Haunted by the Earl's Touch - By Ann Lethbridge Page 0,33

she wasn’t ready to do so. Not yet.

With one hand on the clammy wall and the candle held out in front of her, she pressed on, slowly, one step at a time. This part of the tunnel was not quite high enough for her to stand upright, but as long as she kept her neck bent, she managed not to give the top of her head more than the odd scrape.

She turned another corner. Now the voices were as clear as if she was standing in the room with the earl and, she supposed, his visitor, Lord Templeton.

‘To speedy success. Hopefully it won’t take too much time away from your duties,’ the earl said. A chinking of glasses ensued.

What on earth could they be talking about? Whatever it was, it was not her business.

‘What more do you know about her?’ Lord Templeton asked.

‘Nothing, except he left her a fortune.’

They were talking about her. Then it was her business.

‘What is she like?’

Her breath caught in her throat. She winced. She did not want to hear this, but for some reason she could not move.

There was a long pause, as if the earl was taking his time considering the question. Oh, she really should go.

‘Tall. Stubborn to a fault,’ he said quite softly, sounding almost bemused. ‘Certainly not my type,’ he added more forcefully.

Nor was he hers.

‘I suppose you have thought about the other solution,’ Templeton said.

She stilled. Another solution would be a very good thing, wouldn’t it? Some way out of their predicament?

The earl made a sound like a bitter laugh and said something indistinct. Then continued more clearly. ‘I want know what I am dealing with before taking drastic action.’

Drastic? What did he mean by drastic? She recalled the push that had almost sent her over the cliff. Her mouth dried. Her heart knocked against her ribs. She leaned against the wall for support. A sick feeling churned in her stomach. Fear.

An overreaction? Drastic could mean anything. The fact he stood to inherit by her death didn’t mean he would actually plan it.

Surely he couldn’t be that evil.

‘I’ll do anything you want,’ Templeton said. His next words were too low for her to hear.

If they were plotting against her it would help to know what they had in mind. She put her ear to the wall.

A piece of rock crumbled against her fingers and rattled to the floor.

‘What was that?’ Templeton asked.

She held her breath, frozen to the spot. If the earl knew about the passageway, would he guess someone was inside, listening?

‘Ranger heard it, too,’ the earl said. His voice drew closer. ‘What is it, old fellow?’

The dog whined, then she heard a snuffling sound as if he had his nose pressed against the stonework.

‘It’s either a mouse or a rat,’ the earl said, so close to her ear that she recoiled. ‘I wouldn’t be surprised if the inside of the walls weren’t crawling with vermin. Something else to eliminate when I have the money situation resolved.’

Something else to eliminate? The tunnels and her? Her stomach pitched. She had to get away from this place. As soon as possible. Sooner.

‘Another brandy, Gabe?’ The earl’s voice moved further away.

‘Thank you. That had better be the last though, if I am to leave at first light.’

She didn’t dare wait to hear more in case she made more noise and he decided to investigate. And besides, she’d heard all she needed to know.

Terror blocking her throat, her legs almost too weak to hold her up, she walked through the dark and the damp holding on to the rough stone for support. At the sight of the light streaming into the tunnel from her chamber, she ran the last few steps. Panting with the effort of not collapsing in a heap, she sent the wall back to its proper place.

Her heart knocking hard against her ribs, her stomach in a knot, she leaned her back against the wall. She squeezed her hands tightly together as the words went round and round in her head. Drastic action. When I have the money. Another thing to eliminate. There was only one conclusion she could draw from his words.

Her mind refused to focus. Think, Mary. Think. She took a deep breath. And another. The trembling eased. Her breathing slowed. She looked around at the bed, the door, the window. Stepped away from a wall anyone could open from the other side.

Anyone. The earl or his friend could walk in on her as she slept and take