“Bess and my guards are expecting me within a fortnight. When I don’t arrive and have not sent word, they will come to London,” Rosemary offered. “They know that I was to stay at Westbrook House, so they’d go there first. Olivia and Victoria will then go to Mr. Valentine about me missing, and he knows that we were coming here.” There was hope that she could be rescued, if Fernsby continued to hold her for any length of time, and she needed to hold onto that possibility.

  Max stared at her. “We could be dead by the time Bess misses you.”

  What little hope Rosemary held, sank to the pit of her belly, and disappeared. Except, “It could be sooner. I sent a message before I set out after we met with Crisp and promised to correspond within a sennight and provide them with my progress. It has nearly been a sennight.”

  “How long will they wait to hear from you before they come to London?”

  Hope dashed again. “They could wait a few more days before Bess starts to worry. However, I have written to her regularly so that she was always aware of my location. From London, to Cornwall, then back to London. If I stop corresponding, she will become concerned.”

  “As much as I usually have faith in Bess, I don’t think we can wait to see if she sends someone searching.”

  Max was correct, but in time Valentine would make his way here. Rosemary just hoped she was still alive when that time came.

  “Do you have any weapons?” she asked.

  “They took my only knife.”

  “Do you still have the knife you purchased and your kaiken?”

  She fluttered her eyes in innocence. “Lord Maxwell, I am but a gently bred miss. What would I know of such items?”

  Max snorted. “Had I listened to inner warnings, we would be long gone from here,” Max grumbled. “We’ve two knives, but they do us little good while we are in here.”

  “We can always pick the lock.” Rosemary retrieved a small case from the bottom of her bag. It was a silver, oblong bonbonnière in need of polishing.

  “With comfits?” Max asked as that was usually what ladies carried in such boxes.

  Rosemary rolled her eyes. “No Max.” She opened the lid and withdrew a cloth then unwrapped it to reveal keys of various shapes and sizes.

  “You can pick the lock?” he asked.

  “I’ve many talents,” she answered with pride.

  “How and when did you learn to pick a lock?” he asked in shock. Though did it really matter since it is a way to escape.

  “Sophia taught me,” Rosemary answered.

  “My sister?” he asked in outrage.

  “She’s very good at picking locks.”

  “Another education benefit of the Wiggons’ School for Elegant Young Ladies,” he grumbled. “Did any of you learn anything that you were sent there to learn? Deportment, embroidery, painting, menu planning?”

  “There was a term devoted to such,” she answered.

  “I’m not certain I want to know what you were taught during the other terms.” He settled onto the cot.

  “It’s likely you don’t,” Rosemary agreed as she took a seat beside him.

  “I’m certain that it doesn’t matter now anyway.” He scooted so that his back was against the wall. “We need to plan,” Max said with determination. “Not only am I getting out of here, but I’m taking you with me.”

  Chapter 28

  It was determined that they’d wait until the early morning hours, when they hoped most of those in the household would be asleep and when there’d likely be fewer guards on duty before they made their escape. Rosemary hoped that she remembered how to pick a lock. It’d been so long since she’d needed to.

  And, while they should try to get some rest, it was impossible. First, the cot was too narrow for both to lie down without one being on top of the other, and second, they were too anxious to be rid of this place. Sleep would come when they were safely away and then Max would report Fernsby to the authorities.

  Not only was the house filled with likely stolen goods, but the man had kidnapped them and intended to blackmail and threaten Max to do as he demanded by threatening her life. Authorities did not take such matters lightly no matter how wealthy the criminal.

  Dinner was delivered after they’d been in the cell nearly two hours. Neither had much of an appetite but knew they didn’t want to leave here without sustenance either.

  “Do you know the time?” Max asked. He’d begun pacing again. He was no different from the caged animals she’d seen when visiting traveling shows. She hated to see beautiful, powerful animals confined, just as she hated seeing Max pace from one end of the cell to the other. “Sit, before you tire yourself out.”

  “I can’t sit.”

  “Yes, you can,” she insisted then patted the cot beside her.

  He sighed but settled again, his back against the wall.

  “I’m seated.”

  “Yes, you are,” she agreed.

  “So, we sit here until it grows late?”

  “We could talk.”

  “Or argue.”

  “That as well, but as it would get us nowhere, let’s simply talk.”

  “I wish I would have thought to request tea.”

  “Why are you always so difficult,” she demanded.

  “I don’t like being locked up.”

  “Nor do I, but there isn’t much we can do about it at the moment so we should make the best of the situation.”

  Max stared down at her. “I’m not certain I will ever understand you.”

  “This isn’t the first time I’ve been stuck somewhere. Think of it as being in the cabin of a ship and we are simply waiting to make port.” At least that was what she was trying to do, to calm her mind until it was safe to pick the lock. However, it wasn’t working either and she feared she’d not live to see the outside of this cell, but she couldn’t panic now. They both needed to remain calm and keep their wits about them.

  “I don’t like being in cabins on ships either.”

  “You’ve an aversion to closed spaces?”

  “Yes,” he bit out in a short answer.

  “Why?” she asked. “Is there a specific reason or have you always been this way?”

  Maybe if they were having a conversation Max would be able to relax and take his mind off their current situation. She was anxious too and feared they’d not be successful in their escape. But, if her mind was occupied with other matters, it wouldn’t be focused on the situation at hand. For the moment, they had nothing but time. A few hours to wait before they could do anything, and if she spent all that time worrying, she could very well be too paralyzed with fear when the time came to leave.

  Max didn’t want to answer Rosemary. That day had been the most terrifying of his life and had altered much of how he viewed enclosed spaces. To divulge what had happened and the result would reveal his weakness. Yet, she’d shared with him the most terrifying thing that had ever happened to her.

  Would she think less of him even though he certainly didn’t think less of her?

  “It was at a burial site in Egypt.” He stared across the cell and at the stone wall. He didn’t want to relive that day, but he would, then maybe she’d understand why he hated being exactly where they were. “I was exploring with others and a few guides when the ceiling and walls collapsed.”

  Rosemary sucked in a breath.

  “I was the only one on my side, a wall of dirt and stone blocking my exit.” He had thought he was going to die. “I had a torch, but it did little good in getting me out of there, especially since the flame never flickered, which meant there was no opening to let air through.”

  “I would have been terrified,” she offered quietly.

  “In all honesty, I was. I didn’t know if the others with me were safe on the other side or buried. If buried, then there would be no help coming.” He remembered wondering if that was where he’d die, alone, and his family would be left to wonder what had happened to him. Gideon, his twin, most likely felt that something was wrong, as they often sensed the other’s mood even when a continent separated them, but Gideon wouldn’t know where to find him.

  “I had a shovel and a pickaxe, and I set to work on trying to dig a hole big enough to climb through, praying that I didn’t cause another collapse.”

  He recalled the pounding of his heart, the anxious state of his nerves, sweating and panicking, growing short of breath and not certain if it was because of lack of air or if he was too overwrought to breathe correctly.

  “It seemed to take hours before I finally broke through. By then my hands were bloodied and raw, but when I stuck my head through the opening and breathed fresh air, I nearly cried.” Not nearly, he had cried.

  “Was anyone else injured?”

  “A guide had been caught beneath the rubble, but the others, who were not injured, had been working from the other side. They helped make the hole big enough so that I could squeeze through.”

  He suppressed a shudder at the memory.

  “That’s why you are pacing in here. Why you broke out into a sweat in the cupboard, and why you are on edge in cluttered spaces.”

  He nodded.

  “Given your experience, I’m surprised you are doing so well in here.”

  He glanced at the window and nodded. “I can see out and we have fresh air. It is not as confined.” Then he looked down into her concerned brown eyes and grasped her hand. “And. I’m not alone.”

  “We will get out of here together.”

  Max wished he could share Rosemary’s confidence, but he didn’t. Even if they managed to pick the lock, they still needed to get out of the manor. No doubt there would be at least one guard awake, or more. They had weapons, which he wasn’t afraid to use if it kept Rosemary safe. But, they could also easily die when they attempted their escape. “It never occurred to me that Fernsby bordered on madness.”

  “Nor I, but why should we have considered such? We knew he was a man who coveted antiquities, but many men do, and they aren’t mad or dangerous.”

  “Maybe given how murderous Rylan and his men are, we should have realized,” Max said. “I shouldn’t have brought you here.”

  “You’d still be sitting here,” she reminded him. “And they likely would have still found a way to kidnap me to force you to do their bidding.”

  “He’d have nothing to threaten me with yet and I wouldn’t need to consider every action I take because of what may happen to you.” So long as Rosemary was held captive, one poor decision on his part could see her killed.

  Rosemary reached over and slipped her hand into his. “We are here, and it was my decision to come with you. I wanted to confront Fernsby as much as you and to tell him that the men he hired were dangerous. Neither of us could anticipate that he was the most dangerous of all.”

  He squeezed her hand and then pulled her into an embrace, her head upon his shoulder. Max was frightened for himself, but more frightened for her, and this may be the only time they had together. Even if he went along with Fernsby’s plans and somehow managed to obtain that piece of the cross, he’d not return alive, and she’d be killed. Though, he wasn’t certain Rosemary realized the same, and Max was reluctant to mention the probability as he didn’t want her anymore frightened than she already was. However, Max was certain that Fernsby would not want to leave any witnesses to his crimes. He may think himself untouchable as to how he obtained antiquities, but kidnapping would see him imprisoned, and he’d never take the risk of setting them free to bring the authorities back to this manor.

  “Your hold is rather tight,” Rosemary complained quietly against his chest.

  Max relaxed his tense arm. He hadn’t realized that in his fear that he may have been crushing her. But the combination of being locked in this cell, and the uncertain future churned within. He couldn’t be separated from her or die without having said the words. If he didn’t say them now, he might never get the chance.

  “I’ve a confession to make,” he finally said.

  “Which means you are afraid we are going to die,” she whispered.

  “I hope that is not the case, but we’d be foolish not to be afraid.”

  She shivered against him. “I’ve more faith than you that we will get out of this,” she insisted. “Or, perhaps I’m relying on false hope because as long as you are here, with me, and we are still alive, the opportunity of escape has not yet been taken.”

  “I agree, but I need to tell you something…just in case.”

  She nodded against his chest.

  “Do you recall when I said that I cared deeply for you?”

  Rosemary stilled for a moment. Perhaps she feared what he may say, but he’d not know until the words were spoken.

  “It’s more than simply caring,” he stated. “I’m in love with you. I didn’t realize it until we were in London, but I’m also certain that it began when I saw you at the archeological site in Egypt that first time.”

  “When you told me to go home and then told my parents to send me home?”

  “I was a foolish young man.” He chuckled. “I was afraid for you. You know as well as I do that most proper misses do not belong at excavation sites. I failed to consider, or perhaps I didn’t wish to consider, that you were not just an ordinary proper miss.”

  “You couldn’t have known that at the time,” she assured him.

  “You’d become the mature, reasonable one of your friends. But you were a distraction I couldn’t afford. You threatened to upset the plans that I’d made for myself. Therefore, I needed you gone so that I could forget you and have my adventures.”

  “Had you known what my future would become, would you have done anything differently?” she asked quietly.

  “I would have courted then married you,” he answered without thought, because if he could have seen into the future, they would have had years as partners, not competitors. “Though it is likely you would have driven me to Bedlam, but I’m not sure I would have minded.”

  Chapter 29

  He was in love with her?

  Rosemary was almost afraid to believe him.

  Was it because they were stuck in this cell, captives of a madman? Was that what made him think that his feelings were deeper than they were?

  Sometimes people imagined such. But, in most cases, what one has not wished to face, is brought to the surface when potential death looms. Confessions are made so that they are not taken to the grave.

  She’d longed to hear such from Max, and it gave her confidence to finally say what was in her heart.

  “I’ve been infatuated with one man since I was thirteen, and even though he never noticed me, or when he did, found me to be a nuisance, I couldn’t let go, and no man has yet to replace him. Not even the man I thought I loved in Italy.”

  “Thirteen?” he asked. “Who could you have possibly known at that age? You were at a girls’ school for four years.”

  “I used to visit his home, and he’d visit with his sister when he traveled between London and Cornwall.”

  “One of my brothers?” he asked slowly.

  “No.” She tilted her head so that she could look up and into his eyes. “I was infatuated with you almost immediately upon meeting you.”

  “I was quite dashing.”

  She rolled her eyes. He’d just confessed to her but seemed uncomfortable hearing the same from her. “I saw you in Egypt the day before you saw me.” She smiled. “I’d hoped that it was finally a chance for you to notice me. To realize that I was no longer just a girl. Instead, you said I should leave.” She rested her head against his chest again. “I was so angry, and hurt, because I had hoped.”

  “Did I mention that I was a fool?”

  “I decided then and there never to be infatuated with you again, and that I’d simply put you from my mind.”

  “Did it work?” His hand stroked her back. It was a comfort and for a time, they were relaxed when fear had been the prevailing emotion since they’d first arrived.

  “No,” she admitted. “Every time I saw you, it aggravated me that I was nothing but a nuisance to you, someone to be dismissed. Then I’d get angry with myself for wanting you anyway. It’s why I said that I would find the chalice before you. Perhaps it was a way to prove myself, to make you take notice, which failed.”

  “Except, I had already taken notice and for years fought what I wanted because I knew it would bring an end to my travels.”

  “Without once realizing that I hadn’t returned to England to marry and set up a household, but was there, with you, all this time.”

  “A gentleman should be able to offer a woman a home, stability. Not travel from one place to the next, depending on what was being sought, of never knowing where one might travel to within the next week or month. I have nothing to offer but myself,” he said quietly.

  “That is all I have, Max. If I wanted stability and a home, I’d have one already.” She sat up. “When you said you could think of no woman who would wish to travel, I nearly kicked you because I was standing right there. It hurt and that’s when I realized that you never ever saw me as anything more than a competitor and sometimes friend.”

  “That is not the reason, Rosemary.”

  “Then why?”

  “I feared that if I saw you as more than a partner, and told you, that you’d reject my offer and break my heart. It was safer to be as we were because I could still have a part of you.”

  She lifted her hand to caress his cheek, the stubble from his chin tickling her palm. “We’ve taken so many risks these past years. Put ourselves in danger for a coveted antiquity but were both too afraid to risk our hearts.”

  He stared down into her eyes. “I’m no longer afraid, are you?”

  She knew he wasn’t talking about their current circumstances of being locked in a cell. He was asking something deeper. “No, Max.”

  Hers had been an infatuation for so long, until it became more. At first, she simply enjoyed the excitement of him being near, the increase of her pulse, fluttering in her belly, and so many other innocent reactions a girl experienced when life is so innocent.