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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Hero awoke to a world shrouded in fog. He smiled with satisfaction; perfect weather for a clandestine visit to the pit.
After dressing in worn miner's clothing, he went downstairs for a quick breakfast. Josephine was already up, and she regarded him gravely as she rose to pour coffee. "Be careful, please."
"I will be." He gulped down the scalding coffee, then covered a slab of bread with marmalade. "By this evening, success will be in our hands." Munching on the bread, he left the house and made his way to the stables.
The swirling mists made the journey to Penreith hauntingly beautiful. Hero was almost humming with excitement as he picked his way down the familiar road. Odd to think how he had at first resisted Josephine's efforts to draw him into the affairs of the village; he felt more alive than he had in years. Now, if only he could draw Josephine into an affair, too...
The thought deflated him a little. This damned brother and sister business was increasingly difficult to maintain. There was something irresistibly erotic about Josephine's blend of primness and passion, and images of her haunted him day and night. He'd never be able to look at a billiard table calmly again.
His levity faded quickly. The present situation was almost intolerable; the future was worse, for she had every intention of leaving when the three months were up. No doubt there was a solution to his dilemma, but damned if he knew what it was.
It was a relief to arrive at their rendezvous, a clump of trees not far from the mine. Owen was already waiting, along with an older man with a wooden leg. After Hero dismounted, Owen performed the introductions. "This is Jamie Harkin. He'll operate the rope and bucket."
Silently they set out for their destination, Hero leading his horse. The usual clamor of the nearby mine was distorted by the mist. They were in the bottom of the valley here and the fog lay thickly, forcing them to go slowly or risk losing their bearings. Hero didn't mind. The Bychan shaft was close enough to the main pit that someone might have noticed suspicious activity, but today the fog covered their activities.
When they reached the shaft, Hero hitched his horse to the wheel that operated the bucket. He'd picked a strong, tranquil bay gelding for the occasion. Owen checked the pulley and rope, then nodded. "I'll go first. Jamie, we'll signal you by pulling this line, which rings a small bell."
After demonstrating the signal, he lit a candle and stepped into the bucket. Harkin set the gelding into motion and Owen dropped out of sight down the narrow shaft, accompanied by the sound of the creaking wheel. When the bell rang, Jamie reversed the direction of the wheel, raising the bucket to the surface.
Then it was Hero's turn. His candle was already lit, so he stepped in and nodded for Jamie to begin. As he descended, he decided that traveling in a bucket was somewhat better than perching on a loop of rope, as he had done on his first trip down pit. However, the Bychan shaft was so narrow that he felt he was falling down a rabbit hole. Air swooshed noisily past and the bucket swayed and banged against the sides of the shaft. Just before he reached bottom, his candle blew out. Luckily Owen was waiting with his own candle glowing.
