Page 25 of The Dare Before Christmas

“And yet I love you still.”

Hester stared at him, feeling as though the ground had shifted beneath her feet, her carefully ordered world dismantling itself piece by piece as those words sank into her heart.

“Stop it,” she said, her voice choked, and then she turned and ran from the room.

Barnaby held the lamp up, illuminating the space they had revealed. It was a small room, perhaps only ten feet wide by fifteen long and lined with shelves which appeared to be full of supplies. The bottles and jars were old and thick with dust, but obviously full. What looked like a bed frame and several moth-eaten chairs were ghostly shapes beneath holland covers. Barnaby wondered what on earth this place was. A priest hole, perhaps?

A chill breeze drifted past his neck, and he frowned, looking around until he saw a small opening at eye level, only a narrow slit an inch high. He moved closer, discovering ivy blocking the hole, and he tugged it aside, squinting out at a world turned white. The snow must have been falling thick and fast whilst they were underground. The view was far from expansive and did not help to orient him, for he could see nothing he recognised. There was only trees and undergrowth, and an expanse of snow.

“We can’t stay here long,” he said, gesturing outside. “The snow is already thick, the last thing we need—”

An ominous rumble overhead cut his words off and Barnaby did not think, only reacted. Grabbing Victoria, he pulled her to the far end of the room, pushing her down and covering her body with his own. Dust and debris showered down over them, making them cough. There was a groaning sound outside the door, then the splintering of wood followed by the dull thud of tons of earth and stone falling. Everything became eerily quiet.

“W-What was that?” Victoria asked as he sat back. She raised her head, her green eyes wide. “What just happened?”

“Are you hurt?” he asked, grasping her by her shoulders, his heart thudding. For all he knew, he’d led her into a death-trap. Perhaps the rest of the ceiling would fall in next, not that he was about to mention that to her. He let go of her and cupped her face, sliding down her shoulders and back down her arms, reassuring himself she was in one piece.

“I’m fine,” she said, though Barnaby felt sick as he wondered what might have happened if the tunnel had given way a few seconds earlier.

Hell and damnation, she could have been killed, buried alive! It still might only be a matter of time. What the hell had he been thinking to allow this, to let her poke about in something so obviously dangerous?

Her cool hand cupped his cheek, her thumb stroking his skin. “I’m fine, Barnaby. You kept me safe. No harm done.”

“No harm done,” he said, forcefully suppressing the emotion simmering beneath his skin. He ran a hand through his hair, finding it gritty with dust, and eyed the ceiling above them. For now, all was still, but for how long?

Pull yourself together, Godwin.

The little opening he’d found to the outside meant this room was not entirely below ground, even if it were hidden from view. The roof was not going to fall in. That did not mean they were any better off, however, as no one had the faintest idea where they were. He took a breath before turning back to her, torn between needing to keep her calm and disbelief that she could not see how bad this was.

“You realise we are trapped? That was the sound of the tunnel collapsing outside the door. It might only be the section immediately outside the door, or it might be the entire tunnel. No one knows we are here, Victoria.”

“Well, perhaps there’s another way out,” she suggested hopefully, far too calm for his equilibrium to cope with. “And if there’s not, we’ll wait for them to come and find us. They will come looking,” she added, still far too reasonably for his nerves to stand. But then she was used to getting what she wanted with a snap of her fingers, why not a rescue party too?

He tried to keep his temper in check, to let her keep her illusion of all being well for the time being, but….

“Ah yes, once they return from shopping and we don’t appear for dinner this evening, they will realise. How long will it take to discover us, I wonder? Even with a search party, it will be quite the challenge. No one knows we went to the woods, and the snow will have covered any trace of our tracks by now. No one knows about the chapel, or the tunnel, or this hidden room. So perhaps they’ll find us, eventually, but not before we’ve spent at least a day, and likely the entire night, alone together. Perhaps several nights. Perhaps a week. Do you see where I am going with this?” he demanded, though he restrained himself from telling her he had some uncomfortable doubts about them being found at all.

She blanched at his words.

“Oh,” she said, her voice flat, understanding dawning.

“Oh,” he repeated, stung by the way she’d turned alabaster white.

Well, good. It was about time she was faced with reality. Perhaps now she’d stop harbouring foolish romantic notions about a man who couldn’t afford to buy her preferred perfume, never mind all the gowns, slippers, hats, gloves, jewels and gewgaws a young woman of her breeding would expect as her due. Barnaby regarded her as she glared back at him. With sharp, angry movements, she tugged at the ribbons on her bonnet and flung the thing to the floor beside her.

“You must forgive me, Mr Godwin. In the excitement of our predicament, I had forgotten that marrying me was a fate worse than death,” she said, sarcasm dripping from every word.

Barnaby had to admit, she really was single-minded. Wrongheaded, but single-minded. He opened his mouth to speak, to make her understand, but she beat him to it.

“Look, there’s a spoon there, perhaps you can dig your way out? You’ve incentive enough to make it in time.”

She turned her face away from him, but not before he saw the wounded look in her eyes. Barnaby groaned and rubbed a hand over his face. No matter her hurt feelings, he had to get them out of here before anyone discovered them missing. She might think marrying him was something she wanted, but the reality of it would be another matter when she did not have a new gown for every ball she attended, when her friends laughed behind her back, perhaps even shunned her for lowering herself by marrying him. Not that he believed her shallow, not in the least, but there were elements of her life she must surely take for granted, and she would resent losing them when they were gone.

He went to the door, which they had left half open, and was confronted with a solid wall of stone and soil. Barnaby glared at it furiously. The devil take it. He didn’t even know if it was safe to clear the opening, or if that would make the already unstable tunnel collapse entirely. Yet it had looked so sturdy and well made. Confound him for a bloody fool. It would serve him right if they were trapped here for days, and he was forced to marry her.

The idea made his stomach flip with an odd combination of anticipation and horror. He wondered if Bedwin would castrate him for this. Perhaps he would think Barnaby had engineered the situation, but… no. That was ridiculous. There were easier ways of compromising a young woman than collapsing tunnels and hunts for hidden treasure. How absurd this was! All they needed now was the ghost of a mad monk and Victoria would be in alt, as Jules had suggested. Except, now that he turned to study her, all traces of her earlier excitement had vanished. Even the collapsing tunnel had not seemed to diminish her enjoyment of this mad adventure, but now she looked sad and lost. His heart clenched.

She was huddled in the corner where he had left her sitting on the cold stone floor. It was only then he realised she still had his coat. Her knees were drawn up, her cheek resting upon them, upon his coat. The sight of her soft cheek against the fabric he wore so often made an odd sensation stir in his chest. Guilt, probably. Her expression was pinched, her dark eyebrows drawn down, and he knew she was still smarting over his words, which could have been more diplomatic. Barnaby sighed. They were likely to be here for a good long while, and whilst he did not wish to encourage her foolish dreams, he did not want to make her unhappy, either.