Silence Breaking (Storm and Silence 4)

How to get Mr Rikkard Ambrose’s attention?

Well, there was always one way.

I slipped one hand into his tailcoat. Down it went, and farther down. Beneath my lips, Mr Ambrose uttered a groan. My hand wandered even further down, slipped between two layers of cloth, and -

He stiffened.

‘Mr Linton?’ His whisper against my lips was hardly audible. But it was cold enough to give a polar bear hypothermia.

‘Yes, Sir?’

‘Let go of my wallet.’

Slipping my hand out of his tailcoat pocket, I held up the slim leather container and gazed innocently up at him from under my lashes. ‘What, this wallet?’

He made a grab for it. Ducking under his arm, I danced out of the way.

‘Mr Linton?’

‘Yes, Mr Ambrose, Sir?’

‘Give that ba-’

He was interrupted by the sound of the world exploding outside. Red-gold light illuminated the room in a flare worthy of Armageddon.

Our eyes met.

‘I think, perhaps, we had better leave.’

‘Indeed.’

Taking a deep breath, I tossed him his wallet. He nodded.

‘Let’s go! Knowledge is power is time is money, Mr Linton.’

Oh, how wonderful that some things never changed.

And how wonderful that some other things do, my tingling lips whispered in silence.

Karim was waiting for us outside. Without a word, we got on our horses and started down the street. Not far ahead, beyond the river, we could see the red glow of the fires. As the darkness of night began to fall around us, it seemed as if we were riding straight into hell.

‘Halt! Who goes there?’

And here was Cerberus.

This guard dog, however, didn’t have three heads. He had just one, and two arms and legs, and a bright red uniform.

‘Sergeant.’ Mr Ambrose nodded to the man. ‘We’ll be crossing the bridge.’

‘I’m sorry, Sir.’ Stepping sideways so he was right in the middle of the street, the sergeant blocked our way. ‘I cannot let ye do that. I’ve got orders from Corporal Hicks to not let nobody through.’

‘I suppose it would be superfluous to point out that if you have orders to not let nobody through that would be a double negative, meaning that, in fact, you had orders to let everybody through?’

The sergeant’s honest forehead furrowed. ‘Sir?’

‘Forget it! Step aside, man. Now!’

‘Sorry, Sir. Cannot do that. I’ve got orders from Corporal Hicks to not let-’