Bronnah tries not to show her shock when the door opens. "This is our newest addition to the hotel. It is called a rising room. It makes carrying luggage to and from the guest suites much easier."
“Incroyable! This is incredible.” She smiles as the doors open. “Do you have multiple rising rooms or just the one?” Enjoying her attention, the concierge answers with a grin.
“We have three. One for the kitchen staff, one for the guests and one for the luggage. They come in handy when the hotel gets busy. Of course, the stairs are still in use for safety reasons, in case of a fire and such.”
"You are fortunate to work in such a place." The doors open, and they exit. Bronnah follows down the hall to the door. Inside she can hear giggling and laughter.
“They checked in late, last night,” he explains as he knocks on the door. “Delivery.”
The door is flung open, and Bronnah begins having flashbacks. They are clearly intoxicated and on the table behind them is a pot of tea. Her stomach drops.
"I shall take it from here. Just place the dress boxes on the table." Bronnah begins snapping out orders as she steps past the girl and glances around the room.
“If you need anything else, Miss, just ring.”
“Merci,” she said softly. As soon as he leaves, she hurries to the teapot and opens the lid. Still full. Good. “Hello, girls. How many of you are there?” She asks quickly.
“Oooh, you’re French. I love France! Delilah is French,” A young blonde girl said, and she twirls around.
“Lovely, let’s get your new friends, shall we?”
The young girl's green eyes grow large, “Are we going on a trip?” She grabs Bronnah’s hand and leads her into the suite. Three young girls in total. All exquisite and clearly intoxicated from the tea.
Bronnah thinks quickly, “Grab your bags girls, we are leaving to meet your husband’s now, but you must be very quiet.”
“Why?” Delilah asked in a French accent.
“Well, because…” Bronnah is stumped as she looked at the three of them.
"Is this some kind of game?" She asks, and Bronnah shakes her head yes.
“Exactly, if you want to have the first pick of the men we should go quickly. Okay?” The girls giggle and nod excitedly. “Let’s go. We shall use the stairs.” They descend down three flights of stairs, only one more flight of steps and they will be in the lobby. When the door opens suddenly, Bronnah dives behind it as Ms. Eve steps into view.
“Ms. Eve!” Delilah exclaims. Her eyes fly open in confusion when she sees the girls. Bronnah shushes them with a finger to her lip.
"What in the world? I told you to stay in your room!" Ms. Eve snaps, and Bronnah brings the handle of her derringer down on her head with a thunk. She crumples to the floor, and all of the girls gasp. Bronnah stands over her and soothes them quickly, "Shh, this is all part of the game. Ms. Eve is trying to steal your husbands."
“What in the world would she do with three husbands?” The blonde girls asked with a giggle.
“I have a few ideas,” Delilah replies with a laugh.
Bronnah tries not to laugh as she stuffs the pistol down the cleavage of her dress. “Okay, now follow me to the carriage out front. Stay close.” They walk quickly through the lobby, ignoring the stares of the bellhop and Bronnah opens the door.
Stepping out into the sunlight, she greets the driver with a small smile. “Is he my husband?” One of the girls asked.
Bronnah laughs, “We shall see. Climb in, quickly.”
“What’s all this?” The driver asks, gawking at her.
"That church you spoke of, we need to get there and fast!" She snaps and climbs up front beside him.
"Alright then," he snaps the reigns, and the girls squeal in excitement.
“What kind of trouble am I getting myself into?”
“They are stealing young women and forcing them to do despicable things. We just stole these three back. Now I need a place to hide them until they can reach their families.” He stares at her in shock and a little bit of horror.
"We did, and who are they?" He demands, whipping the carriage down an alley, he often uses for shortcuts.
“The Chen,” she murmurs softly.
"I don't feel so good," the blonde girl says as the carriage comes to a stop in front of a large church.
“The Chen!” He shouts. “I heard tale of them searching for someone. Was that you?”
“Maybe it’s time they had a taste of their own medicine. Please, you are the only chance these girls have at escaping. Please say you will help them!” Bronnah begs with tears in her eyes.
"You're a bloody handful, aren't ya?" He groans when one of the girls vomits in the grass. "Aye, I'll help." He leaps down and opens the door to help guide them inside. A second girl vomits on the ground behind the wheel.
“Are you my husband?” Delilah lays a hand on his chest and asks in a French accent.
He grins and shoves his hat back on his head as he looks her over. “Only in my dreams, love.”
"They've been drugged. It will need to wear off. I have to go." Aimee's dress shop is three blocks from the church. She grabs her carpet bag and shoves her wrist bag inside. "Don't worry about The Chen. They're looking for me. I plan on keeping them busy," Bronnah says with a smile.
"Let's get inside ladies, inside," he encourages and turns back to watch Bronnah disappear.
High on the success, Bronnah is giddy as she nears Aimee’s dress shop. “I can’t believe that worked!” When she hears the screaming and sirens
