“I’m many things, my love, but not, I hope, a fool. Only a fool would give up that kind of inheritance. But I appreciate the fact that you were willing for me to do so, and I apologize for my behavior by the pool. I seem to be of a somewhat hasty bent where you’re concerned.”
“You’ve no need to doubt me, Julian. It’s you I love, rich or poor, lord or gypsy, and no one else.”
“Yes, well.…” He took a deep breath, let her go, moved around her to close the bedroom door, then came back to her and caught her hand. Anna, puzzled, was frowning at him as he led her to the giltwood chair on which she had perched once before, and pushed her down upon it.
“What … ?” she began blankly even as he sank to one knee before her and took one of her hands in both of his.
“I behaved so badly earlier that I feel I owe you amends. Behold me, on my knees, most properly beseeching you for your hand and heart.”
Torn between surprise and laughter, Anna could only stare at him. He was smiling, his expression whimsical. His attitude, as he pressed her hand theatrically over his heart, was ridiculous in the extreme. But the gesture touched her, too. Julian was not a man to humble himself easily.
“In other words, my love, I am asking you to marry me.”
For brief seconds she made him wait, while her eyes ran over him, affixing this moment forever in her memory. She had a feeling that she would not often see Julian on his knees asking for anything. What he wanted from life—and from her—he was far more likely to take.
“Well?” His brows had twitched together as he waited, Anna smiled at him. The hand that he had not imprisoned came out to touch his cheek.
“Of course I’ll marry you,” she answered softly. Then, leaning forward, she pressed a tender kiss to his hard mouth.
“My Anna.” If there was a certain huskiness to his tone, there was fierce possession too. He rose to his feet, drawing her up with him, into his embrace. Anna melted against him, her arms going up to link behind his head, her lips coming up for his kiss. When he lifted her to carry her to bed, she made no objection, although it was still the middle of the day with servants roaming all over the house and Chelsea liable to come searching for her mama at any moment. But what did any of that matter against the necessity of convincing Julian that she loved him with all her heart? Because she knew, as surely as if he had spoken the words aloud, that he still doubted.
It was possible that he would always doubt. But she meant to love him long and well and always, and perhaps that would be enough to ease the pangs of insecurity that ate at his soul.
As it happened, they were not interrupted. They loved each other passionately, cuddled, murmured soft words of endearment, then loved each other again. Finally, exhausted, they slept. When they awoke it was, from the look of the moon floating high outside the uncurtained windows, near midnight.
Julian stretched luxuriously, wrapped her in his arms, and rolled over with her to kiss her. Instead of responding in kind, Anna wriggled restively in his embrace.
“Julian.”
He loosened his arms, frowning down at her. “What?”
“I’m hungry.” It was a plaintive moan. He chuckled and rolled off her, sitting up and flexing his bare shoulders. Anna, no longer self-conscious about being naked in his presence, sat up too.
“You mean you prefer food to me? For shame!” But he was grinning at her. “Ah, well, I confess I’m hungry, too. Why don’t you wait here while I go foraging?”
“I’ll come with you.” She swung her legs over the side of the bed and stood up. Julian eyed her backside appreciatively as she bent over, gathering up her clothes.
Then, all of a sudden, she straightened and sniffed.
“Do you smell something?” she asked in a very different tone than she had used before.
Julian sniffed the air too. Then he shot up off the bed and grabbed for his breeches.
“What is it?” Anna asked, alarmed at the abruptness of his response.
Julian didn’t even stop to look at her as he yanked on his breeches.
“Smoke.”
L
T
he house was on fire. Even as Anna, having dressed almost as hastily as Julian, followed him into the hall she saw thin gray wisps of smoke feathering up the stairs. Below, the air looked hazy. The smell of burning was much stronger here, and she thought she could hear a distant crackle.
“Chelsea!”
“Get her, and I’ll rouse the others.” Julian headed in the opposite direction from the one Anna took, throwing open the doors and shouting “Fire!”
Flying along the corridor, Anna threw open the door to the nursery and was relieved to find her daughter snugly asleep in her bed.
“Wake up, chicken!” Anna said urgently, wrapping the child in a quilt and scooping her up in her arms without waiting to see if her words had penetrated. Thank goodness Chelsea was a featherweight! Although Anna was not very large herself, she could still carry the child with scarcely any difficulty.
“Mama?” Chelsea blinked owlishly at her mother even as Anna hurried with her to arouse Kirti.
“It’s all right, sweetheart. I’ve got you safe.” Even as Anna uttered the reassurance, she was bent over Kirti, shaking her shoulder. The ayah started up with a gasp. Her eyes widened.
“The house is on fire. We’ve got to get out. Hurry!” Anna barely waited to see the old woman swing her legs out of bed before hurrying from the room with Chelsea. There was Ruby to rouse, and Jim, although she supposed Julian had taken care of awakening one or both of them. The smell of burning was stronger now. There wasn’t much time.
“Anna!” Julian was shouting from the hallway.
“Here!” She emerged to find Julian barreling toward her, Ruby in his wake.
“Thank God!” he said as he saw her, and scooped Chelsea from her arms. Grabbing Anna’s hand, he hauled her toward the stairs, which were now oozing smoke.
“Where’s Jim?” She panted as she half ran in Julian’s wake. Ruby was right behind her in a surprisingly prim nightdress, while Kirti, still in her sleeping shift, had emerged from the nursery and was running toward them.
“He’s not in the house. I set him to keep an eye on Graham, just in case.” At the head of the stairs, he turned back to bark directions. “Anna, take Ruby’s hand. Ruby, hold on to Kirti. Don’t let go. The smoke’s liable to be thick until we can make it. out the door.”
“Uncle Julie, I’m scared!”
“Nothing to be scared of. Just shut your eyes, press your face against my shoulder, and we’ll all be out of here in a few minutes. That’s a good girl.” Chelsea, her arms wrapped tightly around his neck, did as Julian said. Then he looked back at the others, who were lined up behind him, tightened his grip on Anna’s hand, said “Come on!” and headed down the stairs.
Toward the back of the house, the fire was already roaring. Smoke billowed through the downstairs hall, to be drawn up the stairs as if it were a chimney. As they reached the bottom of the stairs the air grew increasingly more difficult to breathe. Anna coughed, choking. The others were coughing, too, and Chelsea was clinging to Julian for dear life. Her eyes were watering, making it difficult to see, but Julian was leading them surely toward the front door. From the corner of her eye Anna noticed as they passed the front parlor. Just a few more feet to go.… He had his hand on the knob but drew it quickly back, swearing as the metal burned his palm. Then, using the tail of Chelsea’s nightgown to protect his hand, he tried again, this time pulling the door open. Smoke billowed through this new opening even as Anna, gasping for fresh air, crowded behind Julian, who seemed, inexplicably, to have stopped dead no more than one step onto the veranda.
“God in heaven!”
He sounded so horrified that Anna, eyes streaming, forced herself to focus on whatever it was that had drawn such a reaction from him.
“Would you look at that!”
“Oh-ay!”
Behind Anna, Ruby and Kirti also saw the menacing figures moving toward them through the smoke-filled night, even before Anna was sure that what she was seeing was real.
An army of islanders was spread out across the lawn in single file, shoulder to shoulder, chanting as they marched toward the house: islanders in horrific costumes consisting of conical hats, metal breastplates and belts, and multilayered sarongs in shades of saffron and gold. Dozens of silver bracelets and anklets caught and reflected the moonlight as they moved. Their very skin seemed to bristle threateningly. As they drew closer, the moonlight suddenly brightened enough for Anna to see that all of them had pierced their cheeks, arms, and even their thighs with tiny spears. Each carried a huge, razor-tipped spear, which they shook menacingly in time to their chants.
“Dear God!” Anna breathed. Chelsea, staring fascinated at the approaching mob from the safety of Julian’s arms, peered back at her mother over his shoulder.
“That’s what the coolie looked like who did the nightmare spell!”
“Is Thuggees! Oh—ay, great trouble comes.…”
Kirti, moaning, was silenced as Julian suddenly turned on her.
“Thuggees?” he demanded sharply. “What the hell are they?”
“I told the memsahib—the flower was a warning. Quick, quick, we must go back in the house. They will kill us all! For the sake of the little missy, we must hurry!”
“We can’t go back in—the ’ouse is burning!” Ruby sounded terrified, and Anna didn’t blame her. The chant of the approaching islanders was drowning out the roaring of the fire. Smoke poured around them; Anna wasn’t sure if the islanders had seen them or not, but suddenly the thought of being seen by them made her shiver.
Kirti had said they would be killed.…
“There is a way—a passage. Come, sahib, memsahib! Hurry!”
Kirti turned and darted back into the burning house. Julian stared after her for a split second’s uncertainty, then appeared to come to a decision. His hand tightening on Anna’s, he thrust Chelsea’s head down on his shoulder and plunged back inside the house, pulling Anna and Ruby with him. The smoke was so thick now that Anna’s eyes watered instantly. She stumbled blindly in Julian’s wake as he almost ran down the hall. Behind her, Ruby coughed and choked, but hung on.
It was getting harder and harder to breathe. The air was thick and so hot that Anna feared it would singe their skin as they plunged toward what seemed to be the very heart of the fire. Ahead, sparks shot toward them, at the forefront of what seemed to be an oncoming orange glow. Of course, the fire was spreading toward them. The crackling roar was so loud now that the noise in itself was terrifying. Anna picked up her skirt to shield her mouth and nose from the worst of the smoke, but it didn’t seem to help.
It occurred to her that she, and the rest of them, might die after all.
Please God, protect us. Please God, look after Chelsea. Those two phrases ran over and over through Anna’s mind, to the exclusion of almost everything else. Except for the thought that burning to death would be an awful way to die.
In front of her Julian stopped, bent, and seemed to wrench something out of the floor. Through streaming eyes Anna saw that he was holding what seemed to be part of the floor aloft, while Kirti disappeared into it. Then Julian was handing a sobbing Chelsea beneath the floor. Either smoke or terror must have affected Anna’s brain, because it was only after Julian dragged her forward that she saw that there was a hole in the floor leading to some sort of passageway beneath. Gaping at it, she barely had time to register that they were in the keeping room before Julian was lowering her.
The space where she found herself was less than three feet tall, with an earth floor beneath and the floor of the house above for a ceiling. It was not smoke-free, but the air here was fresher—enough so that she could at least breathe as she followed Kirti and Chelsea, who were crawling single-file ahead of her. Chelsea looked back once at Anna, whimpering, but Kirti, with a hand in the child’s nightdress, dragged her on. Behind Anna came Ruby, with Julian, who had stayed to replace the trapdoor, in the rear. Judging from the direction of the smoke and the roar, they seemed to be crawling parallel to the fire above them. But it was gaining ground with ominous speed.
At any moment the floor above them might collapse.
Kirti reached a mud wall that marked the eastern boundary of the house’s foundation, crawled quickly to the left, and then, without warning, simply disappeared. It took Anna an instant to realize that she had dropped through a jagged black hole in the floor.
“Mama, I can’t!” Chelsea hesitated on the brink of the hole, staring down into what seemed to be limitless blackness below.
“Yes, you can, chicken. Kirti’s there,” Anna told her daughter, and then as the floor above them gave an ominous creak she put her arms around the child’s waist, dropped her legs into the hole, and, closing her eyes, prayed.
The two of them slithered feetfirst along a midnight-black, lichen-slick, plunging passageway that seemed to go straight down.
Chelsea screamed and clung tightly to her mother’s neck. Anna held on to her child for dear life and braced herself for what would come.
What came was jarring contact with a flat patch of ground. Anna hit it feetfirst, and, with Chelsea’s weight added to hers, crumpled. Then, quickly, remembering Ruby and Julian behind her, she scrambled out of the way. Chelsea still clung to her neck like a monkey, but Anna felt some of her fear subside as she realized that they were in what appeared to be a tunnel, perhaps five feet tall and a little more than half as wide, lined with bricks. The bricks were ancient, and covered with slime, but still they were bricks, and therefore man-made. And they could not be very far below the surface. Chinks in the bricks that made up the roof allowed tiny slanting beams of moonlight through, enough to enable them to see their surroundings and each other. Kirti was there, standing a little way down the tunnel, waiting. As Anna shot into view with Chelsea, Kirti put her finger to her lips, signaling for silence as she pointed overhead. Chelsea eased her grip on her mother’s neck, and Anna thankfully put the child down. Then she was distracted by the wooshing appearance of Ruby, followed by Julian.