But she couldn’t stop. She wasn’t far enough away. He could still find her.
Tight, ragged breath didn’t give her enough air, but that wasn’t important right now. She had to run, and she scrambled up yet again and ran, hoping ground would meet her feet. Step after step, carrying her away from him, until she stumbled again and hit the ground. Up she went again, running once more.
Some shape emerged in front of her and it looked like a boulder of some kind and she veered toward it. Her hands met cold hardness and she worked her way around until she could wedge herself in a crevasse between two large boulders. Making herself as small as she could, she stayed.
Hearing over her breathing and her heart was impossible. Her pulse rang in her ears, but she tried to listen over it.
“Come, woman,” a man said. “You’ll freeze to death here.”
She heard him walking around. It sounded as though he was some ways from her, but she didn’t dare look.
“You’re not dressed for a night in the cold,” he said as if he hoped to coax her out. “You won’t be harmed.”
Well, he would say that, wouldn’t he, she thought bitterly, refusing to budge. Her palms hurt, her knees, her head and back, and she felt blood on her face. Everything hurt.
The man searched and searched, still trying to coax her out.
It wasn’t a voice she recognized. Although it could be someone disguising his voice, she supposed.
Closing her eyes, she tried to breathe as softly as she could. Her lungs screamed for air, and part of her mind was screaming endlessly, but she had enough control of herself to not give it voice.
Instinctively she knew his man wasn’t going to be swayed by pleading. He was after something and she was in the way. The best, and only, thing she could do was remain hidden.
As her eyes adjusted, she saw trees further ahead and snow up above. Her heart beat powerfully, but she tried to be as calm and quiet as she could. There was a fight inside her whether to close her eyes. It would calm her, but the panic inside her said she wouldn’t see him coming with her eyes closed.
Steeling herself and her panic, she closed her eyes. Eyes were easier to see in the dark as they reflected light. Luckily, she’d chosen her darker blue dress that day, which means she didn’t shine like a beacon. Hidden and quiet, she would be hard to see, so she kept her eyes closed and wished him away.
The man searched for a while longer. She heard him swear again, clearly not happy about her escape, but eventually, she heard him climb up on the road and onto the cart. It was hard to tell which direction he went, but she heard him drive away.
Something inside her was elated she’d ruined his plans, but he was also right in that she was not dressed to be out in this weather dressed as she was.
The chill from the boulders around her started to seep into her already, making every ache and pain more pronounced.
Chapter 23
IN THE DARK, CLEMMIE CRIED, not believing the awfulness that had just happened to her. Her life had been in danger. A man had been intent on doing her harm. That had never happened to her before. Part of her still couldn’t believe it had happened, that it could happen. Really, the only thing she’d ever feared had been pickpockets—or social disgrace, which was infinitely more damaging.
But this was something else entirely. This was outside the realm of understanding. And somehow, she’d escaped. Panic had driven her to do things she hadn’t believed herself capable of doing, but now she was stuck in the dark, in the cold.
It was too cold to stay as she was. She wouldn’t survive. Her dress wasn’t sturdy enough for exposure to the elements. Having saved herself from one fate, she might have run toward another.
Her cheeks were wet and she tried hard not to make any noise. Angrily, she wiped the wetness away and tried to pull herself together. Panic wouldn’t get her out of this. No one was going to save her. People back at the hotel didn’t even know she was gone, probably, and she would be frozen solid before anyone found her. Maybe not solid, as it wasn’t cold enough. Really, was this the thoughts she occupied herself with now? It didn’t matter the degree to which she froze, only that she’d be dead.
The boulders behind her were seeping warmth out of her. She couldn’t stay. Movement was the only thing that would save her, but she feared the man. Although it sounded like he’d left, she couldn’t know for sure that it wasn’t a ruse. A patient man would make her think he’d left and then simply wait for her to emerge.
That made the road dangerous, because that is where he’d look for her. And who knew how far away from the hotel she’d been taken? She could be miles from anywhere.
No, she had to do something or the elements would claim her. Carefully, she stood up, trying not to make noise. Nothing was seen. No light from a lamp, but that didn’t mean he was gone.
The moon was dulled by clouds which made it dark. That both helped and hindered her. She couldn’t be seen, but neither could she see.
Now that she wasn’t running blindly, it was much more worrying putting a foot in front of her, because she didn’t know if ground would be there to meet her, or if she was walking
