Page 85 of Not Quite a Lady
‘Totty headed. I think you forgot that. You are quite right and please do not shout any more. You are shaking the building andI do not think this floor is going to hold for much longer.’
‘You cannot come down this way, the wreckage is too jagged for you to land on or for me to climb up.’
The fury had gone from his voice and he sounded reassuringly calm. Lily began to think that she would not, after all, end up a crumpled heap on the flagstones below.
She lost sight of him and instinctively grabbed the ironwork with both hands: it broke away leaving her with nothing but a fistful of rust. Underfoot the boards creaked ominously. ‘Jack?’
‘I am here, underneath you. I can just see you through the cracks in the floor. Can you take a big step back? Yes, like that. Now the other foot. Good. There is a bigger beam under there.’ The new patch of floor did not sag so alarmingly, that was true.
Lily put her arms out and used them to keep her balance.
‘Now walk straight forward until you get to the edge.’
Like a tightrope walker, Lily teetered forward until she could look over. It seemed a long way down.
Jack appeared, foreshortened from her viewpoint, his shoulders covered with dust that must have showered down as he moved beneath her. ‘Sit down on the edge.’
‘What?’
‘Sit down, and hang your legs over the edge.’
‘I can’t!’ It was hideously high up.
‘Why not? Lily, this is not the time to worry about a man looking up your skirts. Besides, I have seen your legs and very nice they are too.’
Lily sat down with a thump, then remembered that she was scared and shut her eyes.
‘Now jump.’
‘What?’ Her eyes flew open. ‘Are you mad? Go and get a ladder or something.’
‘There is no time. Lily, believe me, you can jump or you can fall. Jump and I will catch you.’
She stared down, thankful that she was sitting, because her legs were trembling.
Jack just stood there like a rock, arms held out. ‘Lily.Jump.’
So she did, pushing off with her hands. It was endless, and yet over in a second.
Jack caught her in a tumble of limbs and petticoats and took two long strides back as the beam gave way and the makeshift roof hit the ground with a rumble like thunder.
Was it worth the five minutes of absolute terror to achieve a few moments with Lily in his arms, clinging to his neck and quivering? Probably not, especially as she was presumably quivering with terror and not with the thrill of being in his embrace.
‘Lily? Are you hurt?’
A violent shake of her head and a tightening of her arms around his neck was the only response.
Jack easily resisted the thought that perhaps he should set her down and walked instead to the other end of the warehouse.
He found a crate and sat on it, holding Lily on his knee. She was still shaking, so he put a hand under her chin and pushed up her face. ‘Lily?’
She was glowing with colour, her eyes were sparkling with excitement rather than the tears he was expecting and she was quivering, not with fear, but with excitement. ‘That was wonderful.’
‘It waswhat?’Jack demanded. Ready to comfort, cuddle and possibly caress her, this was like a punch in the stomach.
‘Wonderful. Jumping like that. For a moment, a split second, it was like flying. I was so frightened, and then I jumped, and I wasn’t scared anymore.’
‘Possibly because you knew I was going to catch you.’
