“Are ye going to grease me with goose fat too?”
“If not for the fact that it would take too long to fetch it, aye, I would.” At least her mood had lifted a wee bit. He needed her to fight to live.
He motioned for Jasper and the other men to put their pry bars in place and wait for his signal. He arched a brow at Bella and gave a pointed look at the far side of the area, warning her to stay back. His daughter was not a fool. She knew good and well what could happen.
Bella stepped away, gave an obedient dip of her chin, then clasped her hands in prayer.
He shoved his hand as far into the space as he could, ignoring the grit of the stone biting into his flesh. Blood trickled, warm and hopeless, down his arm. “Are ye ready, my love?” he whispered.
“Know that I love ye,” Lorna whispered back. “More than I ever realized I could love anyone.”
“As soon as I pull ye free, we will fetch the priest to bless that vow, aye?”
She touched her fingers to his. “Aye.”
Ready to claim this rare woman for all time, he gave Jasper a nod.
“Now!” the war chief bellowed, then joined the rest in shifting the stone as fast as possible.
The inner side of the structure shuddered. Lorna cried out, pawing at his fingers as though trying to dig herself free.
“More!” Gunn roared. “Faster!” As the opening widened even more, he reached in and grabbed her wrist.
“It’s coming down.” Lorna tried to wriggle free of his grip. “Save yer arm! I am lost!”
“More!” Gunn shouted again, wedging his arm deep into the slowly increasing space. The entire wall shuddered, dusting them with bits of stone. The passage was at risk of caving in, but he didn’t care. Lorna would not die alone. The doorstone suddenly gave. Gunn yanked her to his chest and rolled to the other side of the passage just as the inner slab of the priest hole crashed to the floor.
She clung to him, screaming as more debris showered all around them.
“Shh…my love. We are safe.” He pushed up to his knees and then his feet, cradling her to his chest as he stood. “’Tis just the walls grumbling. It will settle.”
“Push it back in place,” Bella called out. “Master Grogan said the door stones could be braces if need be.”
Jasper and the men hurried to obey, and the unholy sound of stone battling stone faded.
“Bella,” Gunn said. “Run, fetch the priest. Bring him to the hall so ye can have a new stepmother before another hour passes.”
She took hold of a lantern and shot off like an arrow.
Jasper motioned for the men to leave, then touched his hand to his chest and tipped his head at Gunn.
Gunn responded with a grateful nod and dropped a kiss into Lorna’s hair. “My love. It is all right now. Ye are safe.”
She still clung to him, softly sobbing, her face buried in his tunic.
“Lorna?”
“I canna bear this darkness anymore,” she said in a pitiful whisper. “I canna breathe, Gunn. Please save me.”
God help him. His dear one still thought herself trapped. Holding her tighter, he traveled through the passage in long strides, following the string of lanterns that Jasper and his men left behind to light the way. “I will have ye in the light soon, m’love. Verra soon.”
She kept her face buried in his chest, no longer sobbing, but instead gasping as though unable to draw in enough air.
He moved faster, cleared the last of the passage, and burst into the hallway. Jasper and his men lined the way, cheering and clapping. Servants and clans folk followed suit. Gunn didn’t slow. The great hall was the room with the largest space and the most light this late in the day.
Once he reached the center of the area between all the tables, he stopped and knelt, holding Lorna in his arms.
“I beg ye all to stay back. She is not well after the ordeal.” Gunn swept the room with a look they all understood and obeyed. “Light more candles and stoke the fires. I want this room ablaze with brightness.” With a touch as gentle as a whisper, he stroked her hair and rained kisses across her forehead. “Open yer eyes and breathe, m’love. See that ye are safe.” When she didn’t respond, he feared the tunnels had broken her mind.
