Keeping the Castle - By Patrice Kindl Page 0,33

I don’t know. However, if you will take these boots from me—they are confoundedly heavy. I feel as though they’re dragging me down to Hades.”

There came a great deal of thrashing around in the water as Mr. Fredericks struggled to get his boots off one-handed. I soon found myself receiving first one and then another large, waterlogged Hessian.

“Be careful of those,” Mr. Fredericks instructed, having thrust the second boot square into my face. “They cost a monstrous sum of money. No, don’t throw them, you’ll scratch the leather.”

“Mr. Fredericks, I cannot imagine how you can worry about scratching the leather on a pair of boots at a moment like this!”

“I tell you they were dashed expensive,” he said. “Boring brought me to this little shop on Bond Street and you would not credit the price they demanded— Here, make that animal go away!”

A stray sheep, stimulated by this unexpected excitement in a normally placid life, had approached unobserved and was preparing to sniff at Mr. Fredericks’s head. I shooed it away before it could fall into the mine as well. Fido leapt to his feet with intent to give pursuit, but at a command from me sat down again.

“And why you, Fido,” I added, pursuing a grievance which had been weighing on my mind, “had to go and fall in on top of Alexander, I am quite at a loss to determine.”

“By heavens, you’re ungrateful!” said Mr. Fredericks. “The dog knows you’re fond of the boy and he was merely trying to fetch him back for you. He almost lost his life in the process.”

“I don’t see why he could not have barked. I—” Here our squabble was interrupted by the sound of my mother’s voice.

“Alexander!”

At last. I heaved a grateful sigh. We were discovered.

Mama snatched up my brother into a clasp so tight it made him cry out. The others soon followed, stories were recounted and methods for rescuing Mr. Fredericks debated. After listening to this for some minutes the gentleman himself began to issue orders.

“You, Mrs. Hrm . . . Alexander’s mother. You take the boy and get him to someplace warm and dry. Bumbershook, you’d better escort her. Then you, the one who fell into the gorse bush, and the other one, the sister, you go home, as you are of no use here. Your groom can look after you and make sure you don’t get lost. Boring can go to Allingham, or to the nearest farm, and get some rope and some farm hands with which to hoist me out. She”—he jerked his chin in my direction—“can stay here and feed me something sustaining whilst I am hanging here like a trussed chicken in a stockpot ready for the boiling.”

“Oh, but it would not be proper at all to leave Althea here alone with a gentleman not related to her,” protested Prudence. (I suspect she had not cared for being referred to as “the one who fell into the gorse bush” and adjudged to be “of no use” after having taken pains to walk with him.)

I, however, had had time to think over the plan. “But there is no one else, Prudence, and we cannot leave the gentleman who nearly sacrificed his life for little Alexander alone to his fate. Unless of course, you wish to stay—”

“No, indeed! I believe I have suffered quite enough on this expedition, without sacrificing my reputation.”

My mother was already being helped up onto her horse. Lord Bumbershook handed Alexander up to her. “Never mind, Prudence,” she called. “It will only be for a moment at most. The Marquis has spotted smoke from a chimney just over those trees. They will not be long unchaperoned.”

“Unchaperoned!” said Mr. Fredericks testily. “I’d like to know what outrages to this young lady’s modesty anyone thinks I am capable of administering, under the circumstances.”

It occurred to me that he was more than capable of outraging my modesty even under these circumstances, by insisting on disrobing even further than he already had. “I have changed my mind,” I said. “Mama, pray ask Charity to remain with me. She can ride home with us once Mr. Fredericks is freed.”

Prudence raised objections, but Charity agreed with hardly a murmur. I suppose she was imagining riding home side by side with the Baron while I was distracted by my care for Mr. Fredericks.

In a few moments everyone save we three had ridden off. Considering the number of events that had occurred since we had arrived at the Screaming Stones,