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Marguerite hesitated. She couldn’t swim and looked down at her skirt in dismay. Embers from the fire were already threatening the material of her dress. She knew that if she stayed where she was, death was inevitable. She had to jump.
With thick, acrid smoke choking her lungs, she took a deep breath, turned to look at Joe but, before she could jump, was pushed by Kerrigan.
Assured that she was safe, Joe jumped in after her. The icy water stole his breath as it encased him. He quickly surfaced and sucked in a huge gulp of air. Blinking water out of his eyes, he shook his head and looked around for her. Flickering embers began to appear on the water’s surface all around him, some of which were large enough to keep burning. Joe battled his way through them, struggling to see the person he most wanted to see.
“Marguerite!” he cried, his heart pounding in his ears.
His entire world slammed to a halt. Panic threatened to engulf him as he swam in a circle, desperate to find her.
“Marguerite!”
The darkness seemed to engulf him as completely as the water he was in. One minute passed. Then two. Three more. Eventually, Marcus burst free of the surface several feet away, one arm wrapped around Eustace. Together the men slowly made their way toward him. Joe swam around in a circle again looking for Jacob. To his horror, there was no sign of Marguerite or Ben.
“Marguerite, she has gone,” he burst out, his voice full of fear.
Sucking in a deep breath he ducked beneath the surface but it was too dark to see anything. Defeated he had to surface, his hopes dashed when he saw no trace of her still.
“Marguerite!” He called again and again.
The current in the river was strong, threatening to drag him away from the banks and down river. He wondered if that was where Marguerite had gone.
“Stay close to the side,” Joe ordered Marcus when he reached him. He knew his colleague wouldn’t have the strength to fight such a strong current in his condition. Thankfully, Ben surfaced and began swimming around in search of Marguerite.
Together both Joe and Ben began to dive beneath the water in search of Marguerite.
CHAPTER TWENTY
Marguerite’s lungs burned but this time for an entirely different reason. She was blind to everything. Trapped beneath the water’s surface, she struggled to kick free of her skirts to propel herself to the surface. The tide of the river dragged her further down with each passing moment. The urge to take a breath, even a small one, was so strong, so instinctive, that she had to battle with herself more than the water. She knew that if she were to succumb, that breath would be her last, and this water would be her grave.
She tried to tug her skirts up so she could get her legs free, but there was too much material and too many undergarments. She couldn’t gather enough material up to make any headway to the surface.
Suddenly, hands grabbed her. She had no idea where they came from, or whose they were, but they appeared out of the darkness and yanked her up. The faint sensation of surging through the water left her stupefied, but within seconds she was free of the surface and wrapped in a strong hold which kept her upright.
Heart pounding, she looked over her shoulder, expecting to see Joe. To see Ben was a relief and a disappointment at the same time.
“Thank you,” she whispered.
“Thank God we found you,” Ben gasped fervently.
“Where is he? Where is Joe?”
Joe burst free of the water and drew in a huge breath of air. His lungs ached from having to hold the air for so long. His fear was absolute and all-encompassing now.
“Joe!” Ben called.
Joe swirled around in the water to look at his friend and cursed with relief when he saw two heads, one of which was wonderfully familiar.
“Thank God,” he whispered when he reached her.
In spite of the surrounding water, he hauled her against him and kissed her. There wasn’t time to say, or do much else. Determined to get her to safety before the tide caught them all, Joe held her firmly against his side and propelled them closer to the riverbank.
“We need to let the current take us downstream. There should be somewhere we can get ashore down there,” Ben called.
Nobody protested and allowed the currents to carry them away from the burning building. The further they got away from it, the more silent it became. Eventually, the only sounds that could be heard were the distant sounds of the city somewhere off in the distance and the gentle lapping of the water.
“Here should do it,” Kerrigan called. He pointed to a small, narrow strip of land which appeared to lead to the back of some dry docks.
“I can’t kick,” Marguerite cried. “My legs are wrapped up in the material of my dress again.”
