Rachel's Story

Chapter 11

Muhuwahahahaha...evil of me to stop where I did, wasn't it? But in atonement I am ending your troubles now itself, within the same day. See, I am a good girl. The camera zooms in on one Rachel Warren once again!

CHAPTER 11

A cool hand on her forehead was the first thing she could feel. With an inaudible sigh, she leant more into the soothing fingers. Slowly, she became conscious of a low voice frantically calling someone named Miss Warren over and over again. Just as it was becoming really annoying and she was about to tell the voice to desist so that she could sleep some more in peace, she recalled herself with a start. "I know that name. Oh, it’s me!" she realized sheepishly.

She didn't want to open her eyes; she was feeling very comfortable just then, and subconsciously knew that this feeling won't last once she awoke properly; but the Voice was very persistent. With a low groan, Rachel tentatively blinked her eyes open.

The darkness was the first thing that she noticed. It took her a while to adjust her eyesight properly before she could see any of the details of this room, but she knew instinctively that she had never been here before. It was dingy and bare except for the one cot on which she was currently lying. The darkness was due to the fact that there seemed to be no ventilation in the room - the one window was shuttered tight and the door appeared to be closed as well. Finally, her questing glance found the person so anxious to wake her up.

It was Andrew Fairfax. He was holding her hand now, rubbing it as he strove to keep his voice decibel to a minimum. He appeared half-crazed with concern, his hair mussed up, dark circles under his eyes and clothes crumpled as if he had slept in them last night. Last night, hmm? So today must be the next day, she thought haphazardly. By the way, what day is it? Have I been unconscious for long? I remember a journey...to ...to London, of course! We stopped for some reason and...

A hand! she remembered triumphantly. A hand hit my head hard. But what happened to Andrew? He was there as well. Did he bring me here? What happened?

He is here now; another, calmer voice interjected in her head, stopping her rising panic. Why don't you ask him yourself?

By now Andrew had become aware that Rachel had regained consciousness. A look of stark relief crossed his visage and his grip on her hand tightened momentarily, before he closed his eyes and managed to rein in his emotions.

"Thank the heavens, you are safe!" he ejaculated. "I could never have forgiven myself if anything had happened to you. Can you move your head?" When she complied obediently, he smiled with approval and waited expectantly for a minute. Then he frowned slightly. "Please say something. Are you hurt?"

"No," Rachel replied thoughtfully, after taking a mental inventory of all her faculties. She was disheveled to an embarrassing degree, she seemed to have lost her bonnet and gloves somewhere and she was feeling extremely ravenous; but otherwise, her body was relatively unharmed. Her head, of course, was another matter. "Not hurt, at least not much. But I am awfully nonplussed. Who would want to attack me? And is this..." her breathing spiked on realizing her circumstances, "am I being kept prisoner? What is going on, Andrew?"

His eyes flickered at the unintentional use of his given name, but he did not call attention to it. Instead, he set about to calm her fears. "Shhh, it's alright. Yes, you were kidnapped and you are a prisoner here. But I have come to rescue you now. Let us escape from here first, and then I will explain everything to the best of my ability. Your kidnappers might be along any moment. Can you stand up?"

Half guiding and half supporting her, he led her to the door where, by the dint of a twisted hairpin, he had earlier picked the lock. Taking her hand and bidding her to lie low, he maneuvered them both into the corridor outside. Rachel could hear voices in the distance, and it was evident from Andrew's tense features that he was well aware of them too. "Keep your ears open for any suspicious sounds, your eyes peeled and your mouth shut," he whispered edgily in her ear, sending involuntary shivers down her back. "The slightest mistake might be our undoing."