Lewis looked at Daniel and jerked his head toward the door, silently instructing Daniel to follow him.
“Do you think he’ll use the opportunity to run?” James asked.
“I wouldn’t be surprised,” Lewis said tiredly. He ran his hand through his hair. “I have questions for him, and he knows it. That’s why I sent Daniel to follow him.”
James nodded. He turned back to look at their progress on the wall. “I suggest we work at making the hole larger—without going upward yet, but enough to get our arms and shoulders in the chimney.”
Lewis nodded. “We can pound spikes in the opposite wall and rest a board across the spikes and the opening here, to give us a bit of a platform.”
They heard an ominous scrap from the chimney. Christopher slipped.
“We don’t have time for niceties,” James said grimly.
Lewis and James worked swiftly to pull more plaster and wood slats from the chimney flue to reveal more bricks.
“Are you all right, Master Sedgewick?” James asked.
“Yes,” said the small voice. “Please hurry. My neck hurts. Is Rani still here?”
“Yes, she is standing below me, looking up and wringing her hands.”
That drew a slight giggle from the child.
“Good lad,” James said. He looked down. “Billy, see if you can find us some additional spikes. We will have to use the two we have to drive into the chimney, and we will need replacements to chisel out more bricks.”
“Yes, sar,” the older climbing boy said. Rani took the canvas rubbish bag from him. He ran out of the room.
“I’m sorry, Mr. Thornbridge. We have taken your rubbish runners away,” said Lewis.
David shrugged with a grin. “With Miss Rangaswamy assisting in the collection, I can carry a canvas bag outside to be dumped.”
“And I’ll assist to take whatever you gentlemen pass down from your expansion work to fill another canvas bag,” Cecilia declared.
James glanced down at her. Soot covered her, but her dark blue eyes shown out from her begrimed face. His love for her pressed upon him. For not the first time since he’d met her, he marveled at her tenacity. His wife was not one to shirk helping and didn’t consider her size or sex as a hindrance. It seldom occurred to her she had a hindrance to even be considered! He’d never imagined he’d find a woman as inspiring as Cecilia.
“Miss Rangaswamy,” Cecilia said softly, as they worked together, “we need to keep Christopher calm and still while James and Lewis work to get him out. He tells me his neck hurts. He is putting a great deal of strain on it. He needs to not move around or get excited, or I fear he could do himself permanent injury.”
Cecilia watched Miss Rangaswamy’s eyes widen. Fear glistened in her dark eyes. She licked her lips and nodded briskly.
“Yes, yes. I understand.” She wiped at her eyes and looked up at the hole Sir James and Mr. Martin had enlarged. “I am so proud of you, Krishan. You are calm and still like they ask. This is good!”
“Rani?”
“Yes, Krishan.”
“I want to go home! I don’t like this England place.” He cried again.
Cecilia wanted to cry with him. Everyone glanced at one another. James and Lewis increased their efforts to chisel away the brick, wood, and plaster between them and Christopher.
“No, Krishan. We cannot go back for a while. Please don’t cry!” She paused and looked around the room. “These are good people who are helping, you will see! I promise.”
James angled his head into the hole in the wall. “Christopher,” he said.
“Yes?”
“Mr. Martin is close to chipping away at the bricks pressing up against your legs. I am going to reach in now and take hold of your arm with one hand and support your back with the other. Do not move. It is important there are no sudden movements. Let us move you. Do you understand?” James kept his tone calm. The wrong move by himself or Lewis, and Christopher could fall down the chimney, or worse, snap his neck.
“Yes, sir,” Christopher whispered. His voice strained.
