Chapter 2
Two
Charlotte was fully alert now.
She nodded, still touching her cheek and remembering not the slap, but the gentleness that came after. Like her father. He had been a gentle man, and no match for the bitterness of her mother.
But Mr Kernick had gentleness and backbone.
Galvanised into action, his jaw clenched with concentration as he worked to secure Ned, putting stones against the wheels of the pony trap as he shouted, “We must leave the horse here while you come with me, Miss Stanbridge!” Straightening, he reached for her hand, steadying her as she rose to her feet, helping her to put aside the blankets. “There. I’ve got you.”
Charlotte tried to hide her awareness of him as his hands went about her waist. As he swung her from the cart and set her down before him, she wanted to sink into him and breathe him in.
But his focus was on getting them away from the exposed cliff top, and he did not take advantage of the moment. If his hands lingered around her waist, it was only because she’d stumbled on the rough shale. And his lips did not graze the top of her head in an echo of the longing in his gaze.
Even amid a raging storm, Charlotte was a victim of her cursed romanticism, for he was as businesslike as ever when he raised his voice to be heard over the rising wind and intensifying rain.
“Hold on to me while I lead us through the fog.” He hesitated, looking into her eyes for a second, as if to highlight the importance of his next words.
“What I’m going to ask of you is even more dangerous. Do you trust me, Miss Stanbridge?”
“Ask anything of me and I’ll do it, Mr Kernick.”
“Good. I must go in front while you grip onto me as best you can as we make our descent.” He sounded commanding while Charlotte thought dreamily, I’d lay down my life for you, Mr Kernick, before gasping in sudden realisation, “You mean we’re going down the cliff face?”
The last time she’d looked, it was a sheer drop to the rocks below. One misstep could be fatal. Mr Kernick had said as much.
Mr Kernick was strong and agile, but with Charlotte clinging to him during their perilous descent, she might cause them both to plunge to their deaths.
“Aye.” He nodded. “I recognise this bend in the track and know where we can climb down to find shelter in the caves. If we’re not to succumb to the elements, we can at least seek shelter until the storm passes and then hopefully walk out of this.”
Charlotte bit her lip. Of course, they’d walk out of this.
But then a tremendous keening sounded, the sky darkened to the colour of ink, a roar of thunder drowned out his next words, and a jagged lightning bolt split the sky.
Charlotte screamed and the next moment found herself in Mr Kernick’s arms.
He didn’t seem embarrassed when he released her.
“You’re allowed to feel afraid, Charlotte.
” He rested his hand briefly on her shoulder, as if to comfort her.
“I should have known better than to have embarked upon this foolhardy journey. I’m a local and a farmer’s son.
Reading this great sky is more important than numbers and book learning right now. ”
He took her hand and gave it a squeeze. “Come, now. We’ll continue slowly along this track until we find the path I’m looking for.
” Then, sounding more concerned, he muttered, “Though t’would be easier if we could see two feet in front of us.
Are you sure you trust me, Miss Stanbridge?
I wouldn’t ask this of you if I thought it would be more dangerous to wait it out in the pony trap.
You’re as delicate as a rose petal, and you look like you’d bend at the first breath of wind. ”
Charlotte opened her mouth, but no sound came out as she struggled for a response. Was this a compliment? Or the opposite?
He seemed to understand her confusion, for he added, “I mean that I’m duty-bound to ensure the safety of a delicate lass and don’t want to push you to do something against your will. You don’t say much, and I’d like to know what you want?”
What could she say when for three years she’d struggled to hide what she really wanted?
“Miss Stanbridge?”
The sharpness of his tone brought her back to reality.
“Miss Stanbridge, are you alright? You looked as if you were about to swoon. Would you prefer it if I leave you here and see if I can find help?”
“No! No, I’ll come with you.” She thrust her hand back into his as she spoke and took such a rapid step forward, he stumbled. But she would not let him leave her behind. She was going to be with him every step of the way. “I am not a coward or a weakling, Mr Kernick!”
“I’ve never thought it, Miss Stanbridge,” he said, his shoulders hunched as he pushed forward through the rain. “A veritable bulwark of proper ladylike containment hiding depths of resourcefulness I’ll never know. That’s what I’ve always thought.”
“Have you?”
“Aye, Miss Stanbridge. Now, we are here at the junction of the downward path, and I’m afraid I must let go of your hand. Hold on to me from behind while I keep us both steady.” Then he turned away from her and Charlotte did as he said, grasping his coattails as he led her downwards.
After a few steps, he looked over his shoulder. The wind came in gusts, drowning out part of his words, though she understood him when he shouted, “Don’t be afraid and, perhaps, look upwards, which is a more sustaining sight.”
On that, Charlotte was in complete agreement. But looking up meant she stumbled and after some painstakingly slow progress, slipping and sliding down the cliff side, she was relieved when Mr Kernick suggested they sit in the sheltering lee of a boulder for a few minutes to catch their breath.
Not that Mr Kernick was suffering any shortness of breath. However, Charlotte was battling, and clearly he could see that, for he patted her hand, which lay fisted in her lap, and said, “Best we take our mind off the moment with a pleasant chat, don’t you think, Miss Stanbridge?”
Charlotte nodded, a little bemused that this could happen to her. She was closer to Mr Kernick than she’d ever been. Wedged together in the shelter of a large rock, she could feel the outline of his strong, slender form. In three years, she’d not even shaken his hand.
“You’re a resourceful miss. I’ve often thought it as I’ve watched you out in the garden teaching the little girls about the nature all about us. I’ve been envious, I will admit.”
“Envious!” she gasped. “Of me?”
“My duties require me to remain indoors teaching mathematics. You surely wouldn’t wish to swap places?”
Charlotte shrugged. “You have more freedom.”
“Do you think it?” He contemplated her for a moment.
“There’s little freedom when one has to work so hard just to keep a roof over one’s head and to support an ailing, widowed mother.
But then, you have your story of woe, too, I’d wager.
Else you’d not have worked for Mr and Mrs Glendenning with not a visitor in all the years I’ve known you.
” He smiled. “Perhaps we are both in a similar position, for I know you are not entirely alone and, like me, have a dear one to support.”
The invitation in his eye was impossible to resist. And what did it matter that Mrs Glendenning had obviously been loose with her tongue?
Despite the unsettled weather, Charlotte felt safe here in this unlikely haven, sharing an unexpected moment of unity with the man she’d admired from afar, but with whom she’d never exchanged more than a brief greeting.
“I have a younger sister who needs a great deal of care since she was kicked in the head by a horse. My great-aunt looks after her, and since I have no parents, I pay what I can.”
He held her gaze. “I’m sorry to hear it.”
A crack of thunder and a lightning strike nearby had both on their feet and gasping.
“We can’t stay here. It’s too dangerous!” Mr Kernick took her hand again. “We must hurry and find shelter in the caves below where no lightning strike can threaten us. Are you able to continue, Miss Stanbridge?”
Charlotte nodded, afraid but trusting, though her heart lurched as they passed the scorched earth where the lightning had struck.
“You’re doing well!” he encouraged her at one point, and Charlotte was about to respond when her right foot skidded beneath her. The force of her slide sent her to her knees, and as she scrambled to right herself, she screamed when her left foot failed to find purchase. She was half over the abyss.
“Miss Stanbridge, don’t struggle!” Mr Kernick went onto his knees to grip her beneath her armpits. “Stay nice and still and I’ll see you right,” he reassured her as he hauled her out of danger and set her on the path.
Charlotte blinked away the salt from the sea spray and her own tears as she put her head against his chest. “Can we stay a moment longer like this?” she whispered. She thought she’d never felt closer to what she’d been searching for her whole life. “I’m very afraid.”
Her mind was awhirl. She was afraid, but the fear had sparked something else inside her: excitement. Mr Kernick was holding her like she’d always wanted him to hold her. Although they were both soaked to the skin and she was shivering, her body pulsed with heat.
The wind had not abated, and the rain was relentless. It had breached Mr Kernick’s coat that he’d insisted she wore and which now made the going cumbersome. But she was in Mr Kernick’s embrace, and she’d never wanted anything more.
“We’ll have to take it more slowly, for the ground is slick and dangerous.” He put his mouth against her ear, so close, that Charlotte trembled to feel the stubble of his face.
She’d only need to twist her head round and then…
Crazy thoughts, for they were halfway down a perilous cliffface and might not make it to the bottom.
Which was all the more reason to—
“I beg your pardon!”
Her ploy produced a response far from what she’d intended, for he drew back, apparently horrified when her lips brushed against his.
Yet his eyes shone with something she was sure was not revulsion when he said, brushing away a strand of sodden hair that clung to her cheek, “Let us proceed, this time more slowly. I’ll take it inch by inch and I’ll bring you down after me.
Don’t look down. This was my playground when I was a boy and I once knew this area as well as the sea birds did. ”
Charlotte managed a nod. If you’re my rescuer, Mr Kernick, I’d jump if you asked me to. But of course she didn’t say it.
The path grew steeper, but stony outcrops provided some relief.
And, as Mr Kernick promised, he was there, supporting her descent; scrabbling down a few feet, gripping a rock, then holding out his hand so that she could skid and stumble down into his arms.
And all the while the storm raged about them, full of fury.
“Not far to go, Miss Stanbridge!” he shouted after what seemed an eternity. “We’ll soon be safely on even ground.”
The salty tang of the sea stung Charlotte’s eyes, and the damp fog seemed to invade her lungs.
“Miss Stanbridge. We’re nearly there!”
“Please. Just two minutes!” she ground out as she sank upon the oozing ground, resting her head against a rock while she wrapped her hands around her throbbing leg. “I’m so sorry. Are you… are you sure you don’t want to go ahead? I’m… holding you up. It’s dangerous for you--”
“Good lord! You’ve taken leave of your senses if you think I’d abandon you. Not now, not ever!”
Despite her exhaustion, Charlotte’s senses leapt into awareness once more. She wished he was saying those words under different circumstances.
With an effort, she inched her way a few feet further down until she felt Mr Kernick’s hand on her ankle. Shocked, she opened her eyes. Mr Kernick appeared to be standing on solid ground below her, and now he was holding out his arms.
“Sit up and just push yourself forward, Miss Stanbridge. I promise I’ll catch you! Hurry, though, for the tide is coming in!”
She saw that she was on a small ledge while Mr Kernick was on a rock, the sea foaming about his ankles.
They had reached the bottom at last. But if the tide was coming in, then were they not both about to embrace a watery grave?
“Come, now, Miss Stanbridge. We haven’t much time, but if you jump into my arms, I’ll take you to higher ground within the cave structure. I remember it well, though I’ve not been in here for years. We’ll be safe there, but we need to hurry!”
Rejection of the idea of throwing herself off the abyss warred with excitement at the prospect of his protection. Just the two of them.
With enormous effort, Charlotte roused herself, leaned forward, took in the frothing sea upon unforgiving rocks, the cliff face above, too slippery to ascend; and Mr Kernick below, his expression urgent, his eyes kind but imploring.
So, because she had no choice, and because she’d do anything to be with Mr Kernick, Charlotte launched herself through the air, felt his hands move from her ankles to her hips to her waist.
And then another bolt of lightning lit up the sky.