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The intensity in Mr Tate’s gaze was starting to unnerve her.
“I don’t know. Anyway, Mr Tate, now that I have passed the information on, I will take my leave. Good day to you,” Tahlia said briskly to discourage any further questions.
A stilted silence settled in their wake as they walked out of the house. Neither of them looked back until they reached the street outside of the house.
Connor closed the door behind them because there was no housekeeper around to do it, and shook his head at Tahlia in disbelief.
“How odd,” she whispered as soon as they reached the main road.
“Come on, let’s go,” Connor murmured, eager to leave the area.
“Heaven’s above,” she hissed as they hurried side-by-side toward the street. “Do you really think we should be getting caught up in this?”
“No, I don’t,” Connor replied darkly. “Not at all, but do you see any way we can get out of it?”
“No,” she replied honestly.
“No, neither can I,” Connor sighed.
Thankfully, the smog had started to lift, just as dusk had begun to cast everything in shadow. Tahlia wasn’t sure which was worse; not being able to see anything because of the thick fog, or not being able to see because of the dark. She was afraid of the dark. She hated it in fact, and once again found herself edging closer to Connor as they walked through the streets.
“I hate this,” Tahlia whispered. “There is something wrong.”
Connor had been scouring the area as they walked. He wanted to hail a carriage because it was too far to walk all the way to Gillingham House. The only problem with that was that all of the coachmen were bundled up against the cold. They looked just like the coachman who had driven the carriage for the gunman. He couldn’t risk handing Tahlia into a coach with a gunman inside.
Tahlia glanced around and willed herself to remain calm.
“Do you think it is just the memory of what happened to you earlier that worries you?” Connor asked gently.
“I would like to say not, but I really don’t know if it is just the strangeness of the meeting with Mr Tate that has left me a little on edge,” she replied honestly.
“He was strange, I will grant you that,” Connor breathed.
He suspected they were being followed but didn’t want to scare Tahlia until he could be certain. He wasn’t used to spending much time with women, though, and it wasn’t long before she picked up on the tension coursing through him.
“Why are we going so fast?” she gasped as she struggled to keep up with his rapid pace.
Connor looked down at her and nodded to the opposite side of the street.
“Let’s cross over shall we?” he murmured.
Tahlia found her elbow captured in a firm hold before she was practically forced across the street. Connor took the opportunity to glance around, and spied two men walking toward them on opposite side of the street to each other. It was clear from the look they passed between them that they knew each other. If that wasn’t enough proof they were related to the muggers, the features of the man with the heavily bruised face were awfully familiar to Connor. He swore roundly.
“What is it?” Tahlia gasped. She tried to look behind them but Connor dodged behind her and nudged her forward. “Connor?”
He couldn’t lie to her but he didn’t want to terrify her. Circumstances thwarted him when a large carriage appeared at the end of the street. When the shutter slid down to reveal a darkened interior, Connor pushed Tahlia into an alley. The explosion of the brickwork beside them told him everything he needed to know.
Connor knew they only had seconds before they would be cornered in the alleyway. Spying a door further down, he raced toward it dragging Tahlia with him. Once there, he pushed it open and propelled her into the room. Slamming it closed behind them, he wedged it closed with a barrel and pushed through the back of the shop.
“Oi!” The burly shopkeeper yelled when he realised his premises had been invaded.
“Sorry, but someone is trying to mug us,” Connor gasped. He pointed to the door. “If they try to get in they are muggers. Watch your shop; they will be after your cash.”
The outrage on the shopkeepers face was enough to divert the man’s fury, and buy Tahlia and Connor the time they needed to escape.
“Which way out?”
The man pointed to the far corner of the property. Connor didn’t wait for instruction and worked his way through the rooms until they reached a small yard. Peeking out through the gate, he heaved a sigh of relief to find a narrow alley stretching between a long row of shops and houses. While it wasn’t perfect, it would give them the time Connor needed to get Tahlia out of the area.
