BLINDFOLD Read Online Free

blindfold, wincing as it pulled clear of his left eye where blood had run from the gash on his brow and done a painfully efficient job of sticking the material to his skin.
    Blinking, he looked about him.
    It was a fairly clear night with a moon that was a little more than half-full. Against the starry sky he could make out the shapes of trees surrounding him and see where the gravel track stretched away towards the road. There wasn't enough light to be of much help in undoing his handcuffs but twisting one hand to touch the other bracelet, he could feel the small hole that presumably accommodated the key. This done, it was a relatively simple task to release himself.
    Feeling much happier, Gideon snapped each cuff shut once more and stowed them in his jacket pocket. The key he returned to the back pocket of his jeans, wondering as he did so just when the tall man had put it there.
    A growing numbness in his feet reminded him that he had far more urgent concerns. The temperature was well below freezing and the ground frozen hard. He had at least a hundred yards to cover before he reached the road and no idea how much further after that. He thought he might possibly be in the lane that led to the old gravel pits just outside the village of Tarrant Grayling and, if so, his gatehouse home was going to be some threequarters of a mile away. The spectre of frostbite reared its ugly head.
    Peering at the lighted dial of his watch he discovered it was
    almost three in the morning; hardly the best time to try and hitch a lift on what was never a busy road.
    With a heavy sigh, Gideon began his trek, trying to console himself with the fact that he had at least been left with his jacket, but in reality swearing bloody revenge every time his unprotected feet located a sharp stone.
    The walk was a very long one.
    TWO
    THE SUN WAS UP and shining through the gothic arches of his bedroom windows when Gideon eventually surfaced the next morning. He lay motionless for several minutes, enjoying the warmth and hoping that sleep might reclaim him, but the hope was shattered by the trilling of the telephone on the floor beside his bed. With a groan he put out a hand and located the handset.
    `Yes?'
    `Gideon? It's Pippa. Are you running late or had you forgotten?'
    Gideon's brain felt woolly. `If you give me a clue what we're talking about, I'll tell you whether I've forgotten or not,' he offered helpfully. Pippa Barrington-Carr and her brother Giles lived half a mile away at Graylings Priory, and were not only his landlords but also very good friends.
    `Riding? This morning? Ten o'clock? You were going to try out the mare,' she prompted with a pardonable touch of asperity. 'Ah,' Gideon responded, vaguely recalling an arrangement made two days before; a lifetime ago. `Is it ten already?'
    `Quarter to eleven,' Pippa informed him, not in the least taken
    in.
    `I'm sorry,' Gideon said, genuinely so. He was properly awake now and sat up, swinging his legs over the side of the bed. His feet, as they made contact with the floor, forcibly reminded him of every single stone and thorn he'd trodden on during his interminable journey home. The thought of pushing them into his boots ...
    Boots. Damn!
    `Look, Pippa, I had a spot of bother on the way home last night and I'm not really with it this morning. Can I catch you later? I'm sorry about the ride.'
    `Are you okay?' She sounded concerned. `You didn't come off your bike, did you?'
    `No, nothing like that. Look, I'll be over later. Tell you then. Will Giles be around?'
    `As far as I know,' she said. `Come for lunch, why not? See you about one?'
    Gideon agreed and hung up, fighting the urge to lie back down again. A full bladder helped win the battle and, wincing with every step, he made his way to the bathroom.
    When, some moments later, he turned his attention reluctantly to the mirror over the washbasin, he grimaced. On a normal morning the reflection in the glass showed Gideon a face with strong, regular