Page 80 of A Swirl of Shadows
The two guards stood behind him. They, too, had weapons drawn but were looking uncertain of what was going on.
“You!” Prescott turned to point at them. “Bishop Sergius’s strict orders are for you to stay in this room and guard Countess Tatiana’s possessions, while I take the ladies to the main hall. And if I were you, I would follow them to the letter. He’s in a devil of a mood.”
The monks paled at the mention of the cleric’s name and hustled into the room.
Arianna motioned for Tatiana and Mrs. Schuyler to grab up their heavy cloaks and follow her out to the landing. Prescott brought up the rear and drew the door shut behind him.
He quickly locked it and slipped the key into his pocket. “Move!” he roared. It wasn’t until they were downstairs that Prescott dropped the show of bullying bluster.
“Not that way,” he said softly as Mrs. Schuyler was about to follow the main corridor as it turned to the right. “Straight ahead is a stairwell leading down to the cellars, and from there we can access the monastery tunnels without having to enter the cathedral. We need to hurry.”
But in spite of his words, he slowed and turned to enfold Tatiana in a fierce hug. “Thank God you are safe.”
Arianna and Mrs. Schuyler tactfully looked away, giving the lovers a private moment. The American gave a wry smile. “At that age, a young lady thinks that Love conquers all.” A pause. “Alas, she’ll soon learn it’s not that simple.”
“And yet, under the right circumstances, Love can be a powerful force,” murmured Arianna.
Mrs. Schuyler shrugged and gave a cynical shrug. “I’ll take your word for it.”
“I presume you know that Orlov is dead,” said Arianna, after Prescott reluctantly released Tatiana and got them all moving again.
“Yes. But thankfully Orlov told the bishop that I’m a trusted conspirator, and as I’m also Tatiana’s relative, he sent me—at my suggestion—to fetch you ladies and keep you under guard in his quarters,” he answered. “But he’ll soon smell a rat, so we need to make our way into the tunnels and rendezvous with Saybrook and Grentham as quickly as possible.”
The cellars were pitch dark and horribly damp. Prescott found a lantern hung by the entrance door and struck a flint and steel to the wick. In the weak aureole of light, Arianna saw a pale vapor rising from the earthen floor—like the icy breath of old bones licking at her living flesh.
She shook off themorbid thought. “It was the bishop himself who murdered Orlov—”
“But why now?” he wondered.
Arianna quickly recounted what she had seen and heard.
“So he decided to improvise.” Prescott let out an oath. “Bishop Sergius is fiendishly clever at that. He’s saying Orlov was killed by Fitzroy and Wolff, who are part of an insidious European conspiracy to corrupt Holy Mother Russia. Hemeans to whip up a hatred of foreigners—which alas, will resonate with a great many Russians.”
The passageway was growing narrower and narrower, forcing them to move in single file.
“And then he will use it to accuse Tsar Alexander of being in league with them and betraying the country’s values. As you know, there are already murmurings about Mrs. Schuyler’s unnatural influence on him.”
“We’ve got to find Fitzroy and Wolff,” said Arianna, trying to keep fear from rattling her voice. “The bishop is mad enough to do something drastic.” She couldn’t help imagining some gruesome public spectacle—beheading, burning at the stake . . .
She tried to quicken her steps, only to slip on the half-frozen earth.
“Steady,” said Sophia, coming up behind her to catch her arm. “We won’t let them come to harm.”
“But Richard . . .” Arianna choked back the rest of her words, telling herself to believe that Grentham was right—her brother was clever, resourceful, and not as easily intimidated as she feared.
The lantern light wavered as Prescott slowed. She saw that just up ahead, the cellar passageway split into two narrow tunnels, one forking left and one forking right. He hesitated, but only for an instant, and chose the left one.
She couldn’t refrain from asking. “H-How do you know which way to go?”
“I’m good at reading maps,” he replied. “I saw a layout of the monastery complex unrolled on the desk in the bishop’s inner sanctum—one that had the tunnels marked on it.”
“Does that mean you might have seen where Fitzroy and Wolff are being held prisoner?”
“With luck, yes. There was a red ‘X’ marked on one of the secondary tunnels.” He quickened his pace. “We’ll try there first. There’s another ‘X’ marked in an area just above a set of stairs by the perimeter walls, but it’s farther away.”
The tunnel was now so narrow that Arianna’s shoulders were brushing the sides. Prescott had to slide through at an angle. “This is just a connecting tunnel to the main complex. We should reach it shortly, and the going will get easier.”
Arianna prayed that he had read the map correctly. The air seemed to be turning fouler. What it only her imagination, or was there a faint echo of footsteps coming from behind them?
