“Monsieur, one last thing. The men. The tall one. He was the one who smacked his reins over the face of his horse. His scar-faced companion addressed him as Vincent.”
Gus clutched the pebbles tightly in his hand.
He had taken several more steps toward the back of the hotel, ready to toss pebbles at the window of his and Evangeline’s room, when a loud whistle echoed through the yard. Whirling round, he caught sight of the boy, pointing frantically toward the walkway which led from the front of the hotel into the stables.
A risky glance confirmed Gus’s worse fears. Vincent Marec and one of his crew had just stepped out of the tavern across the road and were headed this way.
“Go! Take the horses. I will get Evangeline!”
He dropped the small stones and picked up a sizeable rock, took aim, and launched it at the window of his and Evangeline’s room.
Evangeline checked herself in the mirror one last time. It wasn’t the best that she had ever looked, but it would have to do. The coffee and food had been excellent and were settling nicely in her stomach.
From the happy way Gus had bustled about their room earlier, it was clear he had managed to get some sleep. She had got a few hours rest in the hour or two before dawn. Before that, she had lain awake for what felt like the longest time simply watching Gus as he slept. The glow from the flames in the fireplace had softly lit the room. His chest had risen and fallen with his breathing, the steady beat a comforting cadence.
She had intended to turn over and try sleeping with her back to him, but sometime in the middle of the night he had slipped an arm around her, and not wishing to disturb his deep slumber, she had remained where she was.
It had been nice, being held by him. Comforting.
“Now we just need to get some miles behind us today without any trouble.”
Gathering her things, she picked up her coffee cup and drained the last of it.
Good coffee should never be allowed to go to waste.
CRASH!
The window of their room exploded. Shards of glass shattered everywhere. A series of stones quickly followed through the new hole. Whoever was in the yard was clearly determined to get her attention.
Leaning over the table she peered out. Down below, she caught sight of Gus waving his arms frantically above his head. When their gazes met, he put a finger to his lips. She nodded. He wanted her to be quiet.
If you were going for subtle, why did you just heave a rock through the window?
He pointed at her, then at the ground.
He wants me outside. Alright.
Another stone made its way into the room. Evangeline huffed. “This is ridiculous. If you want to play charades, you are not supposed to be using projectiles.”
She shuffled the table to one side and poked her head through the hole in the glass. Gus was now standing right below it.
“What?” she mouthed.
“Vincent and one of his men are here. They will probably be talking to the innkeeper and asking about you. I’m afraid that there is nothing else to do but for you to climb down,” he called in a hurried whisper.
Evangeline quickly unlatched the window frame and swung it fully open. It was a good ten feet to the courtyard below. Not high enough to kill her, but if she didn’t hit the ground cleanly, there was a risk that she could injure herself quite badly. “Oh, sweet heavens, what am I to do?” she muttered.
Gus gestured toward the window ledge and the nearby drainpipe. Evangeline took one look at it and vehemently shook her head. The pipe was old, possibly the original one from when Hotel Vent de Mer had been built.
Her choices, however, were limited. If she stayed in the room, she was dead. The climb out the window, while also suicidal, at least gave her a remote chance of survival.
She hitched up her skirts, tying a rough knot in the gathered fabric. It wasn’t the best solution, but at least it would stop her gown from catching on the broken glass or her hem getting in the way.
The window was a tight fit. She squeezed feet first through the narrow gap, doing her best not to get impaled or cut by the sharp fragments.
With the toes of her boots the only thing with any real purchase on the ledge, she shuffled along until she reached the drainpipe.
The whole time she undertook this insane endeavor, she was the subject of Gus’s fevered whispers. “Hurry. You must hurry.”
