Gentleman's Guide 02 - His Contrary Bride) (33 page)

Simone chuckled beside her.

Immediately Sabrina regretted her words.
“I’m so sorry. That was insensitive.”

“No it wasn’t. It was a statement of fact. I
was laughing because our kidnappers blindfolded a blind woman.”

“I can see your point.”

“Don’t let the lack of sight scare you. I
know it is not easy to deal with when it happens suddenly.”

“You haven’t always been blind?” Sabrina
asked.

“Oh no. This happened five years ago. There
was a horrible storm at our country home and my son was crying in
his crib. When I bent over to pick him up, a large branch broke off
the tree outside and came crashing through the window. I was struck
on the head and knocked unconscious. When I came to my sight was
gone.”

“How dreadful.”

“Not really. Had I not been leaning over my
son at the time, he would have likely been killed. I would rather
live without my sight.”

Sighing. “Still, it must be very
difficult.”

“I was full of self-pity for a long time,
but Richard and a few others brought me around.”

“I don’t know where we are or how we are
going to get out of here,” Sabrina finally stated after some
moments.

“Then it is a good thing I was taken with
you.”

Sabrina couldn’t understand the almost
cheerfulness of her tone. “Why, so I won’t be alone?”

“No,” Simone answered her. “When I lost my
sight, I learned to rely on my other senses. For the first time in
a long time someone else would be relying on me.”

“How so?”

“We are deep in the mine. I listened to the
men talk as they left us and I followed their voices. The mine is
not completely quiet, even with no workers. If we are quiet and
feel our way along the walls I think we can find our way out.
Besides, we’ll eventually find a lantern for you to use making it
easier.”

“Why would they leave us here when there are
men working on the mine?”

“One of them mentioned that nobody was
scheduled to work this area for a few weeks.”

“Either they planned to leave us here to
starve or plan on coming back to kill us.”

“All the more reason to try and get out of
here.” Sabrina stood and helped Simone to her feet. The tied their
wrists together so they wouldn’t become separated in the darkness
and Sabrina allowed Simone to lead her out of the mine.

*

Marius couldn’t believe this had happened.
“I thought for sure she would be safe in the house.”

“As you should have,” Richard agreed. “There
are certainly enough servants about.”

“Then why didn’t any of them see or hear
anything?” He shouted at Richard.

“Don’t get angry with me. My wife is missing
as well.”

Marius cooled slightly and resumed his
pacing. It had been an hour since he had left his office and
climbed the stairs, anticipating some intimacy with his wife, but
was greeted by an empty chamber. Thinking she had remained
downstairs, he met Richard coming in the doors. While Richard had
gone upstairs Marius had looked for his wife on the main floor of
the house. Bewildered, he wandered back into the entryway running
his fingers through his hair, wondering where Sabrina had gone to
when Richard came back down asking where his wife was. It was at
that point they began to worry and Marius had every servant
summoned to search the house and grounds.

His wife and Simone had vanished and he
hadn’t a clue where to begin looking.

Logic told him the road into town would have
been avoided because of the risk of being seen. Still he sent two
servants in that direction with instructions to knock on every door
and ask if anyone had passed through. He gave the same instructions
to two more servants but directed them on the road to the mine. It
was the only road away from the house with nothing between the town
or mine but homes. It would have been too risky unless they had
been hidden in a carriage. Hopefully he would have his answer soon.
Marius would have gone himself but was afraid he would have gone
the opposite direction of his wife and determined it would save
more time if he stayed put until they returned. Richard had agreed
which left them both pacing and worrying.

“I don’t think I ever fully appreciated what
Taylor had gone through until now.” Richard stated as he poured a
brandy.

Marius agreed and accepted a glass from
Richard.

All of the men he had sent out returned an
hour later. Nobody had heard or seen anything all evening. A number
of the families were still outdoors due to the pleasant weather and
had only recently gone indoors.

The town was small enough that even a
nondescript wagon or carriage would have been noticed. “Then she
must be near still. I want everyone searching the woods now. Look
for any sign that someone may have passed through.” Marius ordered.
Silently he prayed nobody found their bodies.

Richard and Marius joined in the search,
staying to the center of the group so they could be alerted by
either side. Soon, they discovered a trail, quite by accident.

“This is a well worn path,” Marius
observed.

One of the servants had heard him and yelled
to him. “It is the path your wife’s father used to take to the
mine. It is quicker than the main road. I had plum forgotten it was
here.”

Marius and Richard shared a look in the
darkness before dashing off down the path. When they emerged from
the woods they found the mine ahead of them. Both extinguished
their lanterns so they could move about without being detected.

Silently, keeping to the shadows, they
circled the buildings until they found a clear view of the
entrance. One horse stood outside.

Richard stepped forward but Marius placed a
hand on his arm. “Slowly and quietly. We don’t want them to know we
are here.”

“Why only one do you suppose?”

“Our wives were probably brought here hours
ago. That must be their guard until Chesterfield arrives.”

“Chesterfield was never directly involved
before. Why now?”

“I believe he wants to make sure everything
goes according to plan.” Marius couldn’t bring himself to say that
Chesterfield probably wanted to kill Sabrina himself.

Before they entered the mine, Richard turned
to Marius. “I’ll take the lead. I’ve been here daily for the past
week.”

Marius nodded for him to continue.

*

Sabrina and Simone felt their way along the
tunnel. In places the walls were dry, in other they were wet with
mud and sometimes slimy. Sabrina was glad she could not see what
her hands were touching.

“My eyes must be adjusting. I’m beginning to
make out the walls of the tunnel,” Sabrina offered hopefully.

“We must be getting close. Close enough for
the light to penetrate the darkness,” Simone added
enthusiastically.

A few feet further Sabrina heard a clang
from Simone’s boot striking a metal object on the floor. She waited
while Simone bent down to see what she kicked. “It is a lamp. We
must be close.”

“I’ll try to find a flint.” Sabrina searched
the area with her hands, but came up empty. “Nothing.” Resuming her
place, the ladies continued down the tunnel. If a lamp had been
left here then there was a very good chance they were moving in the
right direction. But in the event they did not locate another,
Sabrina carried it with her.

After two more turns, Simone’s feet struck
metal again.

“They are tools, Simone,” Sabrina stated
excitedly after examining the items. “We must be getting
close.”

A few feet away, Simone’s head struck an
item. “It’s another lantern.”

They were stopped and Sabrina could feel
Simone searching in the darkness and she did the same, as best she
could with her wrist tied to Simone. “There is a flint here as
well.”

Sabrina handed the lamp to Simone in
exchange for the flint. In just a matter of moments the lamp was
burning and Sabrina could finally take in their surroundings. “This
must be one of the areas the men are working on.”

“Let’s just get out of here.” Simone handed
the lamp back to Sabrina. “You can take the lead now.”

Keeping her friend close, Sabrina warned of
obstacles and helped Simone step over various tools that had been
left in the path. Sabrina couldn’t help but feel they were finally
safe.

“Going somewhere?” Her uncle asked when she
came face to face with him around the next turn.

“What are you doing here, Uncle James?”

“Shouldn’t it be obvious? I’ve come to
insure you don’t return above ground. The men who were supposed to
take care of you thought it sufficient enough to leave you in the
depths of this mine.”

Sabrina stepped back, holding Simone by
placing with an arm around her waist and holding the lamp in the
other hand. For a moment she considered disappearing into the mine
again.

“Clearly they underestimated you, which is
why I knew I had to finish the job.”

Where was Marius? Surely he knew she was
missing by now. Would he even think to check the mine? It was dark
out when she and Simone had been taken and he probably didn’t know
where to begin searching. Hopefully he would think to search for
her here, and soon.

Sabrina kept backing up. Her only choice was
to disappear into the darkness again.

Lord Chesterfield produced a gun. “Don’t
even think about hiding from me Sabrina. If you run I’ll shoot you
all the sooner.”

Sabrina stopped. She couldn’t run with
Simone by her and she couldn’t risk Simone being shot, even though
her uncle probably intended to do that very thing. Her best chance
was to try and buy some time. “Why are you doing this? Does the
estate mean so much to you that you had to kill my father, all the
others, and now me?”

Chesterfield had the audacity to laugh.
“This estate? Don’t be an idiot. Now that you have married, I have
nothing. As soon as you have a son, I won’t even have a title.”

“So you are killing me because I may someday
have a son?” Sabrina asked. Her uncle was truly mad. “Why should
that even matter. Ramsey is next in line for the title. I am simply
a female born into this family.”

“It wouldn’t matter even if you had only
worthless daughters. I’m ruined,” he ranted without answering her
question.

Sabrina stared horrified at her deranged
uncle. He was making no sense. “I don’t understand.”

“The legacy you stupid girl,” he roared.

“What legacy?” There was no legacy that she
had ever heard of.

“Enough. It is clearly beyond your
understanding.” Raising the pistol he took aim.

Instinctively Sabrina stepped in front of
Simone. “Please uncle. I beg you. I’ll give you everything I
own.”

He didn’t answer her, but aimed his gun at
her chest and cocked it. Just as he depressed the trigger a shovel
came from out of nowhere, striking his arm and sending the shot
wild. Stunned, Sabrina stared at him as he attempted to reload
while looking for his assailant.

“Run, my lady. I’ll find you,” a young boy’s
voice came from behind her uncle.

“Yes move Sabrina, now.” Simone pulled her
backwards with a force that astounded Sabrina.

“It’s going to cave in. Move!” Simone
ordered, now pulling harder, but her uncle had reached out,
grabbing her arm and wasn’t letting go.

“He has me, Simone. Untie our wrists and go
to safety.” Her words were lost in the deafening roar as rock and
dirt came plunging down on them. Sabrina couldn’t protect herself
because her uncle had one arm and she was tied to Simone with the
other. Dropping to her knees, she ducked her head, hoping she
wasn’t crushed or worse, buried alive.

The cave-in was over in a matter of seconds.
Sabrina remained where she was, waiting to see if anymore of the
ceiling fell and convincing herself that she was still breathing.
In fact, she had only been struck with a couple of rocks and only
her side was paining her. Raising her head slowly, Sabrina opened
her eyes. She had been thrust into the darkness again as well as
complete silence. Testing her limbs she began to stand, only she
couldn’t get upright. The rope tied to her wrist wouldn’t let her
move. “Oh Lord, Simone.”

Falling to her knees, Sabrina felt along the
ground for her friend. Sliding her hand up Simone’s arm and down
her body Sabrina was assured Simone hadn’t been crushed. However, a
sob broke when she felt the sticky wetness on Simone’s head.
Quickly Sabrina brought her hands back down her body, relieved to
feel the heart beat and pulse. She sent a prayer of thanks that
Simone had only been knocked unconscious and hoped all she suffered
was a headache. Isn’t that what had happened to her earlier?

Feeling along the ground, Sabrina realized
her eyes had begun to adjust to the darkness again. Faint shadows
could be made out so they couldn’t be completely sealed off.
Fighting the panic growing inside, she untied the rope and began to
search for the lamp and flint.

She hadn’t expected to find a hand and
recoiled instantly with a screech. Simone was behind her so the
hand had to belong to her uncle. Afraid he was waiting to grab her,
Sabrina scooted away. . Simone didn’t move behind her and her uncle
had not stirred either. Finally, Sabrina tentatively reached out
again, prepared to yank her hand back at the first movement. The
fingers lay still and she adjusted her position so his hand
couldn’t grab her easily and felt up his arm. She got only as far
as the elbow before there was nothing but dirt and stone. Slowly
she felt her way back toward his hand. He had no pulse. Her uncle
was dead. Apparently crushed by the cave-in he had caused. She
could not mourn the man. Instead, she felt a tremendous amount of
relief because that particular danger was now behind her. Now what
to do?

Standing, she felt along the pile of rocks
and dirt. There must be a small opening somewhere or she wouldn’t
be able to see the shadows.