Son of a rogue and a gypsy, Hero Fiennes Tiffin was a notorious rake until a shattering betrayal left him alone and embittered in the Welsh countryside. Desperation drives quiet schoolteacher Josephine Langford to ask Hero Fiennes Tiffin to help sav...
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As soon as the wave appeared, Owen barked, "Climb the walls and hang on! I'll try to help Huw." His candle vanished as he raced away.
Josephine grabbed Hero's arm and tugged him toward the nearest wooden prop. "Quickly! We need to get as close to the ceiling as possible."
Understanding, Hero dropped his candle, grabbed Josephine around the waist, and lifted her as high as he could. She scrambled upward, finding footholds in the roughly cut rock, and Hero followed. The wildly swinging candle stuck on her hat brim showed a crook in the timber that left several inches of space between the prop and the rocky wall. He managed to hook one arm around the wood and the other around Josephine.
Then the raging waters struck, drowning the candle and submerging them completely. The current battered furiously, and it took all of Hero's strength to maintain his hold on the timber. Something heavy hit them and whirled away, almost knocking Josephine from his grasp.
As he strained to hold her against the force of the water, she wrapped herself fiercely around him. Once her grip was secure, he turned her against the current until her back was braced against the rocky wall and his body sheltered hers. Another object struck him, gouging his ribs and knocking out what little breath he had left, but this time Josephine was spared.
The seconds ticked away and the flood did not diminish. As the burning in his lungs became unbearable, he began to wonder if it was their fate to drown here, far from the wind and the sky. He pressed his face against Josephine's hair, feeling the silky tendrils swirl across his cheek. What a waste. What a bloody waste of two lives. He had thought he would have more time. ...
His vision darkened and Josephine's clasp was weakening when the current began to ease. Sensing that the water level might be dropping, he turned his face up and discovered that there was now a narrow band of air between the water and the ceiling.
Even as he sucked air into his desperate lungs, he slid his arm down Josephine's back and under her hips, then lifted her so that she could breathe. Her head came above the surface and she broke into a spasm of coughs, her slim body shaking convulsively. In the dangerous darkness she seemed very fragile, and his arm tightened around her again.
For long minutes, they simply clung to each other and reveled in the luxury of breathing. The water slowly dropped until it was about a foot below the ceiling, then held steady. Hero asked, "Do you have any idea what the fuck happened?"
Josephine coughed again, then managed to say, "The gunpowder charge must have opened a hidden feeder spring. It happens sometimes, but the flooding isn't usually this bad."
"And the steam pump is broken down," he said grimly. "I hope it's repaired soon."
The cold current still tugged at them, and his hold on the timber was their only support. He explored with his left foot until he found a solid ledge, which reduced the strain on his arm. He wondered how long they would be trapped; eventually fatigue and cold would start to take their toll. "If the water starts rising again, we'll have to try to swim out, but in the darkness we would risk getting lost in a cross passage. For the time being, I think we're better off staying here and praying that the water goes down more."
