The Marquis Is Trapped (18 page)

CHAPTER SEVEN

The Marquis gazed at Celina in surprise.

“How?” he asked, intrigued.

She glanced over her shoulder as if she was afraid that someone might be listening.

Then, as if she was reassured, she began,

“I read in that book about Earl Robert that he cut off the heads of those who opposed him in one of these towers.”

The Marquis was listening intently because she was speaking so softly.

“He would say mockingly that he executed them at the top of the Castle so they could be nearer to the Heaven they were praying to.  Then the towers had the tapering pointed top just like this one.”

The Marquis nodded and she went on,

“The wicked Earl soon discovered that there was very little room in the top.  Only himself and no more than two of his followers could watch the execution.”

“So what did he do?”

The Marquis could not understand how this could help in any way, but he was willing to listen to Celina.

“The Earl had a trapdoor built like the one you see over your head and the man to be executed was taken up above with the executioner and maybe two others.  Then the Earl and his men would sit below listening to the whole grizzly proceedings.”

The Marquis looked at her in surprise.

“How do you know all this?”

“I just told you, I read it in a book.  But I have just remembered that is why there is a trapdoor in the centre of the turret.”

The Marquis looked up at it.

“But we cannot open it, if indeed you are planning to escape that way.”

“I am quite certain it is fastened down from above, so I will climb up and release it.  Then we can get away by going down the stairs we came up.”

The Marquis stared at her.

“How on earth can you manage it?”

Celina gave a little laugh.

“I am going to climb up.”

“
Outside
!” exclaimed the Marquis, his shock at her suggestion undisguised.

“Of course.”

“Then I absolutely forbid it, Celina.  If you fall, you will kill yourself or at least be injured for life.”

“I have climbed up all the towers at home.  I had a cousin who stayed with us two years ago and we used to race each other to see who could reach the top of the tower first.”

“I still say it is far too dangerous!  In any case I doubt if you could even climb out of the window.”

He looked at the windows and noted again that they were all covered with two solid vertical iron bars.

Then Celina pointed with her finger and he saw that the one furthest away from them had only one bar over it – the other one must have been knocked off at some time or another.

The Marquis walked towards it.

“The only one, who will climb onto the roof of this turret, will be me.”

Celina laughed.

“You are far too big, my Lord, to get through that window!”

The Marquis could see that this was true.

“Then we will just have to stay here,” he persisted.

“That would be an extremely silly thing to do if it is at all possible for us to escape.”

“It may cost me money, but I imagine that the pirate will keep his word and let us out when he has ten thousand pounds in his grubby hands.”

“You cannot be at all certain,” whispered Celina.  “Most of the pirates in Earl Robert’s day killed their victims so that they could not give evidence against them.”

The Marquis drew in his breath, as he began to think that the situation was even worse than it had appeared to be at first.

Without saying anything, he moved closer to the window and looked outside and then he glanced up.

He had been about to say to Celina that even if she could reach the top of the tower, she might not be able to climb inside.

Now he saw that there were several large holes on the slanting roof of the tower and he remembered that the similar pointed tower at the other end of the Castle had collapsed altogether.

Celina was close behind him.

“We must wait until it is nearly dark, so that I will not be seen.  Then I will try to open the trapdoor and you can join me.”

“I am sure it is far too dangerous – ”

At the same time he was weakening.

It was not a long climb and he realised that it was the one and only way they could escape from the pirates.

Celina pulled on his arm.

“Come away, my Lord, just in case anyone sees us looking out and guesses what we are planning to do.”

“I have not agreed to your wild scheme yet, Celina, and it scares me to even think of you taking such a risk.”

“I do promise you I am a very good climber.  That is why I want to visit the Himalayas.”

“If you fall trying to climb this tower, there will be no question of you going anywhere!”

“I know that, but I am not afraid.  Not half as afraid as I was of you!”

The Marquis smiled at her.

“Well, I am so glad that you realise I am not such a monster as that pirate!”

“He is a horrible man and I am quite certain that if you give him the money he has demanded, he will ask for more, or just kill us so that he can go on extorting money from other people.”

They sat in silence for a little while.

The Marquis, despite himself, could not but think that if they really could escape, it would be very stupid to sit meekly where they were until tomorrow.

As if Celina knew instinctively he was changing his mind, she added,

“We will be very hungry and thirsty if we stay here until breakfast.  What is the time now?”

The Marquis looked at his watch.

“Almost six o’clock.”

“Then it will be getting dark at about eight o’clock and the pirates should be eating at that time.”

“I still think it is much too dangerous, Celina, and, if it was at all possible, I would do it myself.”

“I don’t want to seem conceited, my Lord, but I am certain that I am a better climber than you are.  If you have climbed, as I expect you have, it has been in the orthodox way with guides and ropes and then you were not likely to put a foot wrong.

“I, on the other hand, have learnt to climb by sheer common sense and because I wanted to prove that I was better than my cousin, which of course I was.”

The Marquis grinned.

“I have never known a woman to be so proud of her ability to climb, especially such a rock face as a turret with a pinnacle top!”

“I always thought the mountains around Darendell were rather feeble and actually I have been to the top of each one of them.”

The Marquis gave a deep sigh.

“Very well, Celina, you win.  I will allow you to do something that I feel is extremely dangerous, but I cannot think of any appropriate alternative.”

“I thought you would see sense, my Lord.  Now I am just going to take a quick peep to work out the best route to climb and I only hope there is no one watching.”

“I think it is a bit unlikely, but let me look out as I am sure my eyes are sharper than yours.”

“I will allow you that one superiority!” she laughed.

The Marquis approached the window with the broken bar.

He looked out onto the ground below and then scanned over the trees to the sea until he was prepared to swear that there was not a living soul in sight.

Then he turned away from the window without any comment and Celina took his place.

She did not waste her time glancing down from the window, but looked up and the Marquis knew that she was working out where she should place her feet and what she could cling on to for support.

It was actually only a relatively short climb, but it could be fatal for anyone who fell, especially as the ground beneath the Castle was covered with broken stones.

She came back and sat down beside the Marquis.

“It’s going to seem a long wait until it begins to get dark.  What shall we talk about?”

“Suppose you tell me something about yourself?  I am fascinated to know why you are so different from most girls of your age.”

Celina giggled.

“I thought I had told you that I was brought up like a boy?  One day I hope I will be able to show you that I am a very good shot!”

“I don’t approve of women shooting,” the Marquis retorted quickly.

Celina giggled again.

“I was certain you would say that.  I went shooting with Papa because he wanted me as a companion, but quite frankly I don’t really like killing anything.”

“That at least is feminine – ”

“Oh, I am very feminine in some ways and I adore children.  I hope one day to have a very large family of my own.”

“But you will need a husband first.”

“I suppose that’s a necessity, but I promise you that it will
never
be someone of Stepmama’s choice.”

The Marquis put up his hand.

“You are not to think about her, not at this moment at any rate.”

“You are quite right, my Lord, as if I fall and kill myself, she would be positively delighted – ”

“Then make absolutely sure, Celina, that we leave her regretting that you are still alive for a long time.”

There was a pause in the conversation for a moment and then Celina muttered in a very small voice,

“But I suppose I will have to go home one day – ”

“I am quite certain that will be unnecessary as long as your grandmother is alive.  And as you are so beautiful, Celina, a great many wonderful things might happen to you whilst you are living with her in Bath.”

“Of course you are right and I am looking forward to staying there with Grandmama.”

She hesitated and then added,

“So please – let’s see all of the Orkneys before we have to leave them.”

“You still want to go on touring round the Islands even after what has happened to us today?”

“It’s all an adventure that we will be able to put in our autobiographies when we eventually write them.  I am sure if you include photographs in yours, they will be of many, many beautiful women!”

“Now you have been listening to gossip about me!”

Celina started teasing him about his reputation and she made it sound so amusing that they were both laughing almost helplessly.

It seemed as if the time had swept by before Celina remarked,

“It’s getting dark.  The shadows are long under the trees and the sun is sinking.”

The Marquis walked to the window.

“Are you really determined to do this?” he asked.

Celina nodded vigorously and said a little coyly,

“You realise I cannot do it in my petticoats.”

“I had not thought of that, but they would certainly increase your difficulties.”

“If you will please not look, my Lord, I will put my clothes on the table and when I open the trapdoor, you can hand them up to me before you come up yourself.”

The Marquis walked to the other side of the tower.

“I am not looking – Celina.”

He heard some swift movements as she took off her shoes and her dress, and from the soft rustle he could hear he thought most of what she might be wearing underneath it as well.

“Don’t look round, just pray I will be successful.”

“You don’t want me to help you?”

“I can manage,” replied Celina, “and may God take good care of you.”

He heard her movements as she squeezed through the narrow window.

Only then did he turn round and walk cautiously to the other side of the tower.

He knew that he must not startle or upset her in any way, but, as he was aware of the incredibly dangerous task she had undertaken, he was tensed up in a way that felt extremely painful.

Then he was praying as she had asked him to do.

He was begging God to take extra care of her – and that she would not fall and kill herself.

After a tortured moment, he thought it safe to look through the window and, as he did so, he saw her bare feet disappearing through a hole in the roof above them.

He felt himself relax a little.

He realised then that he had never been so afraid for anyone in his whole life as he had been for Celina.

Now he could hear her faint movements overhead.

He put up his hand to his forehead – it was damp from the intense feelings she had evoked in him.

He now guessed she was working on the trapdoor.

Almost as if he could read her thoughts, he climbed onto the table and began to push at the trapdoor with all his strength.

Suddenly it moved and went backwards with a loud bang and the noise made the Marquis start in case it could be heard from below.