An Improper Situation (Sanborn-Malloy Historical Romance Series, Book One) (14 page)

Charlotte felt the little girl stiffen in her arms.
“One question at a time,” Charlotte cautioned, trying to keep Reed from overwhelming the eight-year-old.

But Lily visibly gathered herself together, straightening her shoulders and looking around her.
“We went to look for gold,” she said, “over there.” She pointed toward the foothills. Charlotte went cold all over.

“
The mines,” she said. “Reed, they went to the old mines.” She had told the children about the old mining camp one night as a bedtime story. They were both on their feet again.

Lily continued.
“Doctor Cuthins got called away, so Mrs. Cuthins, said we could walk straight home. But we didn’t.” She started crying again. “I know you said not to, Aunt Charlotte, but we just wanted to take a look.” She gulped for air. “You made it sound so exciting.”

Charlotte had always known the mines had to be particularly dangerous for it was the one place her easygoing father forbade them to go. Nevertheless, Thaddeus had explored it thoroughly.

“Reed, there are deep shafts; they’re boarded up, but the wood is very old.”

She didn’t have to say more; she could see in his face that he understood the danger.
“We’ll need a lantern and rope,” Reed said. “Lily, when he fell in, could you still see him?”

“
No, but I could hear him. He was crying and I told him I’d get you. Then I saw the wolf.”

“
I’ll get supplies,” Charlotte said, letting Reed give her a helping hoist up onto Alfred. “I’ll be quick, I know where everything is. And I’ll take Lily home.” She reached down.

“
No,” said the little girl. “I’m not going without my brother.” She ended on a hiccupping sob.

Reed and Charlotte looked at each other. Then Reed lifted Lily easily on to his horse and swung up behind her.
“Tell me which way to go.”

“
Due west,” Charlotte pointed, “just over that hill. Not far at all. You’ll see the old water tank. And there’s a shack, but it’s all fallen down.”

He nodded. Charlotte could see by the creases in his brow that he was already focused on finding the little boy.

“We’ll meet you there,” he told her and urged his horse forward.

For a second she wished she was taking Lily with her; she wanted her safely at home. But where in the world could be safer than Reed’s arms? He didn’t have to touch her but still she felt his strength and took comfort. 

“Come on, boy,” she said to Alfred and rode home as fast as he could carry her.

*****

Charlotte knew she had to be quick, but still felt increasingly frustrated by the amount of time she had taken to gather what she needed. As she approached the mines, she was wishing fervently that Thaddeus were around to help find Thomas.

The afternoon sun was already going down when she crested a foothill and spied Reed’s horse tied to a tree in front of an old mine. Lily sat beside the tree, but there was no sign of Reed.

“Where is Mr. Malloy?” she asked Lily as she dismounted and tethered Alfred.

“
I don’t know. He told me to stay put.”

“
And you’re being a very good girl. You keep watch on the horses.” She walked a few feet away.

“
Reed,” she called out, breaking the tranquility of the setting.

Her voice seemed to echo in the silence of the hills and she waited for an answer. Nothing. She felt her skin go clammy. What if he were in trouble, too?

“Reed,” she cried out again, hearing the slight panic in her own voice.

“
Over here.”

She could have cried with relief at the sound of his deep voice and she ran toward it recklessly.

“Be careful,” he called out as she stumbled over the cover of one mine and nearly landed in the open hole of another.

“
Those are air shafts,” he told her, seemingly rising out of nowhere in front of her, but she could see upon closer inspection that he was in the entrance to one of the old tunnels.

“
Have you found him?” she asked, feeling better already at the sight of him.

But he shook his head.
“I thought I heard a sound a few minutes ago, but now, nothing. Obviously, no one’s done anything out here in years. It’s a death trap.”

She nodded.
“Where should we start?”

“
Wherever a five-year-old would start,” Reed said, looking around. “Probably—”

“
Help!”

It was small and sounded far away. It turned Charlotte’s blood to ice and confirmed her greatest fears. There was no doubt now. Thomas was underground.

“Help!” They heard him again.

He was perhaps only yards away, down below their feet.
“We’re here, Thomas, right here.”

Reed said nothing, just scanning.
“There,” he said, walking carefully but purposefully to cover the distance between the calls for help and the air shaft. “He must have fallen right in here.”

Charlotte came up beside him. It was just a black hole in the ground. She dropped to her knees in the dirt. What if they couldn’t reach him? What if he were injured?

“Thomas, we’re here, honey. Are you all right?” There was no answer at first. She tried to put a clamp on her fears. She’d be no help if she panicked. Then he called out again, “Help.”

Reed stood up and looked at her, really looked at her.

“It’s too small for me to fit in there.”

She took a deep breath, knowing what he was saying and she didn’t hesitate.
“I’ll go in. You can lower me down easily.”

“
Can you handle it?”

Fear of being lowered into the darkness, of crawling creatures, of suffocating, of being buried alive, and a million other nameless dreads swirled through her head, making her want to flee.

Instead, she did what she’d done before jumping into their game of tag—she tucked her skirt into her waistband and rolled up her sleeves.

“
You’d better tie your hair up, too. It might catch on something.”

Quickly, efficiently, but with shaking hands, Charlotte twisted the length of her hair into a knot and tugged it tightly.

“Did you get a lantern?”

“
It’s over by Alfred.” Reed was there and back in a flash, leading his horse. He had the lantern in one hand, and rope in his other hand. “Only one rope is long enough to do us any good. I’ll have to lower you down first, then the lantern.”

She nodded.

“I’m going to lower you slowly,” he told her, not waiting for her consent before beginning to tie the rope around her waist. As he fastened a secure knot in front, his fingers working deftly, his eyes caught hers and held them. “If I could do this, I would.”

“
I know.” She wished her voice hadn’t come out as a feeble whisper. At that moment, Thomas called out again.

“
Hurry,” Charlotte added, almost desperate to begin her part in the rescue. As he finished securing the rope to his own horse’s saddle, he returned to where she stood by the dark hole, she looked up at him. “Reed”

Without warning, he lowered his head and kissed her. It was quick and hot and fervent, and it gave her the courage she needed.

“Not a dull moment since we arrived, huh?” he said, checking the rope.

“
There’s a lot to be said for dull.” She couldn’t believe she was joking with him as she stepped toward the air shaft, but she got to her knees and stuck her head down. Yup, pitch black and musty.

“
Feet first,” he told her, and she sat on the edge of the darkness, dangling her legs into the dank air.

“
Here goes.” She didn’t hesitate anymore, but allowed Reed to help her in.

For a moment, she wondered if she’d be able to get her hips into the hole, but she pushed and all at once, she was in, her shoulders slipping easily through where Reed’s would have stuck fast. Then there was nothing.

Charlotte dangled in the darkness, the rope cutting into her waist and rubbing her palms raw. She thought she might scream. She did, but it was Thomas’s name that came out of her frightened lips. For a moment, nothing, and then she heard him.

“
I’m here, Aun’ Charlie.”

He didn’t sound so far away after all. Reed was lowering her steadily down, and then her leg brushed against something. She flung her hand out in a panic and winced as something cut deep into her hand.

“Try not to swing,” he called to her and Charlotte tried to keep still as she went ever deeper into the darkness.

“
Are you all right?” Reed called down. She looked up, able to make out the shape of his head framed by the light above him.

“
I think so. I’m almost at the—” her feet touched down, “the bottom. I made it.”

“
Untie the rope and I’ll lower down the lantern.”

It seemed to take her fingers forever to work. Her hands were shaking, but she breathed deeply, trying not give in to the terror of the utter blackness. Reed was right there above her and Thomas was somewhere close by. It was just the thought of creeping crawlies and slithering creatures that made her skin prickle with fear.

“Here’s the rope,” she called up to him and the last tangible contact to Reed disappeared from her grasp. She waited, thankful that Reed kept up a steady stream of commentary as he told her exactly what he was doing. Suddenly she felt something brush against her foot and she couldn’t help the shrill scream that erupted from her.

“
Hang on, Charlotte. The lantern’s coming down now.” He’d already lit it and the bright light was descending like a beacon. She could now see wooden structures around her, with posts were going straight. Good, she thought, at least the dirt wasn’t going to cave in on them any minute.

Soon, the lantern was dangling beside her, shining light all around.

It was not as bad as she’d expected once the candlelight chased the darkness down the passages to the right and left of her. There were cobwebs strung from the wooden beams that lined the passages, and a ladder with broken rungs against the cavernous wall, but nothing scary in sight. Then she saw what it was that had touched her as a long pink tail disappeared down the passage out of sight. She shuddered.

“
Thomas, where are you?”

“
Here,” he said. She headed toward his voice. As it turned out, he had not crawled far in the darkness. Relief was immediate but so was her sense that something was wrong.

“
My arm hurts.”

Charlotte set the lantern down and crouched beside him. Thomas cradled his left arm in his lap. His dirty face showed the streaks of tears, but he looked so good to her, she could have sat down and cried herself. She gathered him against her, trying not to put any pressure on his arm.

“Does everything else feel all right? How’s your head and your tummy?”

“
I’m hungry,” Thomas said, and Charlotte smiled. That was an excellent sign.

“
We’ll be eating soon, and having cherry pie for dessert. But first we have to get out of here.”

She felt him nod against her chest as she stooped to hook the lantern over her wrist and keep him secure at the same time.

“Charlotte,” Reed’s voice called anxiously from above.

“
I’ve got him,” she called back. “He’s going to be fine.”

*****

It was late when they sat down together like a family, eating cherry pie as Charlotte had promised, all four of them at the kitchen table. Thomas scooped up forkfuls of pie with his right hand, and his broken arm that Doctor Cuthins had set was in a sling.

“
The color’s returning to his cheeks,” Charlotte remarked, glad that the boy was rapidly regaining his spirits after his ordeal. Sarah had practically needed a doctor herself when Reed went to fetch her husband, so upset was she at having let the children walk home.

It had taken all Reed’s convincing, he later told Charlotte, to reassure Sarah that it wasn’t her fault—just bad luck and disobedient children.

“Wasn’t it terribly scary?” Lily asked for the umpteenth time since she’d laid eyes on her brother. Her brown eyes moved from Thomas to Charlotte. “I couldn’t stand being in a hole.”

“
Not a hole,” Thomas scoffed. “It’s a tunnel.”

“
He’s right, but it’s a dangerous one, at that.” Reed was not through with the incident yet. He had been strangely quiet since the rescue. “I’m going to talk to your . . . sheriff?” he looked at Charlotte.

“
Mayor,” she said helpfully, standing up to start heating water for dishes. “Mayor Lang. You can find him most any day . . . sleeping at the City Hall.”

“
Sleeping?” three voices spoke in unison.

Charlotte nodded.
“Mayor Lang was old when I was Lily’s age. Now he’s ancient. But everyone loves him and he’s always getting reelected, so . . .”