Page 4 of The Darkland

“Put your hand down,” she grumbled. “I shall not accept it. I can do this alone.”

He raised an eyebrow, drawing his hand back but not removing it completely. Her skirts were in her way as she crept along the ledge and he found himself watching her footing very carefully.

“Were you really going to jump?”

“Of course,” she said boldly. “I still might if you plan to force me to travel to Anchorsholme Castle.”

“I do. Jump if you must.”

Her frown deepened, out of place on her lovely face. “Then untie the rope from the bed. I am going to go through with it.”

He shook his head. “I am not going to untie anything. If you truly wish to jump, then unfasten the rope around your waist.”

She stepped on the edge of her surcoat, tugging it carefully from beneath her slipper. “Has anyone ever told you that you are a nasty, disagreeable man?”

“Constantly.”

“And this Irish accent; it offends me. Why did you not simply stay in Ireland where you belong?”

“Because my family has served the House of De Cleveley for three generations,” he said patiently. “I had no choice but to come to England and associate with stubborn English females like yourself.”

She scowled, taking her focus off the ledge for a brief moment. “I do not like you.”

“Good.”

“Mayhap you did not understand me clearly. I really do not like you. I loathe you. In fact, when my sister is married to de Cleverey, I am going to make sure that you are reduced from captain to scullery maid.”

“The name is de Cleveley. And I am too hairy to be a scullery maid.”

Her surcoat was caught beneath her feet again but neither one of them realized it until it was too late. Before Mara could deliver another insult, she lost her balance and plunged from the ledge.

Instinctively, Kirk snatched the linen rope, holding it tight. About ten feet below him, Mara gasped and twisted.

“Stop moving, lass!” he commanded. “I shall pull you in, but you must stop moving!”

Clutching the rope, Mara’s voice was tight with fear. “I… I did not tie it about my waist very well! It is slipping!”

A bolt of panic surged through Kirk, entirely foreign to the usually calm man. It was difficult to maintain a cool, steady motion while reeling in the rope; he did not want to jerk it in his haste and end up losing her altogether.

“I have almost got you.” His voice was calm. “Just a little further and I have got you.”

He could hear her fearful grunts, struggling to control his own apprehension. Hand over hand, he was nearly to the point where he could reach down and grab her when Micheline suddenly bolted into the room. Her scream of terror was almost enough to cause him to lose his grip.

“My God!” Micheline cried, plowing into Kirk in her attempt to catch a glimpse of her sister. “Mara, darling, hold on!”

Bright blue eyes gazed up at the two concerned faces several feet above. “Misha, I am sorry!” she cried, a far different attitude from the belligerent girl of moments before. “I should not have been so difficult and I swear if God allows me to live, I shall never do anything so stupid again! And I shall go with you to Anchorsholme, I promise!”

Kirk very nearly had her. “God is not pulling you from your death, my lady, I am.” He paused in his struggles. Stepping on the rope to hold it steady, he held out a hand as far as it would go. “Take hold, lass. Take hold!”

Mara could feel the tie around her waist loosening. Struggling to keep hold with one hand, she tried to reach him but missed by an inch. Feeling the rope as it continued to unwind, she gripped the linen fearfully with two hands again.

“I can’t,” she moaned. “I shall fall!”

Kirk knew how terrified she was. He was terrified, too. Resuming his pull on the rope, he reeled carefully. “It’s all right, I shall pull you up.” Heheard a shaken voice, hardly aware that it was his own. A couple of more tugs and Mara let out a piercing scream.

Kirk watched as the rope spun away from her waist, leaving her free and dangling several stories above the bailey. She was nearing panic, her gasps of fright heavy as her hold slipped.

“My hands!” She looked up at Kirk with those brilliant eyes. “They are wet. I can’t hold on any longer!”