Alan turned toward him and wiped sweat from his brow as Colin stepped inside. “Almost finished, my lord. Just a few more nails.”
Colin froze. A vortex of fear churned in his stomach.
She wouldn’t have, would she?It’s Anne. Of course, she would.
He pushed Alan out of the way and placed his ear against the wall. Faint, a muffled cry chilled his blood. “Open that back up!” He pointed at the sealed hidden door. “Now, man!”
Alan stared at the hammer in his hands as if it were a foreign object.
Colin tore it from his grasp and began beating at the wall with all his strength. Plaster cracked and wood splintered under his assault until a gaping hole was left in the study wall. Ducking his head, he climbed inside. The lamp and matches were gone. Inside the passage, a scream—louder now—rent the air. “Get me another lamp. Now!”
Every part of him implored him to surge forward in the darkness, but if Anne were injured, he’d need to see so he could help her. Colin pulled the silver vesta with matches from his pocket and lit the lamp Alan handed him.
“Come with me. I might need your help.”
Once Alan climbed inside, Colin led the way, hismuscles as taut as a bowstring ready to snap. “I’m coming, Anne! Keep talking so I know where you are.”
“Colin! I’m stuck, and it hurts like bloody hell.”
If he weren’t so panicked and worried, he would laugh at her curse, but her words only spurred him faster. Shewashurt.
She babbled on about dead mice and horrible servants; her words, although not making a lot of sense, served as a beacon of direction and pulled him forward.
He moved as quickly as he could, well aware of the rotten floorboards lying in wait.
When he turned the corner toward her call, something ahead moved. Too big for a rodent, a shape took form in the darkness. Anne’s cries rose from the heap on the floor, and he rushed forward.
“Anne! What the deuce were you doing?! I told you the passage was unsafe.” He wanted to throttle her and kiss her senseless at the same time. But first, he needed to get her out and assess her injuries.
“I didn’t think you were serious.” Her voice, soft and almost childlike, held a touch of contrition. Although perhaps that was his own wishful thinking. He wanted her to be sorry for her actions, to think twice about disobeying him.
He crouched down by her, lowering the lamp to better illuminate the floor. Dead mice littered the floor around her, one very near her nose. Dark shadows cast from the lamp flitted across her face, making her appear ghastly. Wisely, he kept that observation to himself. “Where are you hurt?”
“My ankle.” She contorted her arm to point behind her. “I think it’s broken, and I’m stuck.”
After handing the lamp to Alan, Colin studied the broken floorboard. He tried tugging her foot free, but she yelped in pain. The only way to release her was to widen the opening. “Brace yourself, Anne.” He rose, and with the heel of his boot, came down hard on the broken wood, breaking more of it away.
“Ow!!”
He bent down next to her again. “It’s over,” he said as he carefully freed her foot. “Can you stand on it?”
More cursing followed as she tried to put weight on her injured ankle.
“Never mind.” He picked her up and nodded toward Alan. “Lead us out of here.”
The already tight passageway proved more treacherous as each misstep brushed Anne’s injured foot against the wall, causing her to cry out.
He’d never heard a woman curse as much in his life.
Back at his study, Alan climbed out first, and Colin handed Anne to the footman while he extricated himself from the gaping hole. The girls stood in the doorway, holding their puppies and staring wide-eyed.
“Go to your rooms! Now!” He barked the command, and the girls scattered like startled birds at a gunshot.
In the harsh light, he finally got a good look at his wife as she leaned against his desk for support. Cobwebs matted her hair. Dirt covered her face and gown. A nasty bruise was rising on her cheek. As his panic settled, it morphed into something worse.
“Goddamn it, Anne! What if you had been knocked unconscious?” Anger, hot and raw, rushed through his veins as a thousand what-ifs tore through his mind. Things could have been so much worse. Why hadn’t he had the blasted passage sealed up sooner?!You can’t even protect your own wife!
She glared at him. “Itoldyou I didn’t think you were serious about it being dangerous.”
