“It is not easy to. Charlie was my husband … and she had no husband.”
“My father died a long time ago. I never knew him.”
“I see. And after that she thought other people’s husbands were hers for the taking.”
“She never thought of it that way. She did not exactly take anyone. They came to her. They were all friends together. Life was to be enjoyed. That was her philosophy. She wanted to enjoy it, and everyone around her to do the same.”
“Never mind the heartbreak she caused.”
“She did not know of it. She would have sent Charlie back to you and told him to be a good husband if she had known.”
“But life is not like that. She must have been very beautiful.”
“She was, but she had more than beauty. Does it hurt you … to talk about all this?”
“I want to know. I can see her now more clearly than I ever did. I used to think of her as a wicked siren.”
“A siren … but never wicked. She would never have willingly hurt you. Sometimes I think that she let herself believe that everyone looked on life as she did. Listen …”
We were silent, straining our ears.
There was nothing.
“I thought I heard a voice,” I said, and we fell silent, still listening.
“Ah … there it is again.”
“Hello … hello!”
“Let’s shout,” I cried. “Hello! Hello! Down here.”
Lady Constance shouted with me. There was silence while we waited breathlessly.
“Someone’s there,” I whispered. “They must be looking for us.”
We turned and embraced each other in our relief. I think we were both near tears.
We sat holding each other … tense … listening. There was no sound. The disappointment was intense.
“Let’s call again,” I said, and shouted: “We’re here. We’re down here.”
Then I heard a voice. It was Roderick’s.
“Can you hear me? Can you hear me?”
“Yes, yes.”
“Don’t move. Wait. We’re coming.”
There was a dark shadow above.
Someone was up there.
“Noelle … Mother …”
“We’re here,” I cried. “We’re here … together.”
“Thank God. Don’t move, whatever you do. This can be dangerous.”
There was a pause which seemed to go on for a long time but could not have been more than five minutes. Then Roderick was there again. There must have been others with him, for I heard several voices.
He shouted down: “We’re lowering ropes. Attach yourselves to them. Tie them round your waists. We’re going to pull you up.”
We kept our eyes on the opening and we saw the ropes descending. I seized them. First I helped Lady Constance to tie one round her waist. Then I did the same for myself.
“Are you ready?” called Roderick.
“You must go first,” I said to Lady Constance.
“Suppose more earth falls down.”
“I’m tied to the rope. I’ll be all right.”
“Noelle, Noelle.” It was Roderick.
“I’m here,” I answered.
“We are going to start now. We are going to bring you up together. Hold on to each other and make sure the ropes are securely tied. Ready? Now …”
Arms about each other, Lady Constance and I were lifted. We moved upwards, dislodging earth as we went. I heard stones rattling on the shelf which we had just vacated. Nearer and nearer to the top … and then the fresh air was enveloping us, and we were standing on terra firma. The air seemed intoxicating. And most wonderful of all, there was Roderick. He had his arms round both of us.
“You’ve given us a fright,” he said, his voice strained with emotion.
Then they were untying the ropes. Lady Constance could not stand up and she was taken to the carriage which was waiting for us. Earth fell from my clothes and I staggered and would have fallen if Roderick had not caught me. He was holding me tightly.
“It is wonderful … wonderful … to have you safe,” he said. “Oh, Noelle … when you weren’t there …”
I said: “I felt you would come. All the time, I felt it. It just kept me from despair.”
He held me firmly for some seconds and I was happier in that moment than I had been since my mother died.
“I love you, Noelle,” he said. “You’re never going away from me again.”
“I never want to.”
We stood close for a few seconds.
He said: “We’ll talk. First we’ve got to get you both back … make sure you’ve suffered no harm. Dearest Noelle, I thank God I found you.”
I was in the carriage. Lady Constance was lying back, her eyes closed. She was almost unrecognizable; her face and clothes were streaked with dirt and her hair was straying from its usual austere order. I suddenly realized how I must have looked when Roderick was saying he loved me.
Lady Constance opened her eyes and smiled at me. All the warmth and friendship I had felt when we were in danger was still there.
This was the most bewildering experience. I had been plunged into disaster, to find that there could be a happy life for me.
I felt I was living in a dream from which I should awake at any moment.
The rest of that night seems rather hazy. I was more shocked than I had first realized. I was taken to my room, where the first thing I wanted to do was throw off all my clothes and get into a bath. This I was allowed to do before the doctor arrived.
I was amazed at the quantities of soil which fell from me. It was in the pockets of my coat, in my shoes … everywhere.
I soaked myself in the hip bath, and my soiled clothes were taken away.
I was in bed when the doctor visited me and proclaimed that no bones were broken, though I had plenty of bruises, and, as I had had a terrible shock, I must have hot food and then take a sedative he would leave for me. Then I must see whether I was well enough to get up next morning.
I was content to do this. I did not want to think of that experience, because I could not do so without recalling those terrifying moments when I had fallen and thought the earth was going to bury me alive. I wanted to be alone to think of Roderick with his arms about me, showing me so clearly how happy he was because I was safe. I wanted to think of his saying he loved me. I also wanted to remember what Lady Constance and I had said together in those moments of revelation. That was enough for this night.
As for Lady Constance, she was suffering from a sprained ankle and acute shock, and would stay in bed until the doctor saw her again.
I slept deeply and awoke the next morning feeling refreshed. I was longing to see both Roderick and Lady Constance.
I stretched out in my bed, savouring the comforts of sheets and soft pillows.
I looked round the room and out of the window. Everything seemed so beautiful and precious as I remembered how I had thought I might never see any of it again.
How lucky we had been to be discovered so soon … for it was comparatively soon. We might still be there. I shuddered at the thought.
I wondered whether I should get up, what it would be like to see Roderick again. It would be different between us after his declaration. I had thought he might have been on the point of telling me he loved me on one or two occasions, but he had not done so, and that had set doubts in my mind. Yesterday it was such an emotional moment that the words had slipped out.
I was glad. I felt joyous, full of hope for a future which had previously been filled with misgivings. It had been worthwhile to have been nearly buried alive to hear those words.
The door of my room was slowly opening. Gertie came in. She was looking excited and expectant.