Annie Burrows - Four Regency Rogues

Charlotte did not want to talk about the Earl and was glad when they reached the carriages and went their separate ways. The sooner she forgot the Earl and what had happened, the better; the man was not worth her anguish. She would go for a ride and gallop herself into a better frame of mind.

She rode for miles, trotting, cantering, galloping, covering the green turf and the boulder-strewn slopes without noticing how far she had gone or how long she was out. It was only when she realised Bonny Boy was tiring that she halted and dismounted to rest him and realised where she was. It was here they had met, here he had accused her of trespass, here they had quarrelled over the ownership of Browhill. Had she begun to love him even then? Why had she not allowed him to explain? What was she afraid of? Of letting go, she decided, of letting go of her self-control, her independence, her dignity, of her father’s influence. That most of all.

She was about to remount when she saw one of her mine workers riding towards her on what looked like Roland’s stallion. Her heart went to her mouth. Something had happened to him, something dreadful. He had been thrown and killed. Her inclination was to run towards him, but she made herself stand still and wait.

‘Miss Cartwright I am sent to tell you, there’s been an accident…’

‘Accident?’ She felt the breath leave her body and had to hang on to her horse’s neck to steady herself. ‘When? Where is he?’

‘He, ma’am?’

‘The Earl. That is his horse, is it not?’

‘Yes, but it ain’t him what’s hurt, leastways I don’t think so. There’s two men down the bottom level an’ they’ve been trapped by rising water…’

She ought not to show relief that it was not Roland, though it was profound. ‘What were they doing down there? I have never asked any of you to work on Sundays.’

‘They’ve been down there since last night’s shift.’

‘Last night! Why was I not told?’

‘Mr Bailey said not to worry you, what with your ball an’ all.’

‘Damn my ball!’ she exclaimed angrily, then realised it was not fair to take her anger out on the messenger. ‘Never mind that.’ She hauled herself back into the saddle and began to ride up towards the mine. He turned to ride beside her.

‘What are you doing on the Earl’s horse?’ she asked.

‘It were the only one available. Mr Bailey came in his trap.’

‘Where is the Earl?’

‘His lordship hev gone down a hole. He reckons he knows ’ow to get at the men.’

‘Down a hole? You mean down one of the levels?’

‘No, down a hole up by the smelting mill, one o’ them queer shafts.’

‘Show me.’

He led the way past the main adits where the pump was still working and men were moving about in the last stages of exhaustion, to the smelting mill. Here several men were gathered, among them Robert Bailey. They had rigged up a block and tackle over a hole in the ground. She dismounted and went over to them and peered down. The hole was very narrow and she could see nothing. ‘The Earl is down there?’

‘Yes, Miss Cartwright,’ the engineer said. ‘I tried to stop him…’

‘What does he think he can do?’

‘He says he knows the underground passages. I knew of them; we have come across one or two when mining, but I had no idea they had been explored. His lordship hopes to divert the water by blasting a hole from one passage to another.’

‘And drowning himself in the process.’ She could hardly breathe for worrying about him. If he died… Oh, she could not bear it. She forced herself to sound practical. ‘Is he alone?’

‘Yes, he would not allow anyone to go down with him.’

‘How long has he been down there?’

‘Nigh on two hours, Miss Cartwright.’

‘And no one thought to send for me?’

‘We did not want to worry you, Miss Cartwright, and you could do nothing in any case.’

‘So you sent for his lordship instead.’

‘No, ma’am, he was out riding. He found us trying to reach the men from the second level.’

So, he had not given up wanting the land back. He had probably heard about the barytes and had come up to see how his mine was doing, and, finding it in trouble, must needs interfere. How could she be so angry with him at the same time as she was out of her mind with worrying about his safety?

‘Are the miners still alive?’

‘We think so. There has been no more rain since last night and the pumps are keeping the water at the same level.’

‘But it is not going down?’

‘No. We cannot know how much air the men have left and digging is taking too long.’

‘Who are the men?’

‘Daniel Biggs and Jake Salhouse.’

She would be concerned for any of her workers, but Daniel Biggs was one of her special protégés whom she had taken on when the new adit was opened. How she would break the news to his mother if anything happened to him, she did not know. ‘Do you think his lordship can do anything? Or is he foolishly risking his own life?’

His answer was cut off by the sound of an explosion. It rocked the whole hillside and a few stones and boulders began tumbling down from above. They took shelter behind the smelting house and waited until the movement subsided and the loose stones stopped bouncing down towards them. What had happened below their feet? Had the explosive been set off on purpose or had there been an accident? The men looked significantly at each other. ‘He’s gone,’ Job Bunty said and crossed himself.

Charlotte felt weak in the knees and it took all her self-control not to fall to the ground and howl. The man she loved was dead. She would never see him again, never watch his smile light up his face, never see his eyebrow lift as it did when he teased her, never hear his soft voice, never be touched by him, feel his lips on hers, his warm body pressing against hers, setting her on fire with desire. Never quarrel with him again. It was too much to bear and she turned away so that the men might not see her grief.

Текст предоставлен ООО «ЛитРес».

Прочитайте эту книгу целиком, купив полную легальную версию на ЛитРес.

Безопасно оплатить книгу можно банковской картой Visa, MasterCard, Maestro, со счета мобильного телефона, с платежного терминала, в салоне МТС или Связной, через PayPal, WebMoney, Яндекс.Деньги, QIWI Кошелек, бонусными картами или другим удобным Вам способом.