Page 127 of The Bachelor Spy
Something thumped in the distance, like a crash or fall.
Could the ceiling have collapsed farther down the tunnel? Or was it something else?
They continued deeper into the darkness, the lantern light barely pushing back the shadows. Pennington may be desperate, but he wasn’t evil. He’d even attempted to catch her from falling on the uneven ground.
He didn’t want to hurt her.
Which meant she might be able to reason with him once they found the jewels—or didn’t find them, which seemed equally likely after twenty years.
The passage opened suddenly into a larger chamber, perhaps fifteen feet across. Ancient timber supports crisscrossed the ceiling like the ribs of some massive creature. Stone walls rose on all sides, slick with moisture and age.
And there, on the far side, about five feet up the wall, Grace could see it—a narrow crevice with the faint outline of a crown roughly carved into the stone above it.
“There,” Pennington breathed, pointing with a shaking hand. “That’s it. Just as Grandfather described.”
Despite everything—despite the danger, despite being held here against her will—Grace felt a thrill of discovery rush through her. The jewels werereal.The hiding place was exactly where Crawford said it would be.
If she weren’t pregnant, this would feel exactly like a novel.
But she couldn’t remember ever reading a story where a pregnant woman experienced adventures like this.
Pennington was already climbing onto a pile of fallen stones beneath the crevice, reaching up toward the opening.
The tunnel stretched a little farther ahead before it came to a complete stop, blocked by an avalanche of earth and timber. Grace’s breath quivered.
How long ago had that happened? She swallowed. Recently?
Pennington stretched, his arm disappearing into the shaft, but he released a curse. “I can’t … My arm won’t fit far enough back. I can feel something—fabric, maybe a bag?—but I can’t reach it.”
Grace took a step back. Pennington was occupied. The tunnel led directly to the surface. She could feel her way through the darkness without the lantern and perhaps make it up before he caught her.
“You try,” Pennington said, jumping down from his perch on the rocks.
His movements seemed to inspire another strain of sound from the rafters.
“We should leave, Mr. Pennington.” She sent a meaningful look up to the ceiling. “Those jewels aren’t worth your life.”
“I don’t have a life if I leave them.” He took her by the arm and steered her toward the opposite wall, steadying her as she climbed up the stones he’d just vacated.
The crevice was narrow, barely wide enough for her arm. She had to turn her shoulder and press her cheek against the damp stone wall just to get the angle right.
“If I can reach the jewels,” Grace said quietly, “will you let me go? Will you leave Havensbrooke and never come back?”
Silence.
“I … yes,” he answered, his hand tightening on her waist as he steadied her. “Yes, my lady. I give you my word.”
She believed him. This was his way of making amends. Much like Grace had wanted to try once she’d discovered her father had fallen into bankruptcy and tricked Frederick out of her full dowry. Money that would have saved Havensbrooke outright came to only half of what had been promised.
But these jewels.
Frederick’s family jewels could have remedied that.
Her breath stalled. If she kept a few of the jewels, then she could repay some of what her father had taken from them.
Restore what Frederick had lost.
For his dear Havensbrooke.
