Page 16 of My Gentleman Spy
He was well experienced in the life of an expatriate, a life he had chosen to lead. The girl in the room next door on the other hand had suddenly and unexpectedly found herself a long way from home, with only him to protect her. Seeing her safely back to England was now his solemnduty.
He put a hand up against the cold glass of the window. The night outside providing a dark backdrop. Staring at his reflection he made avow.
She was one woman he was not going tofail.
He stepped away from the window as fatigue began to get the better of him. He normally slept fully naked, but tonight he thought it prudent to leave his trousers and shirt on. When the difference between life and death could be measured in seconds, time wasted in getting dressed could becrucial.
The hotel manservant who had serviced his room all week, and received generous daily tips in return, had left a bottle of port on the narrow white table to the left of the door. Will abstained from his usual night cap. Tonight he needed to sleeplightly.
From his travel trunk he withdrew a small pistol and loaded it. He then took out a dagger. Deadly sharp and with a handle that had been crafted to fit his grip to perfection it was a weapon that brooked no discussion. The blade gleamed steely silver in the candlelight. More than once it had run red with the blood of another man. He prayed neither weapon would be necessarytonight.
Lying back on the bed; pistol and dagger within easy reach, he closed his eyes. The sound of the sea drifted in through the window bringing a calm balm to hismind.
Within minutes he was asleep, dreaming of wet boots and long flaxenhair.
