard, approximately twenty yards away from us. We will go around the back of the shed. When we emerge from behind it on the other side, they will not notice, or think we have come from the other side of the courtyard. From where they are standing, it would be nearly impossible to tell the difference.’

He crossed to the other side of the shed and positioned himself at the corner there.

‘Ready?’ he asked.

‘Yes, Sir,’ I said, my heart hammering. By now, the soldiers who surrounded us had more than returned to my consciousness: they had usurped it. Playing dress-up behind the shed was all too well, but now we would step out into the open again, and our disguise would have to hold.

‘Yes, Sahib.’

‘Good. Remember, when you step out, look relaxed and comfortable.’

‘You mean like you always do?’ I asked, sweetly.