Page 75 of A Bride for the Beastly Duke
“Wha…?” she murmured in confusion before her eyes widened. “Oh God, Lily! Is there a fire? Is it everywhere—” A hacking cough interrupted her speech, and she bent over almost double with the force of it. Edward did his best to keep her moving towards the door.
“I don’t…” he coughed hard as well, “…know.”
He reached the door and opened it, relieved to see that the corridor was much less smoky, and he could see a little more clearly. “Come on, let’s go.”
Ava dug her heels in. “Noo! We have to get Lily!”
Edward huffed in frustration. “I’ll get her; of course, I will. But you need tomove.”
Ava hesitated a moment more, looking desperately down the corridor. Then she pulled away from Edward, pushing him away from her. “Go! Get her!”
“You’ll—” he began to ask.
“I’ll find my way out; don’t you worry.”
Reluctantly, Edward nodded his agreement and staggered off down the hall towards the nursery, looking back every few steps to make sure Ava was doing as she had promised. He saw that she was indeed making her way towards the stairs and breathed a sigh of relief.
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Ava felt as if she was moving in a dream, fog or smoke obscuring her vision—she wasn’t sure which.
Who started a fire in the castle?
As she stepped carefully down the stairs, it occurred to her to wonder. The castle was made of stone with very little of it having the potential to catch fire. The fireplaces were set well into the stone walls, and each had an iron grate to shield it. The smoke seemed to be coming from somewhere on their floor which was even stranger because it not being wintertime, all fires were put out before bed.
Perhaps a footman accidentally dropped a lamp onto the carpet lining the corridor?
The more awake she became and the more she thought about it, the more questions she had. She reached the ground floor, whichwas thankfully still unaffected by the fire, and ran to the guest wing to awaken her parents and sister.
She banged on the doors calling their names, and eventually the door opened, and her father in his banyan stared blearily out at her. “What is all the rumpus about?” he asked sleepily.
“We have to get out. The house is on fire.”
His eyes widened with alarm. “The house is onfire?”
“Yes father, you need to get out!”
“What…?” the Marquess flailed a bit before turning back to the room, calling his wife’s name.
Ava moved on to the next door once she’d ensured they were alert and moving. “Margaret!” she banged on the door, knowing what a deep sleeper her sister was. “Wake up.”
The door was flung open to reveal a disgruntled looking Margaret, eyes narrowed as she glared at Ava. “What?”
“House is burning. Get out.” Ava dragged her out of the room and pushed her towards the door.
“But… my shawl…?” Margaret protested weakly.
“No, out. Now. Take a coat from the coat rack and put it on.” Ava shooed her away before she realized that she was barefoot. She dashed back towards the stairs, hoping to see Edward and Lily, but all she saw was smoke.
“Edward?” She began to take the stairs two at a time, calling his name. Soon, she was engulfed in smoke.
The library had a lot more wooden furniture than the rest of the house, and Edward could see not just smoke but fire as well, burning up the wooden benches of the schoolroom. He opened the door opposite which led to the governess’ dressing room. Leaping into the room, he snatched a shawl lying on a chair and ran back out, beating at the flames with the shawl. Happily, the fire was not well established, and he soon had the few flames out. The room was thick with smoke, however, and he coughed as he staggered his way out.
“Mrs. Mary! Lily!” he croaked as he weaved his way down the hall.
The door at the end of the hall opened, and the governess stepped out, looking unexpectedly prim with a large shawl covering her night gowned frame. She had on slippers and a cap on her head, and Edward thought wildly how well prepared she was to evacuate.
“Where’s Lily?” he asked hoarsely.
