It was a shelf of stone, one of the steps leading down to the water’s edge from the bank above. He levered the girl’s body up onto the step, then climbed out of the water himself. She was all right, as far as he could tell; she was still breathing.
He realized suddenly that he was too weak and exhausted even to climb the steps to the embankment by himself, much less carry the girl up. But he couldn’t just let her lie there on the cold stone. He lifted her up and held her in his arms, trying to warm her body with his, and then for a long time he just sat there — motionless, cold, and wet, his mind almost as blank as the endless darkness that surrounded them.
After what might have been minutes or hours of mental and physical numbness, a slight, almost imperceptible change in Lord Darcy’s surroundings forced his sluggish mind to function again.
What was it that was different? Something to his left. Something he could see out of the comer of his eye. He turned his head to look. It was nothing; just a light — a dim glow in the distance that seemed to shift back and forth a little and grow steadily brighter. No, not just one light, there were two… three…
Then a voice said, “Hallooo… Lord Darcy! Can you hear us, my lord?”
Lord Darcy’s mind snapped into full wakefulness. The fog must have thinned somewhat, he realized. He could tell from the voice that they were still some distance away, but the lights were easily visible. “Halloo,” he shouted. His voice sounded weak, even to his own ears. He tried again. “Halloo.”
“Who’s that?” called the voice.
Lord Darcy grinned in spite of his weariness. “Lord Darcy here,” he shouted. “You were calling me, I believe?”
Then somebody yelled: “We’ve found him; he’s here!” Somebody else blew on a whistle. Lord Darcy felt himself beginning to shiver.
Reaction, he thought, trying to keep his teeth from chattering. I feel weak as a kitten. His muscles felt as though they had been jelled by the cold; the only warm spot in his body was his chest, against which he had been holding Tia. She was still breathing — quietly, regularly. But she was limp in his arms, completely relaxed; she wasn’t even shivering. That’s all right, Lord Darcy thought, I’m shivering enough for both of us. There were more whistles and more lights and footfalls all over the place. He wondered vaguely whether they had decided to call out the Army. And then a Man-at-Arms with a lantern was beside him, saying, “Are you all right, Lord Darcy?”
“I’m all right, just cold.”
“Good Heavens, my lord, you’ve got the girl.” He shouted up the embankment, “He’s got the girl!”
But Lord Darcy hardly heard the words. The light from the man’s lantern was shining directly into Tia’s face, and her eyes were wide open, staring blankly, unseeingly, into nothing. He would have thought her dead, but the dead do not breathe.
There were more men around him now.
“Give his lordship more light.”
“Let me help you up, my lord.”
Then: “Darcy! Thank Heaven you’re safe! And the girl, too! It’s a miracle!”
“Hullo, Ashley,” said Darcy. “Thanks for calling out the troops.”
Lord Ashley grinned. “Here’s your cloak. You shouldn’t go around leaving things on bridges.” And then he was taking off his own cloak to wrap it around Tia. He took her from Darcy’s arms and carried her up the steps, carefully, tenderly.
Lord Darcy wrapped his cloak tightly around himself, but it didn’t help the shivering.
“We’ll have to get you some place warm, my lord, or you’ll catch your death of dampness,” said an Armsman.
Lord Darcy started up the steps. Then a voice from the top said, “Did you find him?”
“We found both of them, Your Grace,” said another Armsman.
Darcy said, “Mary. What the deuce are you doing here?”
“As I told you last night,” she said, “when you asked that same question, I came to fetch you.”
“This time,” Lord Darcy said, “I believe you.”
When he reached the top and had climbed over the retaining wall, he saw Lord Ashley standing solidly, holding Tia in his arms. Several Armsmen were shining their lanterns on her, and Mary, not a Duchess now but a trained nurse, was looking at the girl and touching her with her Sensitive’s fingers.
“How is she?” he asked. “What’s the matter with her?”
“You’re shivering,” said Mary without looking up. “There’s brandy in the coach, go get yourself some.” She looked up at Lord Ashley. “Put her in the coach. We’ll take her directly to Carlyle House. Father Patrique is there; she couldn’t get better care in a hospital.”
Two good swallows of brandy had calmed Lord Darcy’s shivering. “What’s the matter with her?” he asked again.
“Shock and cold, of course,” she said. “There may be some internal injuries. Nothing serious. But she’s under a spell, one I can’t break. We’ll have to get her to Father Patrique as soon as possible.”
They stretched the girl out on one of the coach seats.
“Will she be all right?” asked Lord Ashley.
“I think so,” said the Duchess.
Then Lord Ashley said, “Lord Darcy, may I speak to you a moment?”
“Surely; what is it?”
They stepped out of earshot of the others.
“The man on the bridge,” Lord Ashley began.
“Oh, yes,” said Lord Darcy. “I should have asked about him. I see you’re not hurt. I hope you didn’t have to kill him.”
“No, I’m ashamed to say I didn’t even capture him. My foot slipped on the pavement and he got away. But I got a good look at his face.”
“Did you recognize him?”
“Yes. It was our oily friend, Master Ewen MacAlister.”
Lord Darcy nodded. “I thought I recognized something familiar in his voice when he told Tia to climb up on the balustrade. He had her under a spell, as Her Grace just said.”
“That wasn’t the only Black Magic the little swine was working,” Lord Ashley said. He told Lord Darcy about the ensorcelled sword.
“Then you need not apologize for letting him escape,” Darcy said. “I am thankful that you’re still alive.”
“So am I,” said Lord Ashley. “Look here; there’s not going to be room for all of us in that coach with Tia taking up one whole seat. And I shan’t be needed any more tonight anyway. You two go ahead.” He stepped back. “Petty Officer Hosquins,” he called. “Her Grace and Lord Darcy are going to Carlyle House. One of the Armsmen will get a cab to take me home.”
“Very well, My Lord Commander,” answered Hosquins.
“Thank you,” said Lord Darcy. “Would you do me one favor? Would you go to the Royal Steward and report everything to Lord Bontriomphe? If Master Ewen knows you recognized him, he won’t show up at the hotel, of course. Tell Lord Bontriomphe to notify Sir Lyon. All right?”
“Certainly. I’ll get down there right away. Good night, my lord. Good night, Your Grace,” he said, raising his voice.
Lord Darcy opened the door of the coach. “To Carlyle House, Hosquins,” he said, and climbed in.
It was more than an hour later before Lord Darcy really felt good again. A hot bath had taken the smell of the Thames from him, and some of the chill out of his blood. A short session with Father Patrique had removed any susceptibility to catching cold. Mary de Cumberland and the good Father had both insisted that he go to bed, so now he found himself in his silken night clothes, propped up on four or five pillows, with a couple of warm woolen blankets over his legs, a heavy shawl around his shoulders, a hot water bottle at his feet, and two bowlsful of hot, nourishing soup inside him.