Page 42 of To Claim His Highland Bride

He stood and moved to the edge of the platform. “The water has receded. Perhaps it is the men coming to find us.” He turned and strode back to her. “Dress quickly. We don’t want to waste a moment.”

Rowena sorted through the pile for her clothing before looking down at her stays. She chuckled at the terrible job she’d done finding the brackets to lace the garment closed. Even so, the haphazard lacing would have to do for now. Wasting no time, she finished dressing, grateful for the light. She was thrilled to be free of the trap the water had created, but also saddened by the end of this precious time alone with Marcus.

When they were both dressed, Marcus picked up the lantern and jumped down from the ledge before offering her his hand. When she was beside him, his gaze washed over her and he smiled. “As strange as it sounds, I’m glad we had this time together.” He squeezed her hand.

“Me too.” She returned his smile though inside her heart constricted a little. He took her arm, wound it with his and they set off. They had only gone a few paces before another lantern’s light spilled into their private retreat.

Bryce and two other men came forward. Yellow-gold light spilled through the chamber, illuminating the stark basalt walls. “Praise heaven you are alive,” Bryce said as his gaze passed between the two of them.

“We’re glad to see you. Did you get trapped by the tide?” Marcus asked.

Bryce nodded. “Not nearly as deep into the cave as you. The tunnel I went into moved upwards whereas yours went down. After going five hundred paces, I made my way back as we’d agreed. I made it all the way back to where the cave split into two before I became trapped.” Bryce tilted his head towards the two men who had accompanied him. “When Rob Roy and Mack returned with two boats, we all decided to come looking for you and Rowena.”

Rowena removed her arm from Marcus’s and stepped back, letting the men continue to talk. She took the lantern from Marcus’s hand and walked around the cave, exploring the odd formations that made up the walls.

“Did you find treasure in here?” Bryce asked.

“Nay,” Marcus replied.

A smile came to Bryce’s lips. “I found two chests filled with silver and gold coins in the tunnel I followed. The chests are already loaded on the boats.”

“That leaves ten more treasure chests if what Jacob Thorne told me was true. We did not have time to explore this branch of the cave for long before the water rushed in, trapping us on a ledge back there.”

Rowena let the men’s conversation flow over her as she continued studying the rocks. Reaching out, she trailed her fingers over the rough surface. She’d never seen such patterns as these before. These rocks had been here long before she had ever lived and would be here long after she died. Now that fear had passed, she was able to truly see the magnificence of the stone before her. In awe, she allowed her fingers to continue their exploration until suddenly there was nothing beneath them.

Bringing the lantern up, she peered at the gap before her. The opening had not been visible to them when they’d entered, because the rocks before her overlapped, making the wall seem solid when it was not. Even so, the gap in the rocks was not large, there was barely enough space for her to slip her shoulders into the gap. It took a moment to wiggle her hips through, but when she did, she held up the lantern to reveal another long tunnel.

Rowena stepped farther into the tunnel, and the voices behind her drifted away. She walked down the tunnel quite a ways when suddenly she stopped. There in the middle of the tunnel sat ten chests loaded with silver bullion, spices, gold, pearls, and emeralds.

Rowena gazed spellbound, barely breathing at the sight before her. She’d found the remaining treasure. Gold and silver coins were spilled all over the cave floor, indicating that the tide came in this far to wash over the treasure on a regular basis. Many items were still contained in their chests. She moved to examine them, counting four chests filled to overflowing with gold bullion and pearls, three chests with black-encrusted bricks that could only be silver bullion, and green-encrusted jewels, and three more chests with clay jars covered in algae.

From the top of one of the chests, Rowena retrieved a leather pouch and untied the fastening wrapped around the opening. Inside she saw large, creamy-coloured pearls that had once been a long necklace as evidenced by the fragment of silk thread that remained. She loosened her tunic and stuffed the leather pouch inside before closing her tunic once more. The small treasure had barely settled against the inside of her fairy armour when a roar from the very bowels of the earth echoed all around her. The rocky floor beneath her feet rippled and swayed as if it were alive, forcing her to stagger.

“An earthquake.” The panic in her voice bounced off the narrow walls. Rocks showered all around her as she retreated, forcing her to zigzag her steps to avoid being struck. Nervously she tightened her grip on the lantern and pushed forward. She’d felt tremors like this in the earth before. Their steward, Becks, used to tell her and her brothers such trembling was caused by the tension between earth and water.

“I’m surrounded by both earth and water.” The rumbling continued as Rowena staggered back to the gap. It was just ahead. She should have paid more attention to the trembling she’d felt earlier. The cave had tried to warn them that something terrible would happen, but neither she nor Marcus had listened to the subtle signals from the earth.

Only a few more steps . . . An ear-shattering grinding sounded. Several large stones broke away from the ceiling, falling to partially block her exit. She could still scramble over the tops if she hurried. More rocks rained down. Rowena surged forward. Her breath came in spurts as her heart pounded in her ears. She reached the gap, but skidded to a stop when three large boulders fell, blocking her path. “Nay!” she cried as terror wormed its icy, insidious tentacles through her body.

Why had she gone off by herself? Rowena dropped to her knees. Smaller rocks continued to pelt her body, but the fairy armour seemed impenetrable as each rock bounced off, neither piercing the leather nor bruising the flesh beneath. Then, as quickly as it had begun, the earth stopped shaking. An oppressive silence surrounded her.

This time she was stranded in a cave alone. “Marcus!” She screamed his name, praying he would somehow hear her. The word vibrated in the chamber for a long moment, then disappeared. Beside her, the light in the lantern sputtered before it caught more fully again.

Rowena clung to the lantern’s handle. What had Marcus said earlier? That there was only enough candle left for about four hours of light? Four hours. With great effort, she drew a calming breath and set the lantern aside. That meant she had four hours to try and push some of the rocks away so she could escape the all-consuming darkness and the tide that would rise once more in a matter of hours.

Chapter Eighteen

As the world around them began to shake, Marcus turned and looked back at where he’d last seen Rowena. His heart stopped when she was nowhere in sight.

“Rowena?” He raced towards the wall where he’d last noticed her presence.

“She was just here,” Bryce said, coming to join his cousin, holding the lantern high. Rob Roy and Mack followed behind them, their lanterns swaying with the undulating bed of the cave, causing the light to spill across in a twisting, contorting fashion.

Sounds both earthy and unearthly reverberated through the cave as chunks of rock crumbled from the ceiling, forcing the men to slow their progress. When they finally made it to the wall of the cave, they moved slowly along the edge as Marcus had last seen Rowena do. “There has to be something here that we are missing.”

“Are ye sure ’tis safe to remain in the cave?” Mack asked. “What if the ceilin’ comes down on our heads?”

Marcus ground his teeth. He was uncertain of anything other than his need to find Rowena. “If you’d feel safer out of the tunnel, then go ahead. I won’t stop you.”