Page 26 of A Duke Under Her Spell
“Marybeth! Come out of there this instant,” the Duke ordered, his voice filled with anger and concern in nearly equal measure. Marybeth considered not answering. “Marybeth, answer me or I will rip through this wall until I find you.”
“Felix, I am well. I simply could not wait another moment. I am sorry that I have disobeyed your orders, but I am accustomed to making my own decisions unhindered by anyone, least of all a nobleman. I will return once I have ascertained what has befallen Oliver,” she called back to him unrepentant.
“Marybeth, I forbid you to take another step!”
“There is naught you can do about it, but to wait,” she reminded him.
“Marybeth,” his voice growled in warning.
“No,” she adamantly refused and continued on.
Marybeth knew there would be repercussions to her actions, but she was not one of the Duke’s servants that he could order about at will. She was a healer, and he needed her, she on the other hand did not need him. Behind her she could hear the Duke rebuking her for her reckless actions, but she ignored him. She traveled until she could no longer hear his voice, paused to steel herself for whatever might lie ahead, then went on.
Eventually, she came to the top of a set of very narrow stairs. Using her free hand, she hitched up her skirts as best she could given the tight space and took a tentative step forward. Even with the candle’s light she could still only see a short distance in front of her. She very nearly slipped and fell but managed to make it to the bottom step. Reaching out with her foot she expected to touch the floor, but instead felt only air. Lowering the candle, she discovered a gaping hole where the floor should have been.
“Oliver!” She called down into the pit praying that he would answer back, but nothing came. “Oliver!” She called again her voice sounding frantic. Panic arose within her and she began to breath more quickly. She lowered the candle as low as she could possibly bend in the cramped space but was unable to see the bottom. “Oliver!”
A banging sound rang out near her head and she jumped nearly falling into the hole. The sound came again and again and again until finally the Duke’s head could be seen through a new hole in the wall. He looked angry, but also relieved to have found her safe and sound. “Marybeth Wright…” he began but she cut him off.
“There is a hole in the floor and no way past it. I fear Oliver has fallen down into the dark pit below and I cannot get an answer no matter how loud I call his name.”
“It was your voice that led me to where you were,” the Duke informed her. “Can you see any sign of Oliver at all?”
“No, but this hole looks as if it just happened. The splintered wood has not had time to grey with age. Oliver must be down there.”
“Stand back and I will create a hole in the wall large enough for me to climb down into the pit,” he instructed Marybeth. Turning his face away from the opening, he spoke to the butler. “Mr. Wheatly, could you be so kind as to bring me a length of sturdy rope and a lantern?”
“Right away, Your Grace,” Mr. Wheatly answered, and then Marybeth heard footsteps rushing in the opposite direction.
The Duke began hacking away at the wall once more and made a place large enough for him to step through. He leaned over peering down into the hole in the floor. “Oliver!” he yelled, but no answer came. He turned his head to look at Marybeth. “Are you unharmed?”
“Yes. As I said, I am well.”
“You may not be once I am done with you,” he warned shaking his head in disbelief. “What were you thinking?”
“I was thinking that I did not wish to lose my dearest friend in all the world.”
The Duke sighed. “I suppose I cannot argue with that. I too would have followed him if I could have done so. It appears I will be doing so now into that dark pit below our feet.”
“I am going with you,” Marybeth informed him in a no-nonsense tone of voice. She was not about to bear any form of argument on the subject.
“No, you will not.”
“Either you allow me to go with you or I will jump into that pit right now and you will have no other choice.”
“That would be very foolish.”
“I care not,” she shook her head, then met his eyes in earnest. She had meant every word and from his place in the hall, he was in no position to stop her.
“You are the most infuriating female I have ever had the pleasure to meet.” His eyes snapped with anger as they glared their message of disapproval into hers.
“Of that, I am sure.”
Her admittance caused him to gape at her, his mouth slightly open. “You readily admit to being difficult?”
“Yes, of course. There is no sense in denying the obvious, is there?”
“None at all,” he answered shaking his head in amazement. “You, Marybeth, are full of surprises, and yet somehow I have the feeling that this is only the beginning with you.”
