The Gender Game by Bella Forrest (historical books to read txt) 📗

"Yes, Chris. In here."

A gray-haired man in scruffy blue dungarees arrived in the doorway. He met my eyes briefly with a polite nod, before turning his focus to Lee.

"So looks like I'm done for now," he said. "I trust you'll call me if you detect any problems."

Lee was already standing up and heading to the door.

"Excellent," Lee said, planting a hand on Chris's shoulder and leading him toward the front door. It clicked open and footsteps moved outside.

I fetched myself a bowl of oatmeal before wandering to the window. The two men were talking in the drive. Lee handed Chris a small black pouch, which I assumed contained his payment. They shook hands, and then Chris left through the gate.

I continued gazing out the window as Lee returned to the kitchen. It was a beautiful morning.

"So, what are your plans for today?" I asked Lee.

"I've got to go out again," he said. "I need to leave in five minutes."

He swallowed down the rest of his food before dumping his plate in the sink and heading to the entrance hall. "I'll see you later this evening," he called, before shutting the door behind him.

Okay…

And thus began my wait.

I ended up actively seeking out Samuel—who had been lazing around in the sun outside in the back garden—and recruited him for a game. I couldn't help but be entertained by the enthusiasm he showed for his ball.

But I was getting tired of playing with him in this confined backyard. He'd probably appreciate a change of scenery, too.

I gazed around at the trees enclosing the garden. Beyond the back fence was a road—you could hear the occasional car driving by. That was the same road we’d taken when we'd traveled to Viggo's cabin.

Most men were at work during the day, according to Lee. And women weren't allowed out. I couldn't imagine that there would be many people roaming these mountain roads. And if I wore my disguise…

Although I knew it would make Lee uncomfortable, I decided to head out anyway. I wouldn't go far. I would stay within ten minutes of the house in case I had to run back for some reason. But it would give my head some space and help make the time pass more quickly.

I changed into the male costume before returning downstairs to Samuel. I put on his leash and, grabbing a set of spare keys, headed out. Samuel didn't seem to notice that I was a different person to the one I had been just a few minutes ago. His tail wagged excitedly as we crossed the drive and slipped out of the gate.

We took a right and began strolling up the pretty mountain road, past the crystal-clear stream that ran nearby. I peered into each driveway as we passed, glimpsing the triangular-shaped buildings identical to Lee's.

Turning a corner, I felt the stretch in my calf muscles as we began to ascend a steeper slope.

What I would have really liked, in that moment, was to get away from everyone. Escape into nowhere, like Viggo wanted to do. I wished there was a footpath leading off into nature, away from all man-made constructions and other signs of civilization. But the only path was this road.

Samuel jerked forward, almost making me lose balance. He had spotted a squirrel scurrying across the road.

Gripping his leash more tightly, I reined him in.

We had walked more than ten minutes away from the front of Lee's drive by now. Probably more like fifteen or twenty minutes. My shirt had started to cling to my lower back. The morning sun, pleasantly mild against my skin when we had stepped out, was beginning to feel uncomfortable.

I sighed. We should probably head back now.

"Come on, boy," I said, tugging on Samuel and herding him back down the mountain.

But as we reached the corner and were about to wind our way back around it, the sound of a woman screaming made me stop still.

It had come from somewhere behind me… the house behind me. Number thirty-two.

Then it came again. Another scream. It drifted through one of the open downstairs windows.

"Stop it!" the shaking female voice cried. "Stop!" It grew more ragged, more desperate. "Don't pick that up!"

I heard the sound of smashing porcelain. There was a cry of pain, followed by a door slamming. Then all went quiet.

Barely breathing, I felt my consciousness return to the sunny world around me. To Samuel, tugging at me impatiently. But I remained staring at the house. The silence was more disconcerting than the screaming.

Viggo couldn't arrive soon enough.

Feeling shaken, I returned to the house with Samuel and waited indoors for the rest of the morning and early afternoon. Viggo ended up arriving just before three p.m., later than I had been expecting him.

I had been waiting near the window overlooking the front of the house and as soon as he pulled up on his motorbike, I hurried outside to meet him.

The first thing I did was inform him of what I had witnessed earlier at number thirty-two.

"You need to go and investigate," I concluded.

Inhaling, he ran a hand over his face before saying, "I can't."

"What? Why not?"

"That's not how things work here. Wardens can't just go barging into citizens' private homes like that. The first thing I would have to do is file a report at head office, prompting one of our people to summon the man for an interview. He would be asked questions about what was going on that afternoon, and if it is different from your report—i.e., if he denied anything happened—then they would move on to the woman for questioning to get to the bottom of it. However, because you are a woman, none of this can happen. Women can't be witnesses… especially not women who were out roaming illegally by themselves at the time."

His gaze sharpened.

I pursed my lips.

Lee was at work, so of course, Viggo knew that I would've gone by myself. Perhaps I had allowed myself