That gentleman's not the type to go quietly if he can't get what he wants, and Ma doesn't need a bear roaring through the beehives, not tonight. I'd best see if Finch is in the boys' chamber.'
This time it was Elena who caught her arm. 'No, don't waste your time. He's not in there. I was looking for him too and I checked there. You know Finch, he's always hungry. Why don't you check the kitchens? He's probably hanging round the cooks. I'll look in the sleeping quarters.'
'Kitchens, yes, you're right. With that pretty little face of his, he could wheedle food from the king's own plate. Those cooks are probably stuffing him like a capon.'
She turned to go, then looked back at Elena. 'I know you feel sorry for the lad, Holly, but if you find him, you'd best take him to Ma straight away, even if he begs you not to. It'll be worse for him in the long run if he makes a fool out of her. She doesn't take kindly to that. You've not seen Ma in a rage and you'd best pray to every saint in heaven, and the Devil too, that you never do.'
Elena waited until Luce was out of sight, then ran back to the boys' chamber and slipped inside. It was as dark as a grave, for the boys were not expected to entertain in there tonight and not even the fire had been lit in the pit. She groped her way forward, using the partitions between the stalls as her guide. When she judged herself almost at the back of the room, she called out Softly, 'Finch, Finch, are you there? It's me, El. .. Holly.'
Almost at once she felt a small cold hand slip into hers.
'Where have you been? I've waited ages and ages. I thought you weren't coming.'
'I'm here now.' She squeezed the little fingers gently. 'Can you find the door in the dark?'
'Course I can.' He sounded more confident than she'd ever heard him, just like any cocky little village boy. She felt his body taut beside her, but knew from his tone and the urgent tugging of his hand that his tension came from excitement, not fear. She guessed he hadn't seen Hugh arrive. He didn't know they were looking for him.
She swallowed hard. 'We must hurry, Finch, there isn't much time.'
They found the burning torch half-way down the cellar steps as before and Elena lifted it out of its bracket. Although she knew exactly what to expect now, still that raw stench of savage beasts made her stomach contract. She dreaded passing them. Would Finch be able to walk past that great cat after what had happened? But he didn't turn towards the cages. Instead he tugged her towards the side of the stairs and the open hole in the floor with its hollow drip, drip of water.
'Careful,' Finch warned.
He pulled her back against the wet slimy wall as they inched around it. The slippery flags beneath Elena's feet sloped at a perilous angle towards the great black hole. Finally they reached the back of the staircase. Finch darted forward and grabbed at something. Elena held up the burning torch and saw a thick piece of sacking hanging against the wall. Finch held it aside and at once a new smell of mud and rotting fish billowed towards them on an icy current of air. In front of them was a tunnel, sloping downwards away from the cellar. Like the other, it curved round, so that Elena couldn't see the end.
'Down there, that's the river and the gate,' Finch whispered.
Elena suddenly remembered the blazing torch in her hands. Once they reached the end of the tunnel anyone on the river or the bank would see its flame for miles in the darkness.
'Finch, we have to put the torch back. If Talbot comes and finds it missing he'll guess someone is down here.'
Elena knew she should be the one to replace the torch in its bracket on the stairs, but she couldn't go back there, not if it meant returning here in the dark. She was terrified that one false step and she would fall into that hole. Without a light, how could she even see where it was?
Finch hesitated, but only for a minute. 'You stay here. I can find my way in the dark. Done it hundreds of times.' But his voice was trembling.
She wanted to stop him. She knew that she should, but she