chest, he handed her the lantern. Then he heaved to his knees, then to his feet, and ran, crouched, to the door.
When his boots touched the bricks in the rear, the other woman gently closed the door.
“Where are them constables?” she asked.
“Take the lantern,” he instructed. “We’ll have tae circle the buildings, thanks to that wall blocking the way.”
A half-seen hand snatched the lantern from Lady Elizabeth’s grip and the woman trotted back the way Dougal had come. He could see the hitch in her step as her bare feet caught sharp edges and stray rocks. Had the villains taken her shoes?
He considered leading them to the Leith Central Railway station. It was only a mile to the first Edinburgh station from there. But at this time of the night, no trains would be running. No, it was best to get the girls to the constables at the police station, and hope Lady Elizabeth would depart for London with him as soon as they’d told their tale and divested themselves of the other victim of the white slavers.
The lady in question turned her head slowly, taking in their surroundings as they moved through the wynd. “I don’t remember being brought here,” she whispered.
He shushed her. As much as he wanted to hear her story, this was not the time.
They were past the warehouse prison and halfway down the length of the next building when he heard a door fly open and bang against stone.
“I ken there were more,” said a nasally voice.
Dougal froze and did his best to become part of the wall. In front of him, the woman did the same. He was grateful both women wore dark clothes.
“They aren’t ’ere now,” said a second voice.
“I’m not imagining ’er,” said the first man. “Ye ken, the pretty one we took from Cross’s flat. ’Is maid.”
The other man swore. “You’re right. And I willna ’ave that trip be taken for nothing. We found no valuables in the flat.”
“So where’s the girl, then?”
Dougal took a step forward, bumping the ambulatory girl. He heard her sharply exhaled breath. She crept forward, but he knew they were done for. If only Lady Elizabeth could walk. He balanced her against his shoulder and found her arms, trying to get her to understand that she needed to clasp them around his neck so he would have a hand free. After a moment, she seemed to understand and wrapped slim arms around his neck. He put his right hand to his holster, creeping forward all the while, and found his first gun.
One shot, two men. If he’d had two hands free, he could have taken them both, but he didn’t dare risk the words to ask her if she could walk. He suspected the answer anyway. She’d tried to walk before and failed.
Could he prop her against the back of the warehouse? No, she’d risk being shot. Really, she might be safer on the ground, crawling like a child.
He crept another step, trying to block her body with his shoulder as much as he could, while keeping his gun ready to fire.
“Oy!” called one of the men.
The blood froze in Dougal’s veins. Had they been spotted? He stepped again, the other woman’s breath harsh in his left ear.
He wanted to tell her to run, but if he spoke, they were surely done for. How much longer before they reached the edge of the building? Thick bursts of rain splashed onto his hat as they passed under a failed part of a gutter. He heard the woman’s breath catch. Had she reached the edge?
“I see ye,” said the man. “Stop moving, ye swine.”
Dougal fired, catching the man in the arm instead of the chest, as he had intended. “Run!” he yelled.
The woman broke away from him but ran straight, going deeper into the wynd instead of in between the buildings and back to the docks where the constables were. But surely they’d come running when they heard a shot. He shoved his smoking pistol into his jacket and ducked between the buildings, hearing the whine of a shot passing much too close to his ears.
Tempting fate, he set Lady Elizabeth down.