Page 33 of A Duke to Restore her Memory
“The mine?” she cried, rushing to him. “An explosion?”
He nodded grimly. “Yes. We must get there as quickly as possible, assess the damage … and help where possible.”
“I will go to the kitchen and get Cook to make some baskets,” said Lydia. “The volunteers who come to help will need sustenance.”
“Good,” said Sebastian, already rushing towards the stables to get on his horse, with Daniel in hot pursuit. He kept shouting over his shoulder to her. “Make sure there is hot, sweet tea as well, Lydia, for the surviving miners. They will be in shock.”
The gentlemen got on their horses and were about to start riding out when Sebastian pulled in his reins tightly. Georgina had just run into the stables, looking frantic.
“What is it?” cried Sebastian.
“I must come with you to help,” she cried, gazing up at him, her eyes wide with distress. “I will do whatever I can. You will need every bit of help you can get, Your Grace.”
He hesitated, frowning, as he gazed down at her. A fallen mine was dangerous and no place for a woman, really. It was unstable and might collapse further. He was just about to tell her to go back to the house and perhaps help in the kitchen with the baskets when she reached up, taking his arm, gazing at him intently.
“Please, Your Grace,” she said in a beseeching voice. “I promise I will do as you say. I will not get in the way.”
“Let her come, Newquay,” said Daniel quietly. “I have a feeling Georgina will not get in the way.”
“Very well,” said Sebastian, his demeanour grim. “Get your horse quickly. We cannot afford to wait long for you.”
Georgina’s eyes lit up before she raced to the stable for her horse. Within minutes, she was astride the beast, and they were all heading out over the open green fields towards the mine.
It was utter chaos when they finally got there. Injured miners – some of them very badly injured, howling in pain, clutching limbs – were being carried out of the mine and laid on the grass to be helped.
He noted that Dr Watson and another of the district’s physicians, Dr Davies, were already in attendance, barking commands at the volunteers rushing to do their bidding.
Sebastian’s eyes slid to the right. A cold shiver went down his spine, followed quickly by a rush of pure grief and furious anger.
A row of miners was laid out on the grass there … white sheets covering their heads and bodies. The miners who had lost their lives in this explosion. And he had no doubt that more would be added to the row before the mine was finally secured.
“I am so sorry,” whispered Georgina, following his gaze, resting a comforting hand on his arm. “So very sorry.”
Sebastian’s eyes filled with tears of grief and frustration. His throat was so thick with emotion that he couldn’t speak at all. But somehow, having Georgina there was soothing him, taking away the intensity of the pain.
He knew it would come again later to claim him, but for the moment, he could handle it.
He nodded abruptly, staring at her intently for a moment, feeling like he was drowning in the sympathy within her eyes before he tore his gaze away.
He dismounted, tethering the horse, rushing towards the fray. One of the mine managers, Oliver Grier, turned to him, curtly nodding his head.
“Your Grace,” said the man, his voice filled with weariness and his face streaked with dirt and blood. “It is a tragedy.”
“What happened?” He noticed that Daniel and Georgina had walked to his side and were listening intently, as well. “What on earth happened, man?”
Grier sighed deeply, a look of pain crossing his face. “I … I do not know,” he whispered, his pale grey eyes misted with tears. “One moment it was business as usual … and then, I saw the flare of a match in the darkness … and the next thing I know, I was thrown to the ground. My ears were ringing so badly I could not hear.”
Sebastian swore beneath his breath, running a hand through his hair. Someone had lit a match in the mine – which was expressly forbidden.
They knew its safety risks. He always ensured the managers drummed all the safety instructions into the miners, under pain of death. If a miner was even caught with a match on him while on duty, he was sent home and severely penalized.
A chill wind tore through him. But it looked like those safety instructions had been ignored today. His hands balled into fists at his side. A wave of ferocious anger swept over him, so powerful that he had difficulty containing it.
The only way he did contain it was by forcing himself to breathe slowly and remind himself that this was no time for anger. That could be expressed afterwards at the inquiry he was going to hold to get to the bottom of how such carelessness had been allowed to occur and how it might be prevented from happening in the future.
For now, they just needed to deal with this crisis – attend the injured and bring the dead above ground.
“Your Grace?” It was Georgina, pale and wide-eyed, addressing him in a low, solemn voice. “It looks like the physicians need some nursing assistance. May I help them?”
