To Dishonour A Duke

Chapter Ten

A high-pitched squeak echoes throughout the house as Clara places a tentative foot on the floorboards. It makes her falter, her hands thrown out to protect herself, but the wood held and so she takes another step. Shards of daylight strike through the cracks in the boarded-up windows providing just enough light for her to edge her way down the corridor, blinking as her eyes adjust to the dimness. Damp, mould and the foul effects of time grip every inch of this house, forcing her to skirt around broken slats and holes in the floor, flaking paint sticking under her nails as she uses the wall to guide her. Her breath catches in her chest as she hears scurrying from below but she holds her nerve and heads deeper inside. The vulgar stench sours as she passes an open door; a destroyed dining room in pieces, a few dead animals upon the tables and floor.

Her eyes watering, she hurries past and reaches the end of the corridor, which stops at the foot of a precarious-looking staircase. Each step looks more dangerous and splintering than the last, deadly shards of wood sticking up at odd angles. Halfway up the bannister has been cleaved in two, the latter half hanging down in fragments. Ducking under it, Clara studies each step, trying to find a path through the gaps and the rot. Holding her breath, she places a foot on the first step, teetering on her heel.

The immediate howl of the stairs has her jumping back, almost tripping over a pile of decaying brick. She screams as a deafening crash sounds from above and throws her arms up to protect her head, pressing into the damp wall. Her heartbeat is like a drum in her ears as the sound dies down and the house is silent once more, save for her rapid breathing. Her pants turn to small whimpers, the slickness of the wall dampening her dress, sticking the material to her skin. Gagging as she peels herself off the wall, she shuffles away from the stairs, straining to see what caused such a noise. She clutches at the standing part of the bannister and uses it to keep her standing as she steps into the darkest corner of the corridor, craning her neck to look up. She hits the wall next to the staircase and pauses, squinting. Her next step is onto loose rubble and she cries out as her ankle gives away and she falls against the stairs.

"Bloody...I can't..." She grumbles to herself as she uses the bannister to right herself, nursing the sore ankle. She huffs trying to rub the pain away, but then she freezes as her hand touches something cool and smooth. Her fingers dance over the round object at knee height, a polished metal ball beneath her skin. Pursing her lips together, she twists it and it turns smoothly.

Concealing a cry of victory, she kneels down and her eyes widen in surprise as she sees a small passage several feet below, with an iron ladder leading down to the smooth tunnel. In the distance torches are alight, spreading warm light at the other end, her end muddied by darkness.

"It couldn't be easy, could it?" Clara mutters to herself, taking hold of the top rung of the ladder and shaking it with all her strength. It groans but doesn't move, heavily stuck into the stone. Shuffling onto her front, she wriggles into the right position and lowers herself till her boots hit the third rung. She tests her weight and when the ladder doesn't move, she places one hand on the floor, the other gripping the edge of the doorframe and lowers her left foot to the next rung. It is a painfully long process, with the rusting metal digging into her skin and her skirts pushing her away from the ladder. With both hands on the rungs, she feels more confident in the climb, but her heart still thunders in her chest, unsure how far she is from the ground.

"Ahhh!" A scream wrenches from her throat as her heel catches on the hem of her dress and she topples backwards, her hands spinning uselessly in the air. She lands with a heavy thump, a metre below onto the gritty earth of the tunnel floor. Relief courses through her as her panic fades away and her hands pat the solid ground gratefully. An ache is in her rear and ankle but otherwise, she feels unharmed.