He made a full circle of the space and faced her.“I was hoping this cavern would be one that connects to others.No such luck.”
There was no flare of disappointment on her face, as she hadn’t shared his hope to start with.She gestured at the rock pile.“Do you feel well enough to help me move some of the bigger rocks?The going is much easier now that I can see what I’m doing, but some of them are too heavy for me to budge by myself.”
Bending over made his head spin and threatened a return of his supper, so he set the candle in a puddle of wax on the largest rock that had been freed so far, and reached for rocks at his chest level or higher.“We don’t need to clear all of it.Just create an opening big enough for you to wiggle through.”
Her brows and chin raised as she paused to catch her breath.“Wiggle?”
How could she look and sound so imperious, while covered with dust and trickles of sweat, her hair mussed, her white shift showing through rips in her gown?He wanted to pull her back into his arms.“You can fit through a much smaller gap than I can.”
Without a trace of self-consciousness, she gave him a thorough perusal from his face down to the toes of his now scuffed and dusty boots back up to his head, like she was cataloging every detail of his physique, and tilted her head back to look him in the eye.“Agreed.”And with that, she went back to flinging rocks out of their way.
Under other circumstances he would ask if she liked what she saw.“Matthew knows I’m in here,” he offered.Together they dislodged a particularly large boulder and let it roll down between them.
“The smugglers may have captured or … injured … him.”
“Or he might have escaped their notice and gone to get help after they left.Even now, there could be people working on the other side here, trying to free us.”
They paused, listening.
The only sound was their own breathing, harsh from their exertions.
“Lovely if it happens.In the meantime, I will keep trying to dig myself out.”Miss Walden grabbed another rock and tossed it aside.
“Wewill digusout.”
* * *
Vincent’s last candle began to sputter out.No, wait, the flame was fluttering because of a sudden flow of air …intothe cavern.
“Not long now,” came a masculine voice from the other side.A flicker of light shone through a tiny gap near the top of the pile, too small yet for Miss Walden’s hand to fit, never mind the rest of her wiggling through.
“We’ll be rescued soo—” Vincent cut himself off when Miss Walden emphatically gestured for him to shush.
More voices filtered through, discussing which rocks to move.He recognized Matthew, the butler, the coachman, and … was that the young footman?
For the first time, he saw Miss Walden panic.She stared at him, her eyes wide, her bosom heaving.
She should be delighted.After hours trapped in here, perhaps all night, they were finally going to escape.She’d been in here all night…
Alone with him.
He smacked his forehead.They might keep this private if it was just Matthew finding them, but household staff?The maids would know by noon.And everyone in the village would know by nightfall.
That he had compromised Miss Walden.
He gave her an appraising glance, just like the one she had given him earlier.Though a tad older than green girls on the Marriage Mart who’d been trying to catch him and his title since he’d finished university, she still had pleasant features.She was a delectable armful, a Pocket Venus spitfire who kept a cool head instead of panicking, had a delightful singing voice and better than average musical talent.He could do worse than marry one such as her.And once she was his wife, he’d finally get to see her thick brown hair unbraided, unbound.Spread across his pillow.
The only drawback was that she was still hiding something from him.
Was she involved with the smugglers?She’d seemed as startled as he to recognize Clyde.
Even so, the more he thought about it, the more the idea of marriage to her appealed to him.He could question her at length after their wedding.In their bedchamber.While they were naked.“Miss Walden, I—”
She rushed to him and stretched up to cover his mouth with her hand.
The opening in the rocks grew a fraction wider.
“I didnotsafeguard my reputation this long only to ruin it protecting a foolish former student.”Her voice was low and intense as she frantically swung her gaze around the cavern, finally returning it to him.“You have to lie back down!”
