Hunting for Silence (Storm and Silence 5)

And I strode towards the inn.

*~*~**~*~*

The inn was a charming little place. As soon as I stepped in, the innkeeper greeted us with a big smile.

‘Welcome, ladies and gentlemen, welcome! What brings you out onto the road on such a fine morning?’

‘We’re returning from a little holiday in Bath,’ I said, thinking it best I didn’t mention the word ‘cholera’.

‘How nice. Won’t you take a seat?’

He pulled back a chair, and I was just about to say ‘Yes, thank you,’ when a big shape filled the doorway. The smile slipped from the innkeeper’s face.

‘I’m sorry miss, but we don’t allow his kind in here.’

I turned to see Karim standing in the doorway, gazing at the innkeeper with narrowed eyes.

‘Don’t allow…’ I repeated.

‘He’d put all my customers off their food. You can go and eat with the servants out back. Go on.’ The innkeeper waved a hand at the bodyguard. ‘Off with you.’

The bigoted son of a….!

Reflexively, my whole body stiffened. So did Karim’s hand around the grip of his sabre. The innkeeper didn’t seem to notice. Ah. So the man wasn’t just bigoted, he also was blind and stupid.

Karim took a step forward—but I raised a hand and stepped between him and the landlord. I wouldn’t allow Karim to behead the man. After all, why should he have all the fun?

‘You don’t allow “his kind” here, do you?’ I repeated slowly.

‘Nay.’ The innkeeper spat out of an open window, oblivious to the warning lights flashing in my eyes. ‘Those damn towelheads can go to where they come from!’

Rage welled up inside me. That was it! Karim might be a grumpy, irritating son of bolder, but in his own, bearded, heavily armed way, he was as much part of my family as Ella, Eve or Patsy. Nobody got to give him insulting nicknames except me!

‘Sir?’ I said, smiling and taking a step forward. ‘Do you perchance have a room where we could talk privately for a bit? Five minutes would do.’

‘Hm. Well, we could step into the back room if you insist. But I don’t think—’

‘Just five minutes, Sir. That’s all I’ll need.’

‘All right. If you must. Follow me.’

‘Oh, and just one thing?’

‘Yes?’

‘How thick are the walls in this place? Can one usually hear what’s going on in the next room?’

The innkeeper tugged up his apron. ‘Do you mean to insult me, Miss? My inn is built solidly, and I’ll ask you not to imply anything different.’

‘Excellent. After you, Sir.’

I stepped into the room. The door closed behind us.

Four minutes and thirty-seven seconds later, the door opened again and I stepped out, followed by a pale, somewhat unsteady innkeeper.

‘Y-you can stay,’ he mumbled in the direction of Karim’s shiny shoes.

‘And…?’ I suggested.