Highland Lover. Hannah Howell

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СКАЧАТЬ briefly laughed. “Aye. Holding ye up there isnae so hard. Standing as steady as the floor whilst ye struggle to move that cursed grate will require some practice. Do ye think ye can move it aside?”

      “Aye. ’Tis heavy, true enough, but I can do it. I must needs figure out how to push it aside without toppling us is all. There is a trick to it, I am certain of it.”

      “Fine, then. On the morrow we will practice moving with ye on my shoulders and ye can try to puzzle out what that trick is.”

      “And then, after we sup, we try again?”

      “Aye. And the next night, and the next, until we get it right.”

      “Oh joy.”

      Chapter 3

      “I can almost hear it laughing at me.”

      “’Tis a lump of iron, Alana,” said Gregor. “It cannae laugh.”

      “’Tis a lump of iron that has defeated me for three nights. ’Tis laughing.”

      Gregor almost laughed and then winced as Alana touched one of the many bruises he had acquired as she got onto his shoulders. He knew she also suffered from their many stumbles in their efforts to escape, but she was stubborn. In truth, Gregor had the distinct feeling that each failure only made her more determined. He was the one who put a stop to their efforts after several tries each night, if only out of fear that one of them could be seriously hurt if they did not take a rest from it. Last night Alana had been knocked unconscious for several tense, frightening minutes when, after he caught her as she had stumbled from her precarious perch upon his shoulders, they had both come up hard against the stone wall of their prison. When she had gone limp in his arms, he had suffered a moment of blind terror he had no wish to taste again.

      It had seemed such a simple plan but was proving to have far too many unforeseen complications and dangers. When one was landing upon rock and hard ground, the distance one fell did not matter quite as much as how one landed. As they had struggled again and again to move that lump of iron keeping them from escaping, Gregor had realized Alana was right. The weight of the thing was not as big a problem as the angle they were approaching it from. Alana not only had to find the strength to lift it, but also to then push it aside. That required some stretching and twisting of her small body, and that was where their trouble would begin.

      The moment Alana began to straighten up, one small bare foot on each of his shoulders, Gregor grasped her ankles. Thinking it might steady her more as she worked, he slid his hands up the front of her legs. With his arms slightly curved around her legs, he firmly clasped the front of her slim thighs. He felt Alana jerk ever so slightly and the muscles in her slender legs tautened beneath his hands.

      “Good lass,” he said. “Keep yourself as taut as a bowstring. ’Twill help lessen our chances of stumbling.”

      Stumbling was the very last thing Alana had been thinking about as she had felt those big hands move up her legs. She almost looked down to see if she was on fire, such was the strength of the heat his touch stirred within her. There was nothing seductive about his touch, but that did not stop her pulse from leaping. He is just trying to hold ye steady as ye struggle with this cursed lump of iron, she told herself, but herself did not seem inclined to listen. The heedless part of her that desired the man was not interested in the struggle to escape; it wanted him to stroke her legs again.

      Alana forced herself to concentrate on moving aside the contrary iron grate that barred their escape. Her hands were sore, covered with scratches and bruises, but she had done her best to hide those injuries from Gregor. Once she realized she could stand on his shoulders without shaking in fear and that she could reach the hatch, she became determined to succeed. Instinct told her that Gregor would try to halt her attempts if he knew what abuse her hands were suffering. He had almost done so when she had taken that little sleep after slamming into the wall, but she had managed to talk him out of quitting. If he knew about all the other injuries she was aching from, Alana felt absolutely certain he would give up.

      Slowly, Alana lifted the grate. Stretching herself up as far as she could, she began to push it aside. Distracting though it was, she had to admit that Gregor’s new hold upon her legs did keep her steadier. She took several slow, deep breaths, willed every ounce of strength she had into her arms, said a little prayer, and shoved the grate. The sound of heavy iron landing on stone rang in her ears, but it took her a moment before she fully realized she had, at long last, succeeded. Disbelief rose up and she used her hands to confirm her success, feeling around the opening—the now completely unobstructed opening.

      “I did it,” she whispered.

      Just as Alana opened her mouth to more loudly announce her success, she found herself yanked off Gregor’s broad shoulders. Left a little breathless by that abrupt dismount, she could barely utter a squeak of surprise as he enfolded her in his strong arms for a vigorous hug. She was still reeling from the heady effects of that embrace when he set her on her feet and moved away. A moment later she felt blankets being draped around her shoulders. Alana told herself that the fact that Gregor seemed completely unaffected by that embrace should not feel like such an insult.

      “Now, lass,” said Gregor, “I ken it willnae be easy to do what ye must in the dark. Ye must be verra careful whilst ye move about up there.”

      “I ken it. ’Twould be far too easy to get turned about and fall back down here.”

      “Aye, and since I cannae see, I cannae be sure I could catch ye.”

      “Catch me, is it? Aye, I think that does sound a wee bit better than let ye fall on me.”

      Gregor laughed softly and reached out, groping around a little until he touched her on the arm. “Up ye go, then.”

      As carefully as she could, Alana climbed up him until she stood upon his shoulders again. The faint knot of fear she felt over being in such a high and precarious position was a lot easier to ignore this time. The promise of freedom proved a very good cure for that uneasiness.

      Cautiously raising her arms, she moved them around until she felt the edge of the opening. Alana started to pull herself up. Just as she decided she would need to ask Gregor to lift her up higher, he slowly did so. It took but a moment to pull herself up and out of the pit. She sprawled facedown on the cool stone floor, struggling to calm herself, excitement and jubilation making her almost light-headed. Alana was tempted to do a little dance, but suspected she would probably dance right over the opening to the oubliette and fall down on a waiting Gregor.

      Her delight faded as she became all too aware of the darkness surrounding her. Somehow she was going to have to grope her way around until she found something to tie the blankets to. Then she would have to cautiously find her way back to the hole and lower the rope of blankets down to Gregor without falling in. This was not going to be easy, she thought as she began to slowly inch her way along the floor.

      Gregor paced, stopped and stared up toward the opening of their prison, and then paced some more. He could hear just a few soft sounds indicating Alana’s careful movements. There was no outcry, no hint that some Gowan had stumbled upon her, and that was good. What was not good was the waiting. He was all too aware of how difficult Alana found it to move about in the dark.

      Recalling her ineptitude, he quickly placed himself beneath the opening and forced himself to stay there. It was indeed very possible that Alana could get confused in the dark and end up stumbling back into the hole. There could be a few more bruises to collect before they got free.

      He СКАЧАТЬ