In the Eye of the Storm (Storm and Silence 2)

Crossing the distance between us with a few long strides, he grab

bed me roughly by the shoulders, his hands sliding over me as if to check whether I was really there. I twisted out of his grip. I mean to say! I’m not fastidious about things like this, but he didn’t exactly exhibit the behaviour a lady could expect from a gentleman!

‘Captain Carter! Control yourself!’ Stepping away, I raised my parasol threateningly, somewhat taken aback. My thoughts were in disarray. Had I misjudged Captain Carter all this time? Was he, in fact, one of these sinister individuals you read about in papers who dragged innocent girls into dark alleys to slash their throats while laughing mad, cackling laughs? ‘What is the matter with you?’

‘With me? Me?’ His eyes bulged. I took another step back, just in case he was going to start cackling madly. ‘It’s I who should be asking that! What happened to you? I came by the Hotel Luxor this morning to visit you, just in case you were still there-’

Oh crap.

‘-and the place was a smoking ruin!’

‘Um. Well.’ All right, that might explain his slightly irrational behaviour. If I had been wondering the whole morning whether one of my friends had been torn to bloody bits in a bomb explosion, I’d be a tiny bit surprised to see them strolling down the market, too. ‘I see.’

‘I see? What’s that supposed to mean?’ Breathing hard, he stepped towards me again and grasped me by the shoulders, hard. This time, I didn’t twist away. I couldn’t. Gazing up into his brown eyes, normally so cheerful, I could see they were filled with genuine concern. Maybe even with something more. ‘How on earth did you get out of there unharmed? And your grandmother…’

‘She’s fine. We’re both perfectly fine.’

‘How?’ he demanded, his hands still clutching my shoulders too tightly. Strangely, I didn’t mind.

Oh, it wasn’t that hard. We were escorted out by three dozen guards in the employ of my pseudo-husband.

‘Well…’ My brain scrambled for the easiest lie. ‘Um… we… we weren’t there when it happened. We were out, shopping for… fans. You know, because the weather is so terribly hot here.’

‘Thank the Lord!’ He let out a breath of relief and moved to enfold me in his arms - then realized what he was doing, stepping back a step, a slight tinge of colour in his cheeks. ‘My pardon, Miss Linton. I was overcome at the joy of seeing you well.’

‘Err… I’m flattered.’

And also very, very, very glad he had remembered himself before actually hugging me. If he had come that close, I think I wouldn’t just have been flattered, but he would have been flattened. My bodyguards were staring daggers at him already.

‘So… you’ve found a safe place to stay, Miss Linton?’

‘Yes, Captain. My grandmother and I are perfectly safe, thank you. We’re staying at a nice little hotel near the Nile and I’m just out on another shopping trip.’

Captain Carter smiled - then his eyes fell on the products of the booth beside me, and his smile became a bit strained. ‘Um… you are, are you?’

Lowering my gaze, I looked at the impressive array of curved daggers in front of me. Some had ivory handles, some ones made from wood. Some were just slightly curved, others shaped in a snake-like pattern. But all had two things in common: a wickedly sharp edge and a deadly point at the end.

Ooops…

Quickly, my gaze darted around to the other booths, looking for a suitable product for a lady to buy. What I found were several dozen muskets, about ten rifles, one with a suspicious-looking dark red stain on the barrel, and hundreds more daggers and sabres.

‘Ehem… well… Dear me. A minute ago I was looking at perfumes and handkerchiefs. I must have lost my way a bit.’

That excuse is really wearing a bit thin. Why don’t you think of something new, for a change?

‘Should I escort you back to the hotel again?’ Captain Carter offered, his eyes returning to my face and staying there, the weapons forgotten.

‘That will not be necessary,’ a thickly accented voice said from behind me. I winced. Captain Carter’s eyes flicked to the man who had spoken. For the first time, he seemed to notice the two large Arabs with their curved sabres, standing behind me like bodyguards. Which was, after all, exactly what they were.

‘And who are you, pray?’ he demanded, his eyes narrowing.

‘They’re men my grandmother hired to protect me,’ I hurriedly constructed another ramshackle lie. ‘She, um… knows a few people whom nobody wants to cross.’

‘Your grandmother?’ The captain’s eyebrows shot up, no doubt thinking of the deaf little old lady he had met a few days ago. He eyed the bulks of my dark-skinned bodyguards again. ‘Um… an impressive old lady. I wouldn’t have thought she’d have it in her.’

‘She has hidden depths,’ I assured him solemnly. ‘And very powerful contacts. There’s not a man in Alexandria who would dare to bring her wrath down on him.’

He eyed the bodyguards again. ‘I can readily believe that. At any rate, I’m glad to hear that you’re both well.’