The Winding Stair (45 page)

It was fantastic, but it was heart-warming too. ‘In case I should bear a bastard Aviz? Dear Gair, how you do jump to conclusions. But I'm grateful just the same—' She was close to tears, the first it had occurred to her to shed, and tried for a lighter note: ‘Don't you see, that's the last thing Vasco would want – any more suspicion of that kind. You're not thinking—'

‘How can I, when it's a question of you? Juana, have pity on me: explain. Don't you see, I've been distracted since you disappeared: I've not made sense. But – you're really not married
to him? None the worse? It's too good to be true. But how in the world?'

‘I persuaded Vasco we ought to wait and be married, like a King and Queen, in the cathedral at Lisbon. In fact, he was glad enough to put off the evil hour. No, I'm none the worse, except for being shut up in the top floor of his house for two weeks, with no one but his crazy old nurse for company. But that's hardly the point now, is it? The question is, how do we get out of here? And – do you think they will come back? The Sons of the Star?'

‘Eventually? Yes, of course. To remove our bodies. You remember how that man of yours – Tomas – was found. But how long they will leave it? Will we still have the strength to put up a fight? At least, the element of surprise will be on our side.'

‘Yes, and they're a superstitious lot: should we pretend to be our own ghosts, do you think? But there's another thing – you don't think Vasco may decide he can't do without me?'

‘I hoped you wouldn't think of that. But, in fact, I don't think it's very likely. You were listening. You heard how he had the meeting with him – they were hailing him as King Sebastian before he even mentioned you.'

‘Yes, if you hadn't raised the question of other heirs he might well have decided to do without me. As it was, he didn't mean to let me live long. Gair, it was horrible – I heard them, you know, the inner circle. That's how I learned about the Treaty of Fontainebleau—'

It was delicious to hear him laugh there in the darkness. ‘You're a better secret agent than I will ever be, my darling. That's why I joined, you know, in the hope of getting into the inner circle – I never got within a mile of them. But tell me about it. God knows we've time. And first, sit down, there's a chair somewhere isn't there?'

‘Yes.' They had been standing, one on each side of the locked door, intensely aware of each other but instinctively keeping a little apart. If they touched each other; if they talked about themselves instead of about their plight, anything might happen. Well, she thought, and why not? If they were to die here, trapped in the dark, why not their moment of happiness first?

‘We're going to get out of this you know.' He might have read her thoughts. ‘Everything is different now I know you are free. We're not, for a moment, going to despair. You're going to sit
down, very calmly, like yourself, and tell me everything that has happened to you. Who knows, it may help us to think of something?'

‘Yes.' Obediently, she felt her way back to the hard little chair. ‘I wish we could light the lantern.'

‘We daren't. Not so long as the panel is open. This way, we will know the minute they enter the big cavern.'

‘You're right of course.' She felt him settle at her feet again. ‘Oh, Gair, I'm glad you're here.'

‘So am I.' He found her hand and kissed it, then let it go quickly. ‘We've got to keep our heads, Juana. Tell me what happened to you.'

It was an order, and she plunged into her story.

‘So there is still time to stop him.' He summed up when she had finished.

‘Yes, if we can only escape. They'll do nothing until the French are almost at Lisbon. Then it will all happen at once.'

‘And he will give the signal, by declaring himself Sebastian. Juana, we have to escape.'

‘I do so agree with you.'

‘There's no secret way out of this cell?'

‘No. I asked my grandmother once. I didn't much like the feeling of being locked in here; I thought my grandfather might have provided an escape route. She said he had considered it but found it impossible.'

‘So there's nothing we can do but wait.'

‘That's it. How long do you think it's been?'

‘I don't know. How long was I unconscious?'

She thought about it. ‘Not long. I had only counted to five thousand. Gair, I'm hungry.'

Once again his hand reached up to find hers. ‘And cold, my poor darling. I suppose there's no more fuel for the brazier?'

‘It's outside.'

‘Of course. It would be. Come and sit beside me, love, and at least let me try and keep you warm. Oh God, Juana, if only I'd left you in England.'

What a strange thing. She had thought she looked forward to telling him that it was really Vasco who had arranged for her to come to Portugal, that they had all been merely his puppets, but when it came to a point, she had glided over this in her story. It would be intolerable for Gair to think he had been merely Vasco's
dupe, and Mrs. Brett's. She turned toward him in the darkness. ‘Never think that,' she said. ‘I'd rather be here, with you, for the rest of the time we have.'

‘Juana!' In a moment, the control that had kept them side by side, merely touching each other, was going to snap.

‘Shh … Listen!' Was it imagination, or had she heard the sound of movement in the big cavern?

He had heard it too. They were on their feet, moving silently to the open panel. And, far away to their left they could see the flickering light of a lantern. ‘Should I close it?' she whispered.

‘No. We must know … But it's too soon surely?'

He was right. They had agreed that since the air in the Handmaiden's cell was supposed to last through the meeting it must take some considerable time for a prisoner there to die of suffocation. Juana shivered, thinking of Tomas, dying here, ignorant of the panel that might have saved him.

Gair's hand on hers was a warning. The lantern was nearer now. They could see that it was carried by one man, apparently alone. Vasco? Gair moved away and she heard him pick up the heavy chair, the only possible weapon.

The approaching figure wore the robes of a Son of the Star. His hood was drawn close about his face and she could not see his emblem. But, surely, he was too tall for Vasco? She dared not speak to Gair, but touched him lightly in warning. The hooded figure was very near now. He put down the lantern on the rough floor of the cave and felt in his pocket. For a moment, the light of the lantern showed a pistol ready in his right hand. He bent to look at the fastening of the cell door. The panel was close behind it. Juana hardly dared breathe. If she had had a weapon, might she have been able to reach him?

He straightened up again, and spoke. ‘Juana! Can you hear me?' The voice, low and cautious, echoed unrecognisable in the big cave. Gair's hand on hers told her to say nothing.

‘Juana! Can you hear me?' Again. ‘It's I, Roberto, your cousin. I came as soon as I could. Can you hear me, Juana?' A little pause. ‘I've not got the key. I'm going to have to blow the lock off. If you can hear me, Juana, stand away from the door.'

Vasco would have had the key. Her hand and Gair's communed in the darkness. ‘Roberto!' she whispered through the opening. ‘Is it really you?'

‘Thank God!' He straightened up at the sound of her voice. ‘I'm not too late. And Senhor Varlow?'

‘Is here too. Oh, God, Roberto, but I'm glad to see you.'

‘We must lose no time. He may come back. Stand well away from the door, both of you.' The shot echoed horribly in the big cavern. Then the cell door swung open and Roberto entered, hood thrown back so they could see his face. ‘Juana, you're none the worse?'

‘Not now you're here. But Roberto, how?'

‘Later,' he said. ‘First we must get out of here. It's a rough climb I'm afraid. Do you think you can manage, Juana? We can't go back through the castle; it's not safe. Uncle Miguel has been sleeping in the old lady's room since she died. You know he's the Brother of the Ragged Staff, de Mascarenhas' right-hand man? It's not safe for you there, Juana, not now.'

‘Miguel!' So many things suddenly, horribly, made sense. ‘But how do we go, Roberto?'

‘Through the tunnel to the Pleasant Valley. You'll get wet, I'm afraid.'

She could not help laughing. ‘Dear Roberto, just now getting wet is the least of our worries. But, Gair, are you strong enough?' By the light of Roberto's lantern she could see the swelling bruise on the side of his head.

‘Of course. And your cousin's right; we mustn't waste a moment. Who else knows this entrance?' They were out already, following Roberto across the great cavern.

‘The inner circle, I think. Not that I'm one of them. If I had been, I would not have let that liar de Mascarenhas delude me so. Juana, we owe you a great debt for what you did tonight. But – here's the entrance.' He had led them swiftly but carefully over the increasingly rough rock of the cavern floor. Now he rounded one high pinnacle and showed them a dark opening concealed by the masking rock. ‘We have to crawl for the first bit,' he explained. ‘I'll go first, then you, Juana, then Senhor Varlow. I'll feel much safer when we're out of this cavern. There was a good deal of talk, while the meeting was breaking up. They're not solidly behind de Mascarenhas any more. I think it just possible that he will regret his decision about you, Juana, and come back. Now, follow me, do exactly as I do, and don't try to talk.' He kilted up his robe with its cord, bent down and crawled into the opening.

Juana had more trouble with her skirts, since the red velvet must be got out of the way as well as the cloak. ‘Here' – Gair handed her his cord – ‘use this too.'

‘Thank you. What shall I do with this?' She took off the diadem Vasco had made her wear and was about to drop it at the entrance to the tunnel when Gair took it from her. ‘We might as well keep it,' he said, ‘as a souvenir of the day you were Queen.'

‘Hurry!' Roberto's voice from the tunnel. Juana bent down and followed him into it. The going was not, in fact, quite so bad as she had feared. At some point, this tunnel must have been the channel of an underground stream, and the water had smoothed away the rock. But it was awkward enough, working one's way along, half crawling, half crouching, and it was with a sigh of relief that she saw Roberto rise to his feet ahead of her.

‘There.' He helped her up. ‘That's the worst bit over. Except the stream. Can you go straight on, Juana?'

‘Of course.' She turned to Gair, who had joined them, and saw that he had taken off his robes and was carrying them in an awkward bundle. ‘And you?'

‘Yes. Let's lose no time.'

From now on they could walk upright, but the going was much rougher, and from time to time Roberto had to pass the lantern back to Juana so that she could light Gair over a particularly difficult bit. Presently he stopped and Juana heard the sound of water. ‘We're beside the stream now,' he said. ‘The entrance is in the bank. One has to go straight across and up the other side. But, first, you two wait here while I make sure there is no one about. I can't think why they should have anyone on guard here, but we'll take no chances.' He handed the lantern to Gair. ‘Hold this. If I don't come back, it means they've got a guard on the far side of the stream. You'll need to be ready to defend yourselves. You'd better have this too.' He handed over the pistol, which Gair took without protest.

‘All's well. So far.' Roberto returned a few minutes later. ‘Take my hand Juana. The water's only waist deep.'

‘Is that all!' She followed him round a last turn of the tunnel and saw the glow of moonlight ahead.

‘Quietly now!' He helped her out of the entrance and down into the cold, swift-running stream. For a moment, it was an effort to stand upright, then she was following him across, rocks shifting under her feet, the cold water rising to her waist. On the
other side, they plunged at once into a thicket of myrtle and small oaks, through which, to her relief, ran the tiniest possible path. ‘Wait here,' he whispered, and went back to fetch Gair.

She knew where they were now. This was the thicket just below the pressing floor. Incredible to be so near home and so far from safety. Her velvet gown clung soaking around her legs and long involuntary shivers ran through her. What now?

‘We have to walk, I'm afraid.' Roberto's whisper, as he and Gair joined her, answered her unspoken question. ‘I dared not take horses from the stables. Thank God the moon's still up.' He had blown out the lantern and as they emerged from the thicket their shadows lay long on the path in front of them.

‘Where to?' Juana fell into step beside him.

‘I've friends in Guincho who will hide you while we decide what to do next. With luck we should get there by dawn.'

‘You're sure they're safe?' This was Gair, from beyond Juana.

‘Yes. They're women.' They were nearly up to the little village of peasant houses at the head of the valley. ‘Quiet now.'

It was strange and horrible to walk silently through the well-known villages, knowing it full of friends who might be enemies. But it was worse still to pass the castle where it lay dark against the moonlit sky. Suppose they were to meet Miguel on his way back from the meeting? Miguel, who, Juana realised now, had been playing Vasco's game all along. It was Miguel, of course, who had delayed her, the day she was kidnapped, Miguel, too, who had sent for Vasco on the day of her sisters' double wedding. And Miguel who had written to the lawyer. No wonder Gonçalves had never come. But there was worse than any of this. There was old Mrs. Brett. Could he have killed her, his own mother? She would probably never know.