He turned and looked over his shoulder. Rose started gingerly down the ramp.
“What do I do? Is there anything in here I might stumble over, any twists and turns I should know about?”
“There’s a fork at which we’ll have to go to the left.” He turned his head. “But don’t worry. It will help you keep your bearings if you put one hand on Shadow and your other hand on the wall as you walk.”
He could only see her outline against the trees outside. With his big cloak draped around her shoulders, she looked small next to Shadow.
“I have to close the door.” The tunnel was barely wide enough for two people, or one person and a horse. Wilhelm started to squeeze by her, and Rose moved back to let him pass, keeping one hand on Shadow’s rump. His arm lightly brushed her shoulder when he passed. His heart skipped.
He climbed up the ramp and closed the trap door, blotting out what little light they had.
“Lord Hamlin?” came her voice in the dark.
“Yes?” Their arms brushed again.
“Can you keep talking?”
“Don’t worry, I’m just ahead of you. Put your hand on the wall. Do you feel it?”
“Yes.”
“We’re starting to move.”
He tugged lightly on Shadow’s reins and the horse started forward.
Chapter 21
Blackness consumed her. Rose had never before experienced darkness so complete that she couldn’t see her hand in front of her face. Mold and wet dirt invaded her nostrils, and she scrunched her face at the unpleasant odor. She kept one hand on the dirt wall and the other on Shadow’s back, as Lord Hamlin instructed, willing her legs not to tremble. She didn’t want to transfer her nervousness to the horse.
“Are you all right back there?”
“I’m not sure I’ve ever had so much fun.”
“Who says I don’t know how to have a good time?”
Rose imagined him smiling, his dark eyes sparkling in amusement. How she cherished the memory of the way he had looked at her earlier this evening, his features soft and his voice warm and kind.
Why, God? Why couldn’t you have given me Lord Hamlin?
Never mind. Don’t answer that.
A tiny drop of something cold plopped on top of Rose’s head. O Lord, let this tunnel not collapse on us.
Just then, something cool and smooth slid across the top of her foot. Rose screamed. She covered her mouth, too late to stifle it.
“What is it?” Wilhelm said in the darkness ahead.
Shadow snorted and drummed his hooves on the dirt floor.
“Something slithered across my foot!” Rose shivered violently, afraid to move. She tried to find Shadow again with her hand, groping forward in the darkness, but grasped only air. She was alone in a dark hole. Her insides were a boiling mush.
“Probably a harmless garden snake. Stay there for a moment to give it time to get away.” After a slight pause he said, “Reach out your hand to me.”
Rose reached out and touched his fingers. He immediately covered her hand in a firm grasp. His warm fingers entwined with hers and made her heart beat erratically. The snake had nearly scared her to death, but his touch and his presence overwhelmed her with comfort and safety. The darkness gave her a feeling of intimacy with him. They could hold each other’s hand and no one could see. She liked it—so very much.
She shouldn’t allow herself the feeling that washed over her at being in this dark tunnel alone with him, clutching his hand. This whole adventure was simply a kindness, an act of chivalry on his part, taking her through the tunnel instead of making her walk with him through town after curfew. It was wrong—and slightly ridiculous—for her to enjoy it this much, her stomach going all warm and her heart beating a new, joyous beat.
“Here we are at the fork.” His voice sounded gruff. “We have to veer to the left and we’ll come out next to the stable. It’s not much farther now.”
Rose felt a little lightheaded. Her knees were still shaking as they had been ever since the snake wriggled across her foot.
Lord Hamlin led her to the left and the tunnel became a hill to climb.
“I thank you, Lord Hamlin.” Rose’s voice shook. She swallowed. “For being so kind as to take me this way.”
“Of course.”
Did he squeeze her hand, or did she imagine it?
“I would do much more for you, Rose. If you ever need anything, send for me.”
Rose’s heart skipped like a young calf. She wanted to remember every word of this conversation. Taking a deep breath, she was surrounded by his smell, which emanated from his cloak, still wrapped around her. She wished this moment might never end.
“I’m sorry I screamed and frightened Shadow.”
“He’s all right. I only regret that the snake had such bad manners.”
A sliver of light came into view and she felt deflated that their journey was almost over. At the same time, after being engulfed in complete darkness, it was a relief to have somewhere to focus her eyes.