"Are you ready?" Damon whispered close to Elizabeth's ear.
Elizabeth's throat was too dry to respond, so she nodded.
While planning for this moment, they'd discussed the tactic they'd use in subduing the bearers, and from her actions at the horse fair, Elizabeth convinced Damon she was up to it. Now, as she stared at the scene before her, she wasn't so confident she could carry out her part.
"Elizabeth?" She flinched when she felt Damon's hand on her arm. "You take the smaller man. He's feeling the effects of the opium. I'll take care of the rest."
He kissed her then and bolted into the room...
CHAPTER 13
Rushing, binding and gagging the men happened so quickly, the men didn't have a chance to respond, but when Elizabeth went to snatch the opal from its jeweled box on the palanquin, she found the box empty. Hooking an elbow around the neck of the smaller man, she held her knife to his throat, and said, "Where is the opal?"
The man shrugged.
Damon took the knife from Elizabeth, held the man in his own vise grip, pressed the blade to the man's throat until it drew a thin line of blood, and said in a commanding voice, "You've got three seconds to tell us where the opal is or I'll slit your throat."
Eyes wide with fright, the man nodded in the direction of a small leather trunk.
Elizabeth rushed over and raised the lid and found inside a small pasteboard box. When she opened it, the Burning of Troy peered out at her like a living breathing thing. If she could take it and leave, she would, but before they'd have time to flee, the prince would be expecting the bearers to parade it in front of the bleachers and place it on display. He was waiting for it now, and guards were posted everywhere in preparation for the presentation of the opal, so they had no choice but to continue with their plan.
"Hurry and switch stones," Damon said in an urgent voice. "We need to get out there."
Elizabeth hastily untied the pouch lashed to her leg, and after exchanging the bogus opal for the Burning of Troy, placed the real gem in the pouch and put the false stone in the jeweled box on the palanquin and closed the glass lid over it.
With the men gagged and blindfolded, Elizabeth untied their hands long enough for Damon to strip off their tunics, and the feet of the smaller man so he could remove his trousers, then they rebound the men and dragged them into a storeroom and shut the door. Damon quickly donned the larger bearer's tunic while Elizabeth slipped off her skirt and pulled on the trousers of the smaller bearer. But when she went to put on the man's tunic, Damon looked at her in alarm, and said, "You need to bind your chest or you'll never pass as a bearer."
Elizabeth looked down. "I have nothing to bind them with."
"You won't be needing this." Damon ripped a wide panel from her skirt. "Raise your arms."
"I need to retrieve the vial of serpentina first." Elizabeth started fumbling with the lacing on her chemise that held the vial, but the tiny silk cord had knotted and she could not untie it.
"Bloody hell!" Damon snapped the lacing, leaving the camisole gaping open, and shoved the vial of serpentina into the pocket of his trousers. "Raise your arms and let's get this done!"
Elizabeth lifted her elbows and stood rigid while Damon wrapped the cloth around her chest and secured the ends of the fabric to hold it in place. After pulling on the tunic, she stuffed her hair into the bearer's pugree, then they spread brown bistre on their faces and hands. Darkness had settled in, so with the aid of dim lighting they were convinced they'd pass as the bearers. After stowing their discarded clothes in the trunk, Damon shut the lid and they lifted the poles of the palanquin onto their shoulders.
They made their way down a long corridor to the bleachers where they paraded to the cheers of an opium-inebriated crowd and set the palanquin on a raised platform directly in front of the prince. Then they took their places at opposite ends of the palanquin.
The prince eyed the opal through the glass. Brows drawn, he leaned forward and raised the lid with one tapered finger and eyed the opal more closely. The man sitting beside him also bent over the stone, and the two of them seemed to be discussing it. The prince shook his head slightly, as if in doubt, then he reached out to lift the opal from the box, but just as his fingers closed around it, the man beside him passed him the opium pipe, and the prince released his fingers from the stone and took the pipe instead. After drawing in a long slow puff, he settled back and closed his eyes. Another long draw and the opal seemed to have been forgotten.
Elizabeth and Damon stood silently at each end of the palanquin, where they'd remain until the animal fight, at which time they'd discreetly make their exit. Other than the tense moment when the prince reached for the stone, their plan had gone without incident. In fact, everything had fallen into place like clockwork. Elizabeth never expected to have the opal in their possession so quickly, and so easily, and once the animal fight would be well underway and the prince focused on that, they'd slip off and make their way out of the compound and to the Hugli River, where the boatman would be waiting to take them across to Calcutta.
While looking over a crowd eager for the horse and tiger fight to begin, Elizabeth caught sight of a red turban and saw the hideous little man, who now had the monkey on his shoulder. Again, the man's eyes were fixed on her. Not far from the man stood the snake charmer, who was also watching them, intently. There was no question, both men knew what she and Damon were up to, and both were waiting, patiently.
She wasn't concerned about the small man with the monkey. She was sure she could handle him on her own, but the snake charmer with the cobra was another matter. She pressed her hand to her chest then remembered Damon had the vial of serpentina. She prayed they wouldn't need it, but while she mulled over how to let Damon know both men were watching them, the clang of iron, followed by billows of dust and the sound of hooves, silenced the cacophony of voices.
A formidable looking black horse, impressive by its enormous size and intimidating demeanor, rushed into the enclosure and came to a dust-billowing halt on stiff legs. Head raised, nostrils flaring, ears twitching, the horse spun around, and froze. Catching the scent of tiger, the horse raced toward the far end of the enclosure where a heavy iron gate separated him from a huge feline. In a display of fury and frustration, the horse raised up on his hindquarters and pawed at the cross work of iron, battering it with its hooves. But while the horse focused on getting to the out-of-reach tiger, a gate clanged open at the opposite end of the enclosure and a tiger crept in on bent legs and crouched on its belly.
The horse spun around, braced it hooves against the ground and stared down the tiger. Accepting the challenge, the tiger rushed the horse and sprang. Anticipating the action, the horse bent its front legs, lowering its shoulders, and instead of knocking the horse over so it could disembowel it, the tiger landed on the horse's back. In an instant, the horse twisted in midair and lashed out so violently it threw the tiger off, sending it plummeting to the ground and landing with an audible thud on its back. Dragging itself up, the tiger rushed the horse. Again, the horse lowered its front end and lashed out, hurling the tiger to the ground.
Disheartened, the tiger turned and fled.
The clang of iron echoed from the opposite end, and the tiger that the horse had been trying to get to earlier, crept into the enclosure and waited, motionless. The horse stared it down, but the tiger refused to fight. When prodders came at the tiger with iron spikes, the horse rushed the prodders, sending them fleeing for their lives and the tiger running out of the compound. During the melee, Elizabeth studied the prince. Not only was he enthralled by what was going on in the enclosure, but he was clearly feeling the effects of the opium.
Realizing this was her chance, she moved to stand beside Damon and said, "We're being watched… the snake charmer and the man with the monkey. I suspect Istvan Czinka's plan is for me to snatch the opal and them to take it from me. He knew I'd be coming after it, not to return it to them but to recover it for you. I'm certain he knows
by now I'm Lady Ravencroft."
Damon tipped his head close to hers. "They may not have been sent by the gypsies, at least not the man with the monkey. He's the jewel broker I bought the opal from. The snake charmer didn't see us switch the stones because when we left the area where the entertainers were waiting he was charming a snake, so the jewel broker must have followed us down the corridor and watched what happened and relayed it to the snake charmer."
"It seems that way," Elizabeth said. "I just hope we can get out of here and away from both of them before the prince takes a closer look at his opal."
Damon glanced back at the prince. "I doubt he'll be looking any time soon, at least not before morning. He's too busy enjoying the effects of his opium."
Elizabeth glanced at the prince, who was taking another puff of his pipe, then looked down at the enclosure. "Maybe we should make our exit now. Things are under control in the enclosure, and there doesn't appear to be any more tigers to turn loose."
Damon pointed to where the first tiger had entered the enclosure. "Behind that iron gate... they're about to turn out some buffalo. We can leave when that gets underway."
Elizabeth nodded and returned to her place at the end of the palanquin. As she waited, she scanned the crowd for the snake charmer and the man with the monkey, but both had vanished. While she weighed the ramification of that, three buffalo were turned into the enclosure. The horse immediately rushed one of the buffalo, kicking it so hard it fell over on its side. The other two animals backed away, refusing to fight. When prodders came at them with spiked irons, the horse turned on the prodders, chasing one down. Raising on hind legs, the horse trampled the man with its front hooves, then pummeled him over and over until all that was left below the deadly hooves was a mass of crushed bones and bloodied clothes.
Sickened by the grisly sight, Elizabeth turned away…
And looked directly at the prince, whose attention was riveted on the gruesome scene below, his lips curved in malevolent pleasure.
While several bearers lured the horse to the opposite end of the compound, and others used shovels to maneuver the broken and bloodied body of the dead man onto a platform to drag him off, Damon caught Elizabeth's eye and gave a nod, which she acknowledged. Unobtrusively, they made their way through the crowd and headed for the corridor from which they'd entered. Again, Elizabeth scanned the spectators for the snake charmer and the man with the monkey, but they were nowhere to be seen.
Knowing their best hope was to get out of the compound as quickly as possible, they rushed up the long darkened corridor toward the room where they'd waited earlier, Damon took Elizabeth's arm, urging her on when she started to fall back. "Don't slow down now," he said. "Any number of people could have seen us abandon our posts at the palanquin and alert the prince or his guards, and the snake charmer and that little bastard of a broker with the monkey could also be close on our heels."
"I'm trying to keep up, but this band around me is so tight, I'm having trouble breathing."
"Hang on. We're almost there." As they neared the waiting area where they'd make their exit, Damon added, "As soon as we're out of here, head down the road to the path leading to the river as fast as you can and don't look back. If I'm not behind you when you get to the boat, don't wait. I'll find my way back."
As luck would have it, both guards were sleeping off the effects of opium. The room was eerily empty. And quiet. No footsteps coming from the direction of the corridor, so it seemed their ploy had worked. Not wanting to arouse the guards, neither spoke as they made their way to the door, where Damon quietly slipped the latch. Once outside, he pulled the door closed, and with barely a sliver of a moon to light the way, they headed down the narrow dirt road.
They hadn't gone far when Elizabeth said, "I really need to get rid of this band around me."
"Let's get to the path and off this road. The path is just beyond the dak bungalow we passed on the way, which is right ahead."
Elizabeth struggled to keep up with Damon's long strides, but as soon as they reached the dak bungalow she stopped and quickly unwrapped the band, releasing a sigh when she could breathe freely again. She'd just lowered her tunic when a sharp pain shot through her leg, drawing a shrill cry, and she knew at once she'd been bitten by a snake.
Damon was immediately at her side. "What happened?"
"Snakebite." Already she began feeling the effects of the venom.
"Lie down and don't move." Damon retrieved the vial of serpentina and poured most of the contents into Elizabeth's mouth. Then he slid his palm under his trousers and pulled his knife from its sheath. Slicing open Elizabeth's pant leg to her knee, he rubbed his hand over her leg until he found a raised area. "Is this where you were bitten?"
"Yes."
Covering the snake bite with his mouth, Damon sucked hard, drawing out what venom he could and spitting it out. After a few more attempts to suck out the venom, he made several incisions around the bite then tipped the vial and rubbed the last of the serpentina into the wound. Glancing around, he spotted the breast-band and ripped off a piece and wrapped it around Elizabeth's leg above her knee as a tourniquet, then shoved the rest of the band into his pocket.
"Don't move or you'll pump venom through your body," he warned. "Even carrying you down the long steep trail would pump venom because it would move you around too much. We'll stay in the dak bungalow and hope no one comes looking for us. So far it's quiet back there."
"I feel so weak… and dizzy. I just… want to sleep," Elizabeth said in a thin voice.
"That's the serpentina working. You can sleep in the dak."
Damon hated the idea of laying Elizabeth on a bed there. Although the small post houses were maintained by the government for travelers, they were always overrun with varmints. Still, she could rest for an hour or so, until the serpentina would make its way through her body and it would be safe for him to carry her to the boat, if the boatman would still be waiting, that is. But once he'd have Elizabeth settled inside the dak he'd make his way to the river and inform the boatman that they'd be detained, and he'd get a monetary bonus worth his wait.
Finding a key in the latch, as was the custom, Damon pushed the door open, sending something scurrying off. In the darkened interior he spotted the indistinct outline of the bed. Returning for Elizabeth, he lifted her in his arms and felt her dead weight and knew she was sleeping off the effects of the serpentina. After laying her on the mattress, he checked her pulse. Finding it strong, and her breathing regular, he knew she was out of imminent danger, as long as she remained quiet. But before leaving to notify the boatman, one thing needed to be done...
***
Elizabeth felt as if she were floating, an odd sort of floating where she'd tip her head and turn in that direction. There were others present. A monkey. Breathing on her. His breath stale. Pungent. Like blood. And water. Rivulets of red water. Bloody water. Floating again. Floating and spinning. Round and round. With the monkey. Water and blood and the monkey curled around her, spinning and spinning. Disoriented, she reached for something to hold onto and felt a pad beneath her. Shanti Bhavan?
She opened her eyes and looked up. Her mother was peering down at her through a veil of netting. She saw her face clearly. Her large brown eyes. The tika in the middle of her forehead. And heard her mother's voice. "I did it for you, Elizabeth. For Kali." Her mother reached under the netting and touched Elizabeth's leg. Her hand lingered there. Her mother's fingers on her leg were welcome. Soothing. Reassuring. Then her mother was gone. It seemed an eternity that Elizabeth lay waiting for her mother to return.
After a while, she opened her eyes, but this time she stared into darkness. There was a pad beneath her, but she wasn't at Shanti Bhavan. And the room reeked of mice droppings and mold. Still, the feel of her mother's fingers on her leg seemed real.
Something skittered across the floor, like tiny feet. Gradually things began to come into focus. The sharp pain in her leg. The dak bungalow. Damon administering serpe
ntina. Then everything went black... Until she saw her mother's face and felt her mother's fingers on her leg.
Absently, she reached for the place where her mother had touched… And everything came into her mind's eye. The pouch. The opal. Missing. And Damon was gone.
The realization came slowly, but surely. Damon took the opal while she was unconscious and left her to die. With her gone, he'd have the opal and Shanti Bhavan—everything he needed to claim his birthright. He'd killed his brother for Westwendham. He'd kill again to keep it. She'd also have to find her way home. Alone.
Sitting uncertainly, she lowered her feet to the floor and started for the door, but before she could reach it she heard the lock turning. Fearing thugees, she staggered back on wobbly feet and sank into the corner behind a chair, and waited.
Slowly the door opened and the shadowy figure of a large man filled the doorway. When he stepped inside, Elizabeth was certain he could hear her breathing.
"Elizabeth?" Damon called out.
Uncertain whether to respond—the knowledge that he'd taken the opal still fresh—she said nothing.
"Elizabeth!" Damon called again, his voice fearful.
She stood on wobbly legs. "I'm here."
"My God!" He rushed over and enfolded her in his arms. "I thought someone had taken you." His voice was clearly anxious. And for the first time since she'd become Damon's wife, Elizabeth felt arms around her in a way that made her feel special, perhaps even loved.
She rested her head against his chest and said nothing. Maybe it was the effects of the snake bite and serpentina, maybe a reaction to the ordeal they'd been through, but she felt a bond with him she could never have imagined two months before. But like her marriage, it was transitory.
Twilight 0f Memory (Historical Regency Romance) Page 17