Finn clearly had a destination in mind. Without hesitation, he dragged her hell-bent across the gray granite of the yard, now deserted of any workers. She surmised it had taken her at least an hour to untie him! They continued across some short-cropped grass, across mud, too, until Rose thought she would rather drop and give herself up than take another step.
When they reached a massive wrought iron door, she looked up and realized where they were. The Ropewalk — the longest granite building in the entire United States.
Finn heaved open the door and dragged her inside before closing it quietly behind them. For a second, he paused, giving her a chance to catch her breath. The pungent smell of the tarred yarns, the oiled machinery, and the hemp was all encompassing and momentarily made Rose’s eyes water.
Between heaving great breaths of air into her lungs, she asked, “How on earth did you know about—?”
“This is where I’ve been working,” he told her. “It seemed safer to hide out here than to risk running across the yard and getting shot.”
“But surely there are people out there who can help us.”
“If someone wants to, they can shoot from the cover of any number of buildings while we try to make it from here to the gate. Whoever nabbed you could say you were a trespasser and that they thought I was, too. The fact that I’m employed here wouldn’t be discovered until after we were both quite dead.” Finn shook his head. “No, we can’t trust anyone out there.”
She supposed he was right.
As they started to wander through the cold stone building, Rose couldn’t help gawking at the massive structure, a narrow building that was over 1,300 feet long, as Finn informed her. She’d never seen a masonry building so large. Stretched before her were massive skeins of rope that ran the length of the building, disappearing farther than her eye could see. Under them were steel tracks upon which sat complicated carriages that had rope wound in their interiors.
Moreover, all around her, there was still dust in the air, and Rose had the distinct impression that the workers had recently vacated the building.
Obviously, there were dozens of places they could hide.
“I’ve seen this place from a distance all my life,” she said, “yet it’s the first time I’ve been inside.”
“Why would you?” he asked. “It’s not exactly a sightseeing attraction.”
He didn’t hesitate in drawing her toward the building’s center, filled with every kind of modern machine for drawing out the hemp and turning single yarn into multiple strands and for twisting the strands and eventually braiding them into strong rope.
She was still breathing hard from the run and glanced at him to see if he was doing the same. It had obviously been difficult for Finn, whose limp was more pronounced than ever, though she hadn’t even noticed it when they were fleeing for their lives across the shipyard.
“Let’s go in farther,” he urged, and they went half the length of the first floor before he settled them down between two huge coils of strong, hemp rope.
Safely ensconced, Rose hunkered down beside him, sure no one could find them. And even if they did, she felt safe with Finn by her side.
He rubbed his shin a moment. Then he scooted forward, straddling his legs on either side of her, while she curled her own underneath her skirts, which she arranged around herself for warmth.
“We need to stay put for a while. When it’s dark, we’ll slip out,” Finn said, bringing back the clamp of fear that had only just released its hold on her.
“Stay put,” she repeated, considering the very real yet unknown danger.
Her brother would be livid. And William? She couldn’t even imagine what he would have thought, though this was precisely the type of situation into which he had feared she would become entangled because of Finn. He would certainly have been wrong in that, for she’d walked into it herself, open-eyed.
“Yes,” Finn added, “until the rest of the yard closes and empties out. I think the only way we can get out of here is under cover of darkness.”
She swallowed. Good God! Her mother would be frantic when she hadn’t returned at teatime and missed supper as well. Should she simply tell Finn that she was leaving? After all, the true threat was to him, wasn’t it? She’d been inadvertently caught in the same snare but by mistake. Surely, it had been a mistake! If she walked out the door and found any workers still making their way to the gate, she would be safe. She could probably walk along with the first kind-looking man ...
“I know what you’re thinking, as you sit there fidgeting, but I can’t let you go out there,” Finn said, his tone brooking no debate. “It’s too easy for you to be nabbed.”
“I could simply—”
“With a man on either side of you, you’d be silenced and abducted without anyone noticing, even if there was a crush of workers. More easily so, in fact.” After a pause, he added, “Please, don’t be difficult.”
Difficult? Any residual fear was quickly channeled into anger.
“Me?Difficult? Whatever can you mean? I’ve been most accommodating ever since you reappeared at my engagement party.”
“You were always willful, going out after dark when we both knew it wasn’t safe. Not to mention headstrong, which I admit that I admired about you. Perhaps even respected you for, and it meant I could see you. I apologize for implying that you’ve been anything but helpful in this situation.”
Finn took her hands and held them both. “I can’t let anything happen to you, not on my account.” Then he glanced around at where they’d ended up. “Not more than already has, at any rate. You’ve been safe and you fell in love and you were happy until my return. I did not mean to wreck all that.”
