couldn't. She let him take the torch from her hands.
You'll stay here, Holly, won't you?' he begged her. You promise you won't go without me? You'll wait for me?'
As the boy slipped under the sacking, Elena stood rigid in a darkness so thick that it seemed to suck the very air from her mouth. She pressed herself against the dripping wall. She was back in that pit, next to Gerard's coffin, chained by the neck, screaming and screaming and yet knowing that not a sound was escaping from her lips. Again she heard the grating of the trapdoor opening and Raffaele's voice calling to her, Raffaele's hand bringing her light and freedom. What would he say when he found her gone? He had told her time and again to trust him, and everything which had gone wrong in her life had been because she hadn't gone to him, hadn't trusted him.
Elena tried to force the memories down, to silence Raffaele's voice in her head. Above her, even now, Luce was searching for Finch, Talbot too probably, and maybe others. Hugh would be growing impatient. It would only be a matter of time before Ma sent Talbot to search the cellars. Elena shivered. It was so cold down here. Where was Finch? Suppose he'd fallen into that hole or was standing in the darkness, too frightened to move? What if he couldn't find the entrance to the tunnel? She would have to go out there. She'd have to find him.
Elena felt a cold waft of air on her skin as the sacking curtain moved.
'Holly, Holly, where are you?' Finch sounded terrified.
'Here, I'm here.' She thrust out her hand, feeling round until she touched something warm. Finch seized her hand, then threw his arms about her waist, pressing his face into her belly in a frantic hug.
'I heard someone calling for me up there,' he whispered. 'Are they looking for me?'
'Come on,' Elena urged. 'Quickly!'
Moving her hand along the slimy wall, they edged down the passage. Several times they both slipped on the wet stones beneath their feet, but they managed to steady each other. At last, as they came round the curve of the tunnel, Elena felt a breeze on her face and saw before them the thick iron bars of a gate glinting in a shaft of moonlight.
On the other side of the iron grid, three steps led down to the water's edge. Stretching out in front of them was the broad river; black and oily in the silver light, it twisted and writhed as it rushed past them. Moored along either bank were the dark humps of boats. Here and there the red glow of a small brazier on a boat's deck, or the yellow smudge of a lantern hanging from a mast or prow, showed that their owners were spending the night on board, but most of the little craft rocked at their moorings, black and silent. On the far side of the broad river more fires burned outside a small cluster of wooden shacks, but beyond that was darkness.
Finch pointed to a rope hanging from the roof of the tunnel. 'See, you have to pull that and the gate comes up, but it goes down as soon as you stop pulling'
Elena grasped the thick rope and tugged. It took all her strength to make the grid swing upwards just the span of her hand, but as soon as she slackened her grip, it fell back into place with a crash that echoed through the tunnel. She and Finch both froze, holding their breath, but they heard nothing except the rushing water.
Elena looked around, her heart thumping in her chest. Time was running out. There had to be a way to keep the gate open. She searched both sides around her. Then she saw a metal bar, jutting out high up on the wall. When the gate was raised fully, it should be possible to loop the rope over the bar and hold it open, but they'd never be able to close it behind them. They'd have to pray that no one came down here for hours.
'Finch, listen to me. As soon as I lift the gate, you get under it and scramble up the bank beside the steps.'
'But you're coming with me. You promised.'
'I will, I will, but you have to go first. Go as soon as I tell you. Are you ready?'
Finch nodded. Elena planted her feet wide and grabbed the rope in both hands. She