“What happened?” she thought she heard Henry say, though that could not be right. She was certain she was in her bedchamber, and Henry was not allowed to visit her there.
“She tried to get us out, My Lord,” Cassie’s voice replied. “Ran out into that smoke like a hare being chased by a fox.”
Is that true? Did I do that?Arabella could not remember, as she listened to Cassie continue the tale.
“I tried to stop her, but she was determined—said she’d come back with help as I couldn’t get a few steps outside the door without feeling like I’d buckle and collapse,” the maid went on. “I hear a thud, realize it’s probably her, and go out to look for her. I could face the smoke, for her. I find her knocked out, halfway up the hall. I reckon she ran into something, or something fell on her, but I couldn’t see what. Anyway, I dragged her back and have been trying to rouse her ever since.”
Another voice added itself to the mix. “The poor child. How brave she was, while I was trying to hide.” It sounded an awful lot like the Duchess of Wright. “I could not be more ashamed if I tried. I did not even think of the two of you in here.”
“She was going to help you, too. I found her not far from your chamber door,” Cassie replied, with a subtle note of irritation.
“Then I am doubly shamed,” the Duchess said.
Slowly, at the slight jostling of her shoulders, Arabella began to see through the mist of darkness that had shrouded her eyes. Three figures crowded around her—two crouched, one standing. And, as her senses came back to her, she realized Henry was the one who had shaken her gently. His hand was still gripping her upper arm.
“Arabella?” His eyes sought hers.
“I… am fine,” she insisted. “Is the fire out?”
Henry shook his head solemnly. “No, but we will find a means of escape. My father has gathered the servants to aid him.” He paused, his gaze turning up to the window. “I wonder…”
Letting go of Arabella, he got to his feet and hoisted the sliding window upward. The gap was plenty big enough to allow passage, but that was not the problem. Even Arabella knew the drop down the other side would be harmful, and possibly fatal, if anyone tried to jump. She had already thought of it and discovered it to be impossible.
“Miss Cassie, I need you to help me tie every possible piece of material together,” Henry announced. “We are going to make a rope.”
Arabella watched, surprised, as Henry and Cassie hurtled about the bedchamber, gathering up everything they could find. They made swift work of tying the fabric end to end in tight knots, until a makeshift rope slithered along the floor like a peculiar snake. And likely not a moment too soon, for the bedchamber was slowly starting to fill with a thin haze of smoke that had filtered in from the hall.
Anchoring the rope to one of the sturdy posts of the four-poster bed, Henry strode back to the window and clambered out, keeping firm hold of the rope.
“I will go first, so I may aid you if you fall,” he explained, though Arabella could see the prospect made him uneasy. In a world of women and children first, when it came to rescue, it went against every part of his upbringing.
Using Cassie to help her, Arabella stood up so she could watch her beloved’s descent.
“Be careful,” she urged, as he was about to drop away from the sill.
Ducking back inside, he placed a fleeting kiss upon her cheek. “I will, and I will be waiting to catch you.” With that, he descended, using his feet to brace against the sheer wall as he made his way to the ground below.
“Madam, you should go next,” Arabella insisted, taking the frightened older woman’s hand and leading her to the window. “All you need do is grasp the sheets tight and use your feet, like this.” She gripped one of the drapes nearby and tried to emulate the movements Henry had just made.
The Duchess jittered as she approached the window, but, clearly fearing more for her life than the steep drop, she clambered onto the ledge and wound some of the sheet around her hands. The next moment, she was awkwardly making her way down the side of the wall, where Henry stood underneath her, his arms outstretched.
If any of us fall, you will be flattened. You should not do that.Arabella did not have the heart to say so out loud, for she had never seen him more heroic. Indeed, if the pressing terror of the fire were not threatening the bedchamber door, she might have taken a moment to enjoy is commanding prowess.
As the Duchess made it to the ground, a minor conflict ensued between Arabella and Cassie.
“You’re to go next, Milady,” Cassie declared, but Arabella shook her head.
“It is wiser to let the weaker party go last,” she explained. “You will be able to help Henry catch me if I fall. You must go next.”
Cassie frowned. “I won’t do it, Milady. Youwillgo next.”
“No, Cassie,” Arabella replied softly, ushering her dearest friend toward the window. “I do not order you to do things very often, for I loathe the idea of making demands of a friend, but I will use my station this one time. You are to go next.”
Knowing she could not argue, Cassie grumbled under her breath as she climbed up onto the ledge and grasped the makeshift rope. “Don’t you dare die, Milady. If I don’t see you coming out of the window, you may rest assured that I’ll climb back up this blasted rope to get you. If that fails, I’ll run back through the house until I find you again.” Tears glistened in the woman’s eyes.
“I shall be right behind you, Cassie,” Arabella promised, moved to tears herself by the protectiveness of her only friend.
Still grumbling things that could not be repeated, Cassie shimmied down the rope with surprising ease, until she landed with an elegant jump on the soil of a flowerbed, accidentally crushing the pansies growing there.
