Page 48 of A Problem Princess

“Not that way,” he corrected. He hurried to the fireplace and knocked against the wall beside it. With a frustrated grimace, he crossed to the other side of the mantel and knocked there. Around them, the noise of the attack grew with the unfolding chaos.

“What are you doing?” she demanded. Helplessness burned in her chest.

“Finding the latch that—” With a soft click, a hidden latch gave way, and the fake wall swung open. He opened the door wide to the secret passage and held out his hand to her. “This way. Hurry.”

She raced forward and took his hand, lacing her fingers tightly through his. But when he tugged at her hand to pull her into the narrow passageway with him, she hesitated at the blackness and the smell of must and mold on the cold air seeping up from the stone foundations.

“Cordelia,” he said firmly, “trust me.”

She inhaled a deep breath to gather her courage and followed him into the darkness.

He closed the door behind them, and a wave of blackness fell over her.

“Don’t let go,” she pleaded as terror shook through her so hard she could barely keep her knees from buckling beneath her. “Please—don’t let go of me!”

“I’m right here.” She felt the soft caress of his lips at her temple, but the passageway was so dark she couldn’t see him even though he was only inches away. “I won’t let go of you, not for one second. I promise. Come with me.”

He led her along the dark passageway. Each blind step she took in the darkness filled her with terror because she couldn’t see where she was placing her feet, but so did the noise that continued to pulse from the house around them. More screams, more shouts, the breaking down of doors, and the sound of fire eating at the floors and walls… But Clayton hurried her down the passage as quickly as he dared. The only light came from small holes drilled at unequal intervals along the passage wall, but he didn’t stop to look through any of them.

“Where are we?” she asked, her voice low.

“The servants’ passage,” he murmured over his shoulder but didn’t slow his quickening strides. “It will take us to the rear of the house.”

“Why didn’t we go out the window?”

“Because the attackers are outside the window, waiting for people to come out.”

“Why would they be waiting?”

When he didn’t answer, she knew—Oh God!They were going to be killed! A soft sob bubbled from her lips.

“Don’t panic on me, Princess,” he ordered. “Where’s that commitment to duty you’re always bragging about?”

“I left it behind with the tiara,” she rasped out as she struggled to shove down her rising terror.

He chuckled beneath his breath, then suddenly stopped. They’d reached the end of the passageway.

He unlatched the door and shoved it open, and they stepped out into the rear servants’ stairwell. Sounds of confusion rose up from the basement. Cordelia could see the bright light from the fire flickering at the bottom of the stairs and the moving shadows cast by the servants battling to put it out.

“This way.” He pulled her out of the stairwell and burst through the rear doors into the dark service yard behind the house.

She gulped down the fresh air in great mouthfuls, and the rush of blood pounded through her so hard that the roaring of it in her ears was deafening. She needed to rest and catch back her breath, yet he hurried her on, sprinting with her across the rear yard to the dark shadows fronting the brick wall. He ducked down into the shadows, and she followed.

Gunshots rang out from the house behind them. Startled, Cordelia gave a soft cry and bolted upright. She spun around toward the house—

Sharp pain shot through her foot and up her calf, and she pitched forward, falling onto her hands and knees in the muddy gravel with a cry. Her ankle!

“Cordelia!” Clayton grabbed her around the waist and lifted her back to her feet. “Can you walk?”

“Yes, I think—”

“There!” A shout echoed through the darkness. “In the rear! Stop them!”

Clayton looked past the top of her head at the house as two dark figures charged toward them. “Can you run?”

Not waiting for her answer, he pulled her with him across the yard. Each step was agony, but she didn’t dare stop. Not with the terrible sounds of fire and struggle still coming from the house, punctuated by the ringing blasts of more gunshots.

The two men were nearly on top of them. Clayton and Cordelia slipped through the gate and into the wall-lined alley only a few strides ahead.