Silence No More

19. The Ambrosian Mystery

A thoughtful pause.

"Hm, well...that makes sense I guess."

"I know. Now keep it down and follow me. We've only got one chance of sneaking out of here."

"And whose fault is that?"

"Oy! Don't look at me like that. I phrased my request for our little trip perfectly reasonably."

"And by reasonable you mean telling your father 'We've gotta go beat up some bastard macho man who's making a move on our friend, and chop his dick off if we get the chance'?"

A pause.

"All right, maybe I could have worded that better."

"You don't say."

"But in my defence, I still say any reasonable parents would have let us go."

"Ah. Is that why mine threatened to lock me in the cellar when they heard about it?"

Another pause.

"Reasonable parents are rare these days."

"Patsy?"

"Yes?"

"Shut up and move!"

Inconspicuously—or as inconspicuously as three young women in hoop skirts and carrying heavy luggage could be—the group of friends moved away from the house. Only to come to a complete halt a few moments later, when they arrived in front of a wrought iron fence.

"Eve? Flora?"

"Yes, Patsy?"

"How did you get in here when you arrived?"

"Err...through the gates? It was still daytime. The servants just let us in."

There was a pause.

"Damn!"

"That's one way of putting it."

"So...did anyone bring a ladder?"

Roughly half an hour, a lot of cursing and ladder-searching later, three shadowy figures could be seen clambering up an iron fence. The first one hesitated for a moment at the top.

"Oh my...I feel like a burglar. Do you think there are any bobbies around, Patsy?"

"Get down right now before we find out the hard way, you bloody idiot!"

"Good idea. There's just one problem with that, Patsy."

"Yes?"

"How? There's no ladder on the other side."

"Slide down the fence posts, numbskull!"

"Oh. Yes, that should work. Should be rather easyyyyyyyyaaaaah!"

Thud!

"Ow!"

Back at the house, a light lit up, and, a moment later, one of the windows slid open. "Who's there? Show yourself!"

"Oh heck! They've heard us! Run, everyone! Run!"

"Heeeelp! Burglars! Burglars in my home!"

"Run, girls! Run!"

It was only when they had put three streets and a good bit of distance between themselves and the annoyingly unreasonable parents that the girls dared to slow down again.

"That...pant, pant...went well...pant!"

"Oy! What's with the sarcasm? We got away, didn't we?"