But there was no sign of any grooms until they had almost reached the end of the stable.
Then she heard voices and a man laughing.
She had a quick glimpse of three grooms watching another Chinese man showing them tricks with a pack of cards.
She was just about to open her mouth to scream when the point of the knife touched her throat and she knew that it was impossible.
Another Chinese man in front of her opened the door into the Mews.
Directly outside it, so that she had only to take two or three steps in the open air, there was a closed carriage.
It was a strange-looking vehicle and so unlike anything that Doran would own.
Because she had no alternative, Aleda stepped into it.
The seat was hard and not cushioned and the man with the pigtail sat beside her and the other man sat op
