My Lady Ghost

by June Calvin

  “I hope you are right. Oh, Thorne, I am so frightened. This pitch black darkness oppresses my spirits so!”

  He drew her near him. “You have been remarkably brave, my love.”

  “I don’t know how much longer I can keep from hysterics. Now I know why some women have them in crises. Letting go would be such a relief!”

  “You shall have them, then. Though I would be very grateful if you could delay them until we are out of here.”

  She laughed just as he exclaimed, “Poor dirty little coal miner! I suppose I am just as filthy.”

  Allison’s eyes flew to his face. “Oh, thank heavens. We can see again. You are not only black, you shall soon be blue, my poor darling.” She slid a loving hand gently along his jaw. “Look at those bruises.”

  Thorne stood up. “Do you suppose the light means the last rock slide created an opening? Let’s look around.” He stood and reached down for her hand. When he did so, she could see past him to the source of the unexpected light.

  “She is here! That is why we can see. She is here!” Allison scrambled to her feet. “My lady ghost, we need your help. Can you ..

  The ghost moved swiftly to the alcove where the lantern had been buried under rock. Looking back to be sure Allison was observing her. she disappeared into the rock pile, her feet rising as she moved.

  “Gone again! I tell you, Allie, she is either a malevolent spirit or a mere dumb show.” Thorne clenched his Fists, feeling the strong need to smash something.

  “She isn’t gone completely, else we could not still see one another.” Allison started for the spot where the ghost had disappeared.

  “Stay back! That is where—”

  “Where a great many rocks fell. Could that mean there is an opening above the alcove?”

  She got as close to the spot as she could. Of a sudden the ghost reappeared. She motioned to Allison to follow, then again entered the debris that hid the alcove.

  “Did she do what I think she did?”

  “She wants us to follow her.”

  “I’ll try to clear those rocks away. I hope that will-o'-the-wisp doesn’t disappear completely again. I can work much more quickly and safely with some light.”

  Suiting action to words, he began tossing rocks off the pile. Allison joined him, tilting her chin defiantly when he opened his mouth to protest. They worked efficiently side by side, Allison dealing with the smaller stones, Thorne with the large ones.

  It was hard work, but within a half hour or so they had cleared the alcove. Allison gave a cry of dismay when they uncovered the lantern. It was smashed beyond usefulness.

  Thorne continued excavating. “I put the candles at the very back of the alcove,” he said, “along with the tinderbox.” After a few more moments of effort, he gave a gleeful cry. “Most of the candles have survived intact! And the tinderbox is no longer a decorative object, but I think ... yes!” He examined the tinder and flint wheel eagerly, then employed them in lighting a candle. “In case she does a flit again,” he explained to Allison as he put his head into the alcove and looked up. What he saw made him whistle, long and low.

  “What is it?” Allison crowded forward eagerly. “Oh, there is an opening up there. The Lady is motioning us to enter it. Could it be a tunnel?”

  Thorne eased his way upward. “Yes—a low, narrow one. I’ll have to go on hands and feet. The question is, do I trust that ghost enough to try?” He crouched back down, his brow wrinkled.

  “If you don’t, I do.” Allison made to enter the alcove, but Thorne stopped her.

  “Don’t be ridiculous. I must go; it may be a death trap. She may have come back to finish us off. Here, I’ll light a candle for you and leave you the tinderbox.”

  “Thorne! You certainly will not leave me here by myself! I couldn’t bear it.” Allison’s voice shook. “And you can’t make me stay. Once you are in there, I will follow you, no matter what you say.”

  “I could tie you up,” he growled. Their eyes met and held. At last he sighed. “Putty in your hands, just like my father’s disastrous weakness with my stepmother.”

  Allison shook her finger at him. “It is because what I ask is reasonable. You know that. She reveals herself most clearly to me. What if there is another trick exit? How would you know which way to go?”

  “There is something to that.” Thorne studied the floor as he thought, jaw flexing nervously. “Very well, but I will go first. If either of us is to go plunging headfirst into oblivion, it must be me. I could never live with myself if you were to die that way.”

  “Nor could I.” She put her arms around him and lay her head on his chest. “You must be very careful.”

  He returned her embrace. “I will.”

  She stepped back, blinking her eyes rapidly. “Let’s go. I am getting hungry and thirsty. That picnic basket is calling my name.”

  His teeth flashed white in his begrimed face. “Now that you mention it, I can hear the siren call also.” Handing her the candle, he worked his way into the opening with some difficulty and crawled into the tunnel, which led away from the alcove at a downward slant. The misty light, which was all he could see of the ghost, hovered a few feet in front of him.

  “Can you get up here on your own? I don’t think I can turn around to help you.”

  “I think so. Move forward some. Give me room.” Allison reluctantly blew out the candle and tucked it in the front of her bodice, as she could not crawl and carry it.

  “Intrepid female!” He did as she asked and soon felt her nudging against his feet. He pressed against the side of the tunnel. “Can you see past me? Is she just ahead?”

  “Yes. As usual, she is beckoning us on.” A momentary shudder passed through Allison's body. Each time she has beckoned us, it has led us into deeper danger! Perhaps Thorne is right.

  But the idea of returning to the dusty darkness of the vault had no appeal to her. Better to be doing something than just awaiting fate. So she said nothing, and followed Thorne when he began to crawl forward.

  “It falls off steeply here,” he said. “Fortunately, there are plenty of rocks to slow our progress.”

  “My knees had noticed,” Allison said, laughing to show she was not complaining.

  “Wait a moment. She dropped out of sight. Allison, move up here as much as you can and tell me if you see her?”

  Allison squeezed herself in so that she could peer over his shoulder. “No, but I still see the light. Go very carefully.”

  Thorne did not require her words of caution. “Give me that candle. I want to see what I am up against. There may be drop-off here.”

  She passed it to him. He stretched out on his side and awkwardly lit it. He then rolled over and inched along on his stomach, holding the candle out ahead of him.

  He grunted with satisfaction. “A cave of some sort. Not much of a drop, either. Jolly good thing, since I have no choice but to go headfirst. Here, take the candle.”

  Allison squeezed her eyes shut and prayed fervently for his safety. She didn’t open them or cease praying until she heard his voice calling her.

  “Come on, sweetheart,” She crawled forward. His head and shoulders filled the opening to the tunnel. Gently, he helped her slide out and set her on her feet. In the candle’s shadowy light she saw that they were in another tunnel, much like the one that had led them to the vault.

  “Our ghost has disappeared again,” Thorne grumbled.

  Allison looked around him. The Silver Lady stood a long way down the tunnel, urging them on. “No, she is still here, but she has faded so that she appears as a mere foggy outline.”

  “Good thing I let you come along,” he observed grudgingly. He took her hand and they began following their ghostly guide.

  “I’ve never seen this tunnel. It must surely lead out of the castle,” Thorne surmised as they walked. The tunnel angled downward and curved sharply. It was hard to know what direction they were going. Damn her if she isn't leading us to the north wall. Doubtless hopes w
e'll finally be crushed out of existence. But he said nothing of this suspicion to Allison. No point in upsetting her.

  “I wonder where it can come out?” Allison’s mind was on the same problem. “As you have said, generations of D’Aumonts have searched the area around Silverthorne, looking for a hidden exit.”

  “It must be very well hidden,” Thorne agreed.

  “Or buried in the rubble of the north wall.” Her voice was matter-of-fact. Thorne halted and looked down at Allison. She smiled, but it was a bleak smile.

  “Too clever for your own good, my girl. I have often said it.” He gave her shoulders a reassuring squeeze. They walked on in worried silence until a sound ahead of them caught their attention.

  “Water dripping.” Allison said.

  Tension built as they continued walking. The ceiling of the tunnel began to show cracks and irregularities in its surface, and drops of water plunked down on them with increasing frequency. It was like being in a hot shower, for the water evidently came from the same source as the artesian well. It took close attention to keep the candle burning.

  Suddenly, the tunnel floor was a puddle of water, and the puddle deepened rapidly. As Thorne paused to study it, Allison moved up beside him and he took her hand.

  “How deep is it?” she asked.

  “And how hot?” Thorne reached down and tested the water. “Merely warm. Well, my valet would probably have thrown away these boots anyway. Ready ?”

  Allison nodded, and they waded carefully into the water. By the time it was ankle deep, there was enough water dripping from the ceiling to mimic a heavy mist, obscuring their view of the tunnel ahead.

  Thorne paused, peering into the gloom. “That ghost had better not abandon us now, for I doubt we can keep a candle glowing much longer in this.”

  As if to prove his point, the tiny stub of candle Allison held chose that moment to fizzle out. “Drat! We'd best not try to light another one, lest the tinder get wet.” Thorne scrubbed at his face distractedly.

  “She’s beckoning us as usual. But something is different about the tunnel ahead.”

  They walked forward slowly until they came upon a cavern. Through the dripping water they could just make out the disturbing sight of a rock slide on the other side of a wide pool of water. The tunnel appeared to have collapsed directly ahead of them.

  Thorne groaned despairingly. “What did I tell you. A dumb show! That is all she is capable of. She’s passing right through the rocks, isn’t she? She’s not aware that we cannot.”

  “She knows.” Certainty firmed Allison’s voice. “She is making motions as if she were moving the rocks. Once we move them, we will find an exit somewhere, beyond that rock slide.”

  They looked at one another mutely. In the dim light Thorne could see that Allison’s face was now streaked with mud. Her hair hung limply, almost entirely out of the topknot she had begun the day with. Her clothes were plastered against her body, outlining her figure in a way that in any other circumstances would have made his loins tighten with desire. But all he could see now was the fear and near-exhaustion graven on her features. How much more of this could she take? For that matter, how much more could he take ? Thorne rubbed his left shoulder and winced with the pain. He had taken a hard blow there when the vault ceiling had collapsed. Would it be better to retrace their steps and wait for rescue in the vault?

  Allison frowned at his gesture. “You’re hurt. Let me see.”

  “Just a bruise. My whole body is a bruise.” He smiled at her. “Never has a hot mineral bath sounded more enticing. I’m tempted to lie right down in yon small lake!”

  Allison laughed. “And I, to join you.”

  “An almost irresistible inducement.” He waggled his eyebrows at her suggestively.

  “The Silver Lady does not appreciate your humor, I think.” The ghost had emerged from the rock pile to pantomime walking across the pool of water. Allison explained her actions to Thorne. “She is motioning us to hurry.”

  “Then I had best go on. Wait here while I see how deep this water is.”

  “Trying to get your hot bath without me, I see.” But she made no motion to follow, as Thorne moved forward until the water was up to his knees. Abruptly, he disappeared from sight, the dark water closing over his head and leaving Allison alone with the ominous echoes of the splash.

  Chapter Eighteen

  Surprise and horror held Allison motionless for a moment. Then she surged forward in the water, though she could not swim. She forced herself to feel carefully for the drop-off that had swallowed Thorne and peered in. She could not see him clearly, but she could see the water roiling, indicating a struggle. Bubbles rose up from the depths. Heart in her throat, Allison started to jump into the deeper water, when Thorne suddenly shot to the surface.

  Tossing his head and wiping his hair out of his eyes, he quickly took his bearings. Two strokes of his long arms brought him back to the underwater ledge, where he hoisted himself up.

  “Thorne! I was never so terrified in my life.” Allison pressed herself into his arms without regard to his soaking clothes.

  “Yet you were coming after me.” Thorne tipped her chin up. “Foolishly brave once more.” He kissed her and wrapped her in his arms. “I must confess to more than a small twinge of fear myself,” he murmured against her hair. “I had to take my boots off, else they’d have carried me downward to my death.”

  “Once more she led us into danger. I am so sorry, Thorne. I should have listened to you. We probably should return to the vault, though how we are to do it without candles, I cannot imagine.”

  Thorne slapped his hand against the pocket of his riding jacket. “Wet!” He took the tinderbox and opened it. “Ruined, of course. But we won’t be going back. This time I must take her part. She knows what I didn’t until I barked my shin and hands on it.”

  “What?”

  Thorne held up his right hand, which was scraped and bloody. “There is something very solid beneath the water, just to the right of where I fell. Unless I miss my guess, we will Find stepping- stones there.”

  A joyous light came into Allison’s eyes as the import of this sank in. “You mean there’s a way across! The rockslide may not be what it seems?”

  “I’m guessing it disguises an exit. Where is she, by the way?”

  Allison looked past him, across the wide pool of water. “On the rock pile, urging us on as usual.”

  “Well, she won’t have to urge me twice. I want out of this place. Stay here, love, while I try to Find the passage without taking another hot bath.”

  Thorne moved very cautiously this time, Finding the drop-off with his toes. Then he stood at that edge, feeling around beneath the water. “Found it!” he shouted. Cautiously, he put First one and then the other foot on the underwater stone. He repeated this process several times, and soon reached the other side.

  “I am going to sorely miss my boots when it comes time to step out onto the rocks,” he said as he turned around and returned to Allison.

  He held out his hands, and Allison inched slowly forward until her toes touched the edge. They both leaned forward until their hands touched, and then Thorne slid his around until he had a Firm grasp on her wrists.

  “Now try to put your right foot between my feet. Once I’ve got you, I’ll back up to give you room.” He led her across the underwater bridge, walking backward himself until they reached the spot where the stepping-stones ended and the mass of fallen rocks fanned out into the pool.

  He helped Allison slide past him and steadied her as best he could as she struggled to climb the low, rocky incline. She had to go almost on hands and knees, but eventually was able to clamber to the side of the cavern, beyond the rocks.

  Thorne followed her, grumbling softly as he did so. When he had stumbled to her side, he sat down abruptly. “I’ve got to get my breath before attacking that pile of rocks. What is our lady ghost doing?”

  “I can't see her clearly. She seems to have faded. She
does that—begins to look almost real when we need to see her clearly, then fades to a sort of glow when we don’t.”

  “Why, I wonder? Dashed inconvenient at times.”

  Allison jumped up. “I’ve just realized! That's why she's constantly urging us to hurry.”

  “Actually, I hadn't realized it yet. What—”

  “It is difficult for her to make herself visible. She ... tires, I suppose. Perhaps she is like a candle—she can't last indefinitely. It could explain why she pantomimes rather than talking to us— perhaps talking wears her out.”

  “That means if we can’t get out of here before she fades ...” Thorne rose to his feet and started for the water. “I’ve been studying that pile. If I can pull a few key rocks from the base, a good deal of it may just roll into the water.”

  “Taking you along with it. I wish you would not try that, Thorne.” She placed an entreating hand on his arm. “I can help you remove the rocks the way we did in the vault. Let us take the safer approach.”

  “No. As you said, our ghost may be running out of time. So are you, my love. You look quite done in.”

  Allison was country-bred, but her physical strength had never been challenged to this extent before. Fatigue limned her eyes with shadows, but she shook her head vigorously. “I’m fine.”

  “Nevertheless!” He made his way back to the water and swam to the edge of the rock slide. “The largest game of jackstraws I’ve ever played,” he quipped, flashing her a grin over his shoulder.

  “And the most deadly,” she whispered, once again praying earnestly for his safety.

  Thorne tugged out several large rocks protruding from near the bottom of the pile. When the rocks began to roll on their own, a powerful backward thrust of his arms carried him out of their path. He swam swiftly away, returning to Allison’s side to watch the small avalanche he had caused.