It was dark. That was good. Dark suited her purpose.
The thin latch gave way easily on the first blow, the sound muffled by rag. Anne slid the window upward and climbed inside. She was in an annex just off the kitchen to the left. It was black in the house, but she'd been there before as a guest. The layout memorised, she inched toward the living room feeling her way along the wall. Round the floor hall table with the lamp, felt carpet underfoot. Not far to go. The case of rare coins was on the far side of the room. Over ten grand's worth in coins just sitting there under glass. Not for long.
Suddenly a noise from behind and she was slammed face first into the wall. The air went from her lungs and drained her strength. She felt her assailant pull her round to face him, grab her arms and heard the metal click of the cuffs as they locked around her wrists. Her legs went from under her as her captor swung his legs knocking her off balance. Once on the ground, he pulled a rag from his pocket and used it to gag her, tying the knot securely behind her head. Helpless and still winded from the collision with the wall she didn't resist as she was frogmarched through the house to a small door built into the back wall. Taking a key from inside a small pot on a shelf nearby, the man unlocked the door revealing a set of wooden stairs descending into a room below. The man pushed her in the back and, afraid she'd tumble in the dark, Anne started walking down lest she be prodded again. Behind her she heard a click as the man found the light switch and the place became bathed in light.
It was a dungeon. The two walls Anne could see were covered with whips and canes of all shapes and sizes, all nearly arranged by size and material. Chains and ropes hung down from the ceiling throughout the whole place, suspended by beams and hooks. On the floor sat more disturbing contraptions: a wooden horse with metal hoops dug into the legs and, further to the right, a set of wooden stockings with a solid metal lock to hold the sections together. A further step revealed the presence of a sturdy metal bed, with plenty of hoops adorning each of the four bedposts. As her eyes took this in, Anne reeled back and whimpered into her gag, but two strong hands on her shoulders forced her down the stairs into the room. As she reached the bottom she heard the door above them shut with a loud thud that echoed through the chamber.