Esme shrugs. "As you wish."
At that moment, you hear a key rattle in the door. Esme glances up, wary, but the door swings open and it is her manservant, Abdul. Abdul bustles Sam inside, then glances left and right up the corridor outside. Then he comes in and locks the door behind him.
Seeing Sam is a relief. They look bedraggled and disoriented but uninjured. And a further jolt of excitement courses through you when you notice the manuscript case clutched tightly in their hand.