Page 27 of The Tempting of a Devilish Lord

“A well?”

“Yes.” His breaths were harsh and echoey against the stone. “I forgot it was even here. My father always warned us it had been covered over and not to walk near it.” He paused. “Of course, we always wanted to find it but never did. I assumed it was too buried to be found.”

“We certainly managed to find it.” She put her hand to the slick stone, unable to find purchase with her fingers. Her skirts were growing heavy and the cold made her legs tired already.

“Thank the Lord there was water in here or else we could have wound up with numerous broken bones.”

“Yes, though now we have to stay afloat somehow.” Her teeth chattered so she clamped her jaw together hard.

“Here, hold on to this.” He took her hand and navigated it toward a stone that jutted out. She managed to grip it with her cold fingers, giving her body a little relief from the exhaustion already seeping through her.

“It’s s-so cold.”

“I know.” Alex moved around the edge of the well, water sloshing about the tight confines of their cold, dark prison.

“What are you doing?”

“Seeing if I can climb.”

She peered up at the daylight once more and had to crush down a swell of panic. “It’s too far.”

“I’m an excellent climber.” She saw the flash of a smile.

“I-I had heard that, but I think mountains are rather different to old wells.”

As if to spite her, he gripped the wall and hauled himself out of the water.

“Don’t you dare leave me here,” she managed to quip, though the lightness she’d intended to use barely made it to her voice. The thought that this dank, bottomless pit might end up her grave would not leave her. Before long she would lose her grip and the water was deep enough to drown in. It was not the sort of end she might have imagined for herself.

“Never,” he assured her. “I have a rope in the buggy.” He cursed softly and she could not tell what he was doing, but he eased himself back down into the water beside her. “I can’t get enough of a purchase to go any further.”

“Oh.”

“Never fear, someone will notice I am gone before long and Quigley knows where I am.”

The unnaturally buoyant tone to his voice did not reassure her. He was lying. By the time someone figured out they were gone, she suspected the cold will have taken hold of them both.

“You should stay up there, out of the water.”

“And leave you? Not likely.”

“My fingers are cold, Alex. I do not know how much longer I can hold on.”

“Well, I can hold on for you.” He moved against her, his chest to her back, and shifted his arms about her so he could grip the wall.

Wrapped in the cocoon of his strong body, for a brief moment she felt safe again. But as she peered at the dark, damp wall of the well, she could not help the fear clawing its way back up her throat.

“Alex,” she whispered. “A-are we going to die here?”

Chapter Nine

The raw vulnerability in Lucy’s voice near broke Alex. He felt his heart clench as though preparing to shatter in two. Whatever it would take, he would get her out of here. He only needed to find a way to climb up. The trouble was, he felt the weakness in her body and how heavy her damned skirts were and feared if he left her clinging to the stone for long, she’d drown.

And it would take him quite a time to make his way to the top, even if he could find enough footholds.

“We will not be here long,” he promised.

“I-I thought it was going to be your driving that would be the end of us.”

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