“Yes, well, perhaps the filth will make them stronger,” Lisa said with a grimace, bending to help her.

“Gor! We were actually laying on these,” Bet said with dismay. “We’ll be crawling with fleas now . . . or worse.”

“Yes,” Lisa said with a sigh and took the top sheet to begin rending it into strips.

“Gad . . . the trouble you get me into with your shenanigans,” the maid muttered, rending the bottom sheet.

“Don’t blame me for this,” Lisa protested at once. “You were the one who blackmailed me into bringing you along. If not for that, you’d be safely at home now.”

“And where would ye be if I hadn’t?” Bet asked sharply, continuing her work. “Kidnapped and forced into prostitution.”

“Well, I still am. It’s just now we’re both—prostitution?” she squawked as the word sank in.

“Well, what did you think she meant about suitors and a doctor examining us?” Bet asked dryly. “It’s like that other book ye read to me. The one with the youngest daughter of that Baron who was kidnapped by a madam and forced to . . .” She paused, her eyes wide. “Dear God! We’re living that book right now, we are. Kidnapped and locked in a room, awaiting a man’s pleasure to come ravish us. Oh, Lord save us,” she breathed. “It’s like she read the book too.”

“She probably did. She is the one who gave it to me,” Lisa said unhappily, her mind on the ravishing part. A suitor to ravish her . . . and she was the youngest daughter of a Baron. Dear Lord, it was like the writer was writing about her before it had happened. Seeing the alarm on Bet’s face, she forced her own disturbing thoughts away and straightened her shoulders. “We will escape.”

“Aye,” Bet muttered and both of them began to work more quickly. Within moments they’d finished tearing their respective sheets into strips and started weaving and knotting the strips together to make one long slightly knobby makeshift rope.

“The window,” Lisa said as soon as they tied on the last strip. She started to lead the way holding half the rope while Bet carried the other, but nearly fell flat on her face on the first step. Muttering under her breath, she shifted her part of the rope to one hand and bent to scoop up the heavy comforter with the other and toss it back onto the bed. Straightening, she then hurried to the window. Bet trailed her with the rest of the rope.

“What’ll we tie it to?” Bet asked with concern.

Lisa hesitated, but then glanced around the room. The only thing available was the bed. Mouth tightening, she hurried back to it, grateful it was close as she quickly knelt to tie one end around one foot of the bed.

“Will it hold?” Bet asked uncertainly.