Alarmed, as he crowded her dangerously near to the edge, Jennifer cried, "Let be! You leave me no room!"
"Then stop your playing, and—"
The ground here was fractured and uneven. Panicked, Chanteuse reared. Only her superb horsemanship kept Jennifer from being thrown. His lordship wrenched the bay around. The horse cavorted, neighing his terror. One back leg slipped over the edge. With a wild plunge, he managed to scramble up.
My lord Green was less fortunate. Uttering a deafening screech, he hurtled from sight.
With his scream ringing in her ears, Jennifer flung herself from the saddle and ran to the edge of the cliff. Much as she disliked the man, she would never have wished him harm, and she peered downward, dreading to see his lifeless body far below. His lordship was still clinging to life, however. Literally. His great hands were gripped around a jutting rock, his legs flailing as he sought in vain for a foothold.
"Thank heaven!" she gasped. "Hold tight, sir. I'll fetch help."
"No!" he shouted. "Help me now!"
Even if she could reach his hand, she knew she'd be unable to pull him up. But she might contrive to steady him until he could gain a foothold. She lay flat and reached down, but although she leaned as far as she dared, she was far short of touching him. Distracted, she called, "It is no use! I must get help. Try to—"
"Stupid girl! I am trying! Find a—a rope. Or something to throw down. I can't last—much longer!"
His face was almost grey with fear, his eyes bulging and frantic. In desperation, Jennifer looked about for some way to help before he plummeted to his death.
"Miss Jennifer!"
The shout came like the answer to a prayer. She gave a cry of gratitude as Crazy Jack sprinted to her. A corner of her mind registered the fact that he looked dreadfully tattered and untidy, but then he was holding her outstretched hands, and she half-sobbed, "Thank God you have come! Poor Lord Green has fallen over the cliff. Help him, I beg you!"
He went at once to the brink. Green was clinging to an outcropping and had managed to brace one foot against the side, but terror made his voice hoarse as he wheezed, "Help! I'll—I'll make it worth your while!"
It was now high tide, and hypnotised by the sight of the waves far below, Jonathan scarcely heard him.
A small hand touched his arm. He started and looked into Jennifer's pleading eyes, and all that mattered was that he was here, when she needed him.
He patted her hand and looked about for something to use. Except for some clumps of furze, and Green's riding crop, which was too short, there was nothing. But the knapsack was still on his back, and he had the small axe. He shrugged out of the harness.
Green gobbled something incoherent.
Watching Jack empty driftwood and tools from the knap-sack, Jennifer tried to keep her voice from trembling. "What can I do?"
"Bring up the horses. Gently." He flashed her a quick smile. "Don't scare them."
She was enormously relieved by his unexpectedly assured manner, and obeyed at once. The big bay was grazing, but he was still nervous and flighty and each time she tried to catch the trailing reins he tossed his head and danced away. She turned to Chanteuse and led the mare to Jack.
He used the axe blade to cut the reins off close, while Jennifer again attempted to catch the bay. The big horse shied at her approach, then moved off again. Her heart sank and she ran back to report failure.
"For the love… of God!" howled his lordship.
"Coming, sir," called Jonathan.
Jennifer watched him knot the reins with swift and practiced ease. One end was tied securely to the mare's stirrup, and the other attached to a shoulder strap of his knapsack.
He led Chanteuse to the top of the cliff. He was far from sure the improvised rope would be long enough, and was elated when the free-hanging strap of the knapsack dangled only a foot or so above the baron's head. "There's a loop within your reach," he called. 'Take hold, and we'll have you up in no time."
Green's terrified eyes glared at him. "How can I—take hold, damn you?" he screeched. "I can't let go! Come down for me!"
Jonathan stood very still. He had just fought his way up that terrible rock face and he was still shaken. It was asking too much to expect him to endure such an ordeal again.
"No!" Jennifer caught his arm. "You cannot!"
"Come down I—tell you!" howled Green. "I'll—I'll pay you! A hundred pounds! Come down!"
"The rope won't hold you both," called Jennifer. "The loop is well within your reach! Won't you please try!"
But Green would not relinquish his hold, and repeated his demands that she send "the looby" after him, a sob in his voice, and curses alternating with his frantic pleas.
On his previous visit to Castle Triad, Green had come to see the school-house. He had laughed at Jack's carpentry and thoroughly enjoyed himself by taunting the "village idiot" in front of Jennifer. How disgraceful it was, she thought, that even in this terrible moment he would villify the man he commanded to risk his life to save him.
Jonathan fought to conceal his own terror, but his hands trembled as he pulled the leathers up again. "He's properly panicked. I'll have to go down, Miss Jennifer."
He twisted the free shoulder loop twice about his left arm, then with the same hand took a firm grip on the knapsack above it.
Jennifer's face was chalk white, her eyes dark with anxiety as he sat on the edge of the cliff. She whispered through dry lips, "But—the leathers… they surely cannot…"
"With luck, they'll only have to hold us both for a few minutes. Hold the mare steady until I have him, then back her, and pull us up."
He spoke lightly and made it sound easy, but she knew better. "God bless you," she faltered.
He smiled at her with a calm he was extremely far from feeling, then swung over the edge and began to lower himself. For as long as was possible, he clung to the top of the cliff with his right hand. His foot located a firm toe-hold, and he called hopefully, "Green! Can you reach my ankle?"
"The—the hell with your blasted… ankle! My hand, curse you! Take my hand!"
Confound the fellow! Steadying himself against the granite, Jonathan abandoned his hold on the top. The makeshift rope lurched and the loop of the knapsack tightened, biting into his upper arm. To an extent he was able to brace his feet against the side, but most of his weight was on that loop now. The wind was rising, the breakers coming in faster and harder. Above those sounds he could hear the sobbing rasps of Green's breathing. His lordship's convulsed face was just below. He steadied his boot against the cliff and stretched down his right hand. 'Take hold, sir!"
Green hunched his great shoulders, then howled, "Too
far! Come nearer, you block! Quickly, damn your eyes! Quickly!"
Jonathan glanced up and caught a glimpse of Jennifer's gown fluttering in the breeze. "I can't come much lower. Brace your feet, and grab. Try!"
"No! It's—it's too far! Closer, I tell you!"
Jonathan shouted, "Can you come just a step nearer, Miss Jennifer?"
Chanteuse was balking, her eyes rolling with fear. Stroking her sweating neck, Jennifer said soothingly, "It's all right, girl. Just a little way. Just one pace. Good girl… easy now…" And she thought, 'Pray God she doesn't rear up! Please, Lord—let her not sidle.'
Another jolt on that terribly thin line, and Jonathan leaned down again. "Come," he urged breathlessly. 'Take my hand."
Tears streaked his lordship's pale face as his staring eyes fixed on Jonathan's outstretched hand. He gabbled, "I—I cannot! I daren't let go! I daren't! The leather is—is too thin. It won't hold us!"
There was hysteria in the voice. Jonathan said sharply, "It's the only chance you have. The leather will hold if you brace your feet as we go up. If you don't, we'll likely both fall."
The fingers of his lordship's right hand fluttered, only to clamp down harder. "Damn you! I can't!"
"Good Lord! Do you want to die? I promise you I do not! My arm is getting numb. I'
ll count to three, then you must climb up alone. One…"
"No! Do not dare to leave me, you worthless—clod!"
'Two…"
"Very well! Very well!" The words were a sobbing wail. "But—if you let me fall…"
"Grab my wrist if you can. Now!"
With a mighty effort, his lordship snatched for and caught Jonathan's wrist. The added weight caused the makeshift rope to jerk madly, and Jonathan held his breath, and wondered if his life ended here. Green lunged again, missed, let out a piercing shriek, and, kicking madly at the cliff face propelled himself upward and seized Jonathan's forearm.
Feeling that he was being torn in half, and convinced the leather must snap at any second, Jonathan shouted gaspingly, "Back… Jennifer! Back!"
Chanteuse was snorting and tossing her head about in terror. Guiding her away from the edge, Jennifer scarcely dared glance at the thin, taut leather, and she talked to the mare gently, trying not to betray her own fear. One step… two… Was it her imagination, or was the saddle slipping… On the thought, the saddle jerked to the side. The mare whinnied shrilly and tried to tear free. Clinging to the bridle with all her strength, Jennifer cried aloud, "Dear Father in Heaven—don't let them fall…"
It was a prayer Jonathan echoed. His right arm felt as if it was being dragged from the socket, and the strap had bitten so deeply into his left arm that he could no longer feel the fingers that gripped the knapsack, so that he dreaded lest he should unwittingly relax his hold. With both hands immobilised he was unable to guide their ascent except with his feet, and Green's bulk hampered those efforts.
'Try to… brace yourself," he gasped.
Green responded hoarsely, "If you… let me fall… you'll pay, I promise you! Can't you… move faster?"
Jonathan did not dignify such nonsense with an answer. They scarcely seemed to move. The blood began to roar in his ears, and his eyes were blurring. There was a sudden sharp crack and the pressure on his left arm was released. He thought in anguish, 'The leather snapped!' and tensed, waiting for the terrible plunge into the sea.
Strong hands tugged at him. Jennifer was saying breathlessly, "Let go! Lord Green—you are safe now, you can let his wrist go."
He was lying on the turf! Jonathan thought, 'Halleluiah! We're up!'
The pack was being unwound from his arm. Jennifer was peering into his face, rolling back his sleeve. "Oh, but you will have some horrid bruises! Does it pain you very badly?"
He tried to tell her that his arm was numb, but his words were drowned by a wrathful howl.
"Never mind him! Spare a moment's compassion for… for your guest!"
Jennifer turned to the baron. Her first irreverent thought was that he looked like a beached whale. Ashamed of such unkindness, she saw that his face was brick red. Dreading lest he suffer a seizure she knelt beside him and took his hand. "Poor soul. Thank heaven Jack was able to pull you up."
His sense of ill-usage exacerbated by the uneasy suspicion that he had been made to appear ridiculous, Green gulped chokingly, "Had it not been… for your… missish airs, I'd not have… been thrown."
Her nerves were in shreds, but she managed to refrain from pointing out that it was his own deplorable conduct that had plunged him into such peril. She was unable, however, to infuse any warmth into her voice when she enquired, "Can you stand? Or shall I ride for a carriage?"
He did not at once reply. Then, he growled, "You may help me up."
She helped as best she could, and he leaned on her heavily as he struggled to his feet. He was still puffing, but his physical strength, together with a complete lack of imagination, was already enabling him to feel more the thing. He kept his arm about her, murmuring, "Well, now. This is better. Be damned if you ain't a choice armful."
"I see you are recovered," said Jennifer dryly. "Let me go, if you please. I must help poor Jack. He has—"
Green spared a glance at his rescuer. "The looby don't need you. He's—Hey!" He pushed Jennifer aside. "What the devil have you got there?"
Jonathan had managed to get to his knees, and was looking at a small glittering object he had found lying in the grass. It was a piece of quartz, no more than three inches in height, about half an inch thick, and shaped rather like a gravestone with a rounded top. The primitive outline of a large head, with stubby legs beneath, was carved into the front, and two fine opals formed the eyes. He thought inconsequently that it must be very old; probably quite valuable… Vaguely comprehending that Green had bellowed something, he glanced up in time to see his lordship's heavy riding crop whizzing down at him. Instinctively, he jerked his head aside, but the crop slammed against his temple, and sent him sprawling again.
Green wrenched the small figurine from his lax hand, and, apparently in the grip of an uncontrollable fury, rained blows at him, while Jonathan tried dazedly to get to his feet, and threw up an arm to protect his head. "Filthy scum!" snarled his lordship. "Thought you could slip it in… your pocket, did you?… I'll teach you some respect for—"
Jennifer, who had been momentarily frozen with outrage, ran to seize his arm. "Are you gone demented? Stop that at once!"
His countenance almost purple, his lordship thrust her away. "If there's one breed of vermin I cannot abide, 'tis a sly… worthless… thief!"
His whip cracked down to emphasise each accusation.
A blinding wrath seared Jonathan.
Jennifer saw his eyes narrow to slits of steel, and the long hands clench into fists. Horrified, she thought, 'Do not hit back! For pity's sake, do not! They'll hang you!'
Jonathan's hand flashed out and caught the flying thong of the whip.
His lordship gave a startled growl.
Trying to come between them, Jennifer demanded, "Have you no gratitude? This man just saved your life!"
Green swore blisteringly and jerked at the whip. Jonathan hung on and pulled himself to his feet, eager to deal with this carrion that called itself a man.
'Never, whatever the provocation…'
He thought prayerfully, 'God, please! Just this once…?' But he had sworn on what was left of his honour, and honour must be obeyed. And thus, though it took every ounce of his willpower and left him trembling with frustrated rage, he mastered his temper, and relinquished his hold.
"Did you see the swine?" bellowed Green, swinging the whip high. "Tried to attack his betters, be damned if he didn't!"
"He tried to stop you only," countered Jennifer, tugging at his upraised arm. "You know very well he dare not defend himself 'gainst you!"
"Did you hear how the scum called me? 'Green!' he said! Green, damme! As though he were my equal! Stand aside, madam!"
"Did you expect him to bother with titles when every second counted? How can you be so foolish? He did not steal your silly jewel!"
Green saw that Jennifer's lovely face was flushed with fury. "Well, well," he sneered. "Here's a heat. Taken a fancy to the half-wit, have you?"
Her head tossed upward. She said haughtily, "I think you forget yourself, my lord! But I'll not deny I admire courage. And your own behaviour leaves much to be desired!"
Briefly, an ugly expression came into his eyes. Then he grinned broadly. "For my part, I admire a woman of spirit, so I promise not to hold your impertinence 'gainst you."
"You are too good," she said.
Her sarcasm was lost on him. He jabbed his whip at Jonathan. "As for you, fellow, I am a Justice of the Peace in my own county and have sat in judgment on several of your kind. I shall have a word with Sir Vinson Britewell. You belong in Bedlam, where you can't turn on some helpless woman or child!"
It wouldn't take much, Jennifer knew, for the villagers to speak out against "Crazy Jack," and Howland would be glad enough to see him condemned to that ghastly asylum. She said with icy contempt, "I cannot believe that any gentleman would repay gallantry in so shabby a way!"
"Gallantry, is it?" Green picked up the knapsack and the broken length of leather. "Lunacy, more like. No man in his right mind wo
uld have entrusted our lives to this makeshift rope. Lucky it lasted till the mare was dragging us on the turf, else I might have been killed!"
Jennifer assisted Jack to a group of boulders and said over her shoulder, "I take it you'd have preferred that he let you fall."
She expected an impassioned response, but Green was silent, frowning down at the knapsack. "Sit here, Jack," she said kindly. "You must be quite exhausted, poor soul. And only look at your hands! Much thanks you got for your bravery!"
Lord Green wound the leather around the knapsack and said, "Don't set all those scrapes to my account, Miss Jennifer. He was well marked before he climbed down. Likely got into a brawl with some public spirited Roselley folk." He strolled closer. "Tell the lady the truth, fellow. That's it, ain't it?"
Breathing hard, and clutching his left arm, to which feeling was returning with a vengeance, Jonathan muttered, "No."
"Leave him alone, for mercy's sake," exclaimed Jennifer.
"Why, so I will. When he answers me politely. Explain why you look as if you'd swum through a bramble bush, looby, or my lady will be blaming me! And address me properly, unless you enjoy the feel of this whip."
Jonathan said wearily, "I had climbed… up the cliff. My lord."
Jennifer gave a start and stared at him, her eyes wide.
Green's jaw fell. "You—had—climbed up—the cliff?" He threw back his head and bellowed with laughter. "What a rasper! Oho, but you've chose a fine liar to pity, Miss Jennifer! Climbed up the cliff, indeed! No one could make that climb—save maybe a monkey!" Laughing still, he marched to the bay horse, which grazed nearby, and mounted up. "I offer you my escort, ma'am."
"And I decline it," she said disdainfully.
To her surprise, he voiced no argument, but turned his mount and rode away. Watching that erratic departure, she said through her teeth, "Horrid, horrid creature!"
She was very sure of the tale that would be poured into her brother's ears. For her own protection she should go home at once, and yet… She glanced at the man who sat on the boulder, head downbent and eyes closed. The boorish baron had taunted her with having "taken a fancy" to him. How typical of Green to have uttered such a vulgarity. She was interested in Jack because… because he was a puzzle. And because she had never been able to see anyone suffer and not want to help.
A Shadow's Bliss Page 7
