Tully Nevada was smart and conniving, all her life she had been hiding and hedging and pretending, putting on a front so that no one knew who she really was, what she was really about, or what she was thinking. She could lie with the best of them, say what people wanted to hear her say...
She was pretty confident, and she was sure if she just waited long enough in the crawlspace, the man would go away and she could resume her life...it was just a matter of waiting...
Oh, Tully was smart, all right, she had this all worked out...except for one tiny detail...
Curled in the dark, she had done all right until she heard the man calling for her, and the memories came flooding back. Dark, closed spaces, with no escape, no air, no light. Lord only knew what might be in there...
And the longer those thoughts swirled in her head, the tighter the space seemed to get, until it felt like she couldn't breathe and bugs were crawling all over her.
Finally, she couldn't take it any longer, and without any real rational thought, the shoved the door open as far as she could, then squeezed out, having to scramble under the bed before she could get to her feet and bolt for freedom!
Oh, the cleverness of me!
Archie was rolling over in his mind what he should do. He was starving and tired and now he thought borderline delirious since he was hearing voices. Just as he was about to stand he heard some commotion....in the wall? Yep! He was delirious! He stood and turned towards it and then, from behind the bed, he saw the door shoving open. It all happened so fast that he wasn't even really sure what happened!
A lady showed up out of nowhere and was scrambling to get away, to get out of the house and away from him.
"Hey!" He called to the girl and started to chase after her, down the stairs and through the kitchen. "Wait! Wait, please!" Maybe the girl had lived here with his Uncle. It had been ages since they had heard from him and she could rightfully be living here for all he knew!
While Tully wasn't normally an irrational person, the initial panic of confinement was only intensified by the shouting and pounding of steps that followed her down the stairs, so that she didn't hear the words. It didn't help that in her haste to get away, she missed several of the steps, putting her off balance, so that she still hadn't really recovered her footing when she got to the back door and started frantically tugging on the latch, but her frantic fingers didn't have the coordination to work it properly.
Sensing that the man chasing her was getting too close, she spun on him, drawing a dagger from her boot, her back pressed to the door.
"Don't ya come no closer!" she snarled, "I'll run ya through, doncha think I won'!"
Oh, the cleverness of me!
Archie continued pursuing the girl, but that until she couldn't get out the back door and then she turned on him with a dagger! Archie was a strong young man, of good stature and quite strong, so he wasn't about to let this young scared woman put him on his heels. Nor did he want her to make a mistake that she would later regret since he meant no harm. Without double thinking he lunged towards her, grabbing the wrist of her daggered hand and pressed it against the wall without trying to hurt her.
"When I said I meant no harm, I meant it!" He said in his strong Scottish accent as he started to reach with the other hand to take the dagger from her. Matters had certainly taken a turn for the worst and he hoped that it would soon work itself out and he wouldn't find himself meeting up with the sheriff of the near by town. "Now, please! Let's just put this thing away!"
Tully had thought she'd been ready for treachery, but she hadn't anticipated that he'd be so bold as to actually grab her, and at first she struggled, although her movements were limited. Good thing for him -- she'd stick him if he didn't have her hand pressed against the wall, and he was too close to get a good knee to his jewels!
"Leave me go!" she snarled, thinking that she might have to resort to biting if he didn't.
"When I said I meant no harm, I meant it!"
"Then leave me go!" But instead, he wrestled her dagger from her fingers and kept her restrained against the wall.
"Now, please! Let's just put this thing away!"
"Lemme go!" At least having her movements and options restricted actually helped to settle her panic, so her thinking was clearer. And she was thinking that she wanted away...and, dang, but this man was handsome! Oh, and she was thinking that she just needed to bide her time and wait for the opportunity to get away from this gorgeous man...
Man...Pretty or not, there was no telling what he would do to her, despite his claims, and his fancy words, and she had to be ready...
"Lemme go," she repeated more quietly, relaxing in his grip.
Oh, the cleverness of me!
Once he had the dagger pried from her fingers and she had calmed down he loosened his grip as well but didn't let go just yet. He contemplated tossing the dagger to the side, to show her that he wasn't going to hurt her with it, but had he done that she could easily go running after it and they'd be in this predicament again. He did hate he was scaring the poor girl.
"I'm going to let you go." He promised her. "But when I do, please act rationally, as will I and let's have an adult conversation. Without daggers....." He proposed as he reached far behind him with his free hand and decided to indeed lay the dagger down on the table.... "and without running." When he said that he let her go and hoped that the girl would indeed not run away from him again and the dagger was behind him so if she decided to go for that he'd stop her. He stepped back, holding his hands a bit out by his sides to show her he wasn't going to hurt her.
"Now of course you are free to go, but I have a few questions if you wouldn't mind, lassie." He kept his hands where they were, not making any big movements and offered her a small smile.
Tully tensed as he let her go, keeping a wary eye on him, looking for deception. Staying very still, she watched him as she weighed her options. If he was true in saying she could leave, well, she could leave, but her things, such as they were, were still here, and besides, it was cold and dark out.
Or, she could stay, but that would mean being in the same building as him, and, as pretty as his eyes were, that gave her the heebie-jeebies.
Slowly, trying to face him as best she could, she fumbled with the latch, finally managing to get it open, then turned and ran into the night.
How far she would go, she wasn't sure...this was more of a test for him than anything, and what she did next depended on what he did next...
Oh, the cleverness of me!
He stood there waiting and hoping that the girl wouldn't leave. That she would stay and help answer the mystery of why she was here and if she knew his uncle. So far she hadn't spoken a word to him other than for him to leave her alone. Please stay....please....he thought to himself, but then there she was messing with those latches and sure enough she was on the run again. Damn!
He let her go though, he didn't run, but he did follow her out. It was pitch black out and there was no way he would allow her to go and stay out in the elements when he had been the one to invade her home...but it was his home...but it was her home....ah danggit...it was all so darn confusing! He grabbed a lantern from inside and walked out on the porch.
"Waitttttttttt." He said in frustration. "I can't allow you to stay out here. I will leave and you come back." He took the stairs down, sitting the lantern on the bottom step and walked over to his horse. "I'll go into town and stay there for the night and then maybe tomorrow we could talk things over?" He suggested...well asked...as he mounted his horse.
Tully hadn't gone far, there was no reason to, there was plenty of cover to be had within a few yards of the house that would provide good hiding, especially with the cover of darkness.
Then, as she crouched in the over-growth, the man came out and declared that he was leaving, which was all the better -- it would give her a chance to grab her things and figure out what to do from here.
Well, of course, first she'd have to wait her for a time to make sure he really left, then gather her things, then...she wasn't exactly sure what then. Probably stay in the barn loft for the night, at least, and...
She wasn't sure, but she knew she would have to adapt to the circumstances, be that here or somewhere else...and maybe he wouldn't come back?
Oh, the cleverness of me!
Where had she gotten off to? He had lost her in the night. He sighed as he made his way over to his horse, wishing that he'd been able to get to know the girl and thus possibly find out more about his uncle.
Giving up on the situation, Archie mounted his horse and did just as he told the girl, he left and headed towards Kalispell where he hoped he would find a room for the night.