Silk and Secrets(121)

Leaning out the window, she watched Ross's descent down the side of the building with concentrated interest. Earlier he had explained how mountain climbers used a rope to lower themselves quickly down a cliff face, but this was the first time she had seen the technique in actual use.

After he reached the ground, it was Juliet's turn. She took one last look around to check that nothing had been forgotten, smiling a little as she thought of her one concession to sentiment. Without telling Ross, she had decided to take her dance costume of the night before. Feather-light, it had been easy to fold the veils and conceal them in a pocket under her robes. God willing, perhaps she could dance again at Serevan.

Juliet put sentiment aside and went out the window. After reaching the ground, she tugged one end of the line so that the length slithered around the bed leg upstairs, then dropped down beside her.

Swiftly Ross coiled the rope and slung it over his shoulder so that there would be no telltale evidence of their departure. Since their apartment upstairs was barred from the inside, with luck it would take until midday tomorrow for the nayeb's servants to realize that the prisoners had escaped.

With Juliet leading the way and Ross a dozen paces behind, they began quietly circling the edge of the gardens, staying in the shadows even though there was only a sliver of moon. Since it was summer, most of the household slept on the flat rooftops for coolness, and unexpected noises might alert a restive sleeper.

For a very reasonable bribe, Zadeh, the helpful guard, had promised to unlock a seldom-used postern door at the far end of the compound, so leaving the nayeb's property should be the easiest part of the night's work. Even if Zadeh reneged or had been unable to obtain the key, they had the rope, so it would not be too difficult to scale the wall.

Their Unfortunately, the plan went awry when Juliet slipped cautiously around the corner of the stables only to run straight into the unsteady form of Yawer Shahid Mahmud. He smelled of horse and alcohol. He must have been out drinking in an illicit tavern and by sheer bad luck had just arrived home.

As Juliet backed hastily away, Shahid growled, "Watch where you're going, daous," using a mildly insulting epithet.

Juliet muttered a hoarse apology and tried to circle around him, but it was too late. The dark tagelmoust she had worn to blend into the shadows was now a dead giveaway.

Suddenly realizing whom he had within his grasp, Shahid grabbed her wrists. "Well, if it isn't the ferengi's fancy boy." His voice turned ugly and he twisted her arms back. "Quite a stroke of luck, for I'm in the mood to finish what I started before, and you won't catch me unaware this time."

Juliet stood still, making no attempt to escape. With Ross right behind her, she wasn't worried about what Shahid might do, but the officer's voice was so loud that she feared he might wake the grooms sleeping above the stables.

"It's time I saw your face." With surprising swiftness he managed to secure both of her wrists with one beefy fist, then lifted his other hand toward her veil.

No longer content to passively await rescue, Juliet jerked back and kicked at her captor's ankle. Where the devil was Ross?

She got her answer an instant later when she saw a flicker of movement behind the Uzbek, but before Ross could strike, Shahid sensed his presence. With a bellow, the yawer released Juliet and started to spin around. His shout was cut off by the sickening thud of a heavy pistol butt smashing into a human skull. Shahid pitched sideways, hitting the hard ground like a falling oak.

Juliet stared down at the massive sprawling figure. "Do you think he's dead?"

"Unfortunately not, but he'll have the devil's own headache when he wakes up." Ross tucked his pistol inside his coat. "So much for our well-laid plans. Let's get out of here and hope that no one will wake up and come out to investigate."

As they sprinted the last hundred yards to the postern, Juliet knew that they had been lucky that Shahid had not had a chance to see Ross's disguise. The postern door, praise God, was unlocked as it was supposed to be.

That was as far as their luck went. Even as Ross pulled the door closed behind them, they heard excited voices rising in the gardens. The unconscious officer had been found.

Juliet swore under her breath. When Shahid awoke, it wouldn't take him long to realize that the ferengi had escaped and the hunt would be on. Still, the alarm would probably not be raised until morning, so it should not affect tonight's attempt to extricate the prisoner from the Black Well.

The streets outside the compound were silent, for the king's drums had already beat out the curfew. Anyone abroad at this hour was required to carry a lantern. Since patrols enforced the law, Juliet and Ross kept to the shadows, hoping no one would see and remember their passing. She led, unerringly finding her way through the twisting maze of streets she had studied for weeks.