I dropped a two-pound coin on her tray. “Thank you!”
“Ta, yerself. And mind you don’t go up them stairs. Office is up there, and I’ll catch hell if any of the brass sees yeh, aye?”
“Got it. And thanks again.”
She rolled her eyes. “Ach, you aren’t the first and ye won’t be the last to need an escape route from wee Rabbie. For all his endowments, the man’s a menace to anything with a vagina.”
“Or a bound foot,” I muttered, as I pushed my way toward the door and my freedom.
It was slightly less crowded at the back of the pub, but even so, the door was located in such a dark corner it was hard to see. When I shook the handle, it felt like it was locked. I looked over my shoulder to see the server in conversation with Rabbie. Then they turned and looked right at me. I grabbed the handle with both hands and yanked it with all my strength.
The door swung open and I threw myself inside, only to come face-to-face with the brunette woman with the backpack, just coming down the stairs. She was no longer holding a drink, since her free hand was in her pocket, but the loaded pack was still slung over her shoulder.
“I—I …” she began, but I interrupted her.
“You,” I said, “just saved my life.”
Her expression could best be described as somewhat confused. “I saved your … what?”
“OI!” came a man’s voice from the top of the stairs. “That you, Helen? We’re out of bluidy ink!”
She shot a look up the stairs and I held my finger to my lips. Behind her in the dim stairwell, a brass doorknob gleamed under a sign that said Door Alarmed. I took a deep breath and turned the knob. Icy night-time air swirled in, but no alarm went off.
“HELEN?” called the voice, and we both piled outside and hastily slammed the door behind us.
I set off in the direction of the hostel, and the girl kept pace with me, tucking her head into a voluminous wool scarf.
“Thanks,” I said as we hurried up the street. “I owe you one.”
“Yeah,” she said, and shot me a grin. “Apparently I jes’ saved yer feckin’ life for yeh.”
I grinned back at her. “You did. I’ve been held captive in there for the past hour by a sex-crazed gnome. Dwarf. I—I mean, little person.”
She laughed. “An’ here I thought you Americans were all about the political correctness.”
“He called himself Rabbie the Gnome—I swear! Anyway, I told him you were my cousin Susan. Didn’t you hear him yell at you? He practically deafened everyone in the place.”
She laughed again. “No, I didn’t. But it’s funny, that—because me name is Susan.”
I stopped in the street and stared at her. “Seriously?”
She nodded. “Yeah. Fer real, an all. Susan D—Susan O’Donnell.”
She stuck out her hand and I shook it. “Emma Sheridan.”
She nodded at my backpack. “Where are ye stayin’, when yer not trying to avoid randy gnomes?”
I pointed up the street. “My hostel’s up that way.”
“Really? Mine, too. I’ll walk wit’ ye. Luckily, we Irish are good at protectin’ ourselves from the wee folk.”
I laughed. “Oh, you’re from Ireland? Whereabouts?”
She inclined her head. “The Republic, o’course. Yeh evir been?”
“No. This is my first time in the United Kingdom.”
“Ah, well, and you with such an Irish name, and all. I’m a Dubliner. Headin’ north to visit family on Skye. When I’m not rescuing fair Americans.”
I grinned. “Well, you know, his friend was cute, and seemed pretty nice until Rabbie arrived. He was an unbelievable horn-dog.”
She laughed. “Horn dog, eh? I’ve niver heard that one, but I like it. Horn dog.” She repeated it with an American accent, and I laughed too. Her accent was terrible.
We walked up the street as the wind from the river tried its best to freeze every exposed bit of my flesh. I had my hood pulled up but was seriously envying Susan her scarf by the time we neared the hostel.
“This is me,” I said, stepping into the shelter of the doorway.
She glanced up at the sign over the door. “Away wit’ yeh! Me too!”
We had to step aside as a loudly chattering group of young males tumbled out the doorway. Susan gave me a thoughtful look.
“What’re yer plans for tomorrow?”
I shrugged. “I—uh—just looking around for old stone circles, actually.”
She jammed her hands further in her pockets. “Care to meet for coffee in the morning before you set out? I’ve a mind to see a few sights around here before I head north. If you’re willin’ to put up wit’ the company.”