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The two men knelt, squeezing their fingers between earth and stone, Anthony at one side and Laurent at the other.“Un, deux, trois,”Laurent counted. Both men grunted and heaved. Honoria held her breath.
The stone did not move. Lord Anthony’s face grew red as he pushed harder. “Come on,” he grunted.
Laurent’s face was also red and pinched. The veins in his neck stuck out.
Open,Honoria pled silently.Open.
With a final groan, the men lifted the tablet and shoved it back. Stale air floated out along with dust. Cobwebs hung from the inside of the tablet, and spiders scurried out of the sun.
“We did it,” Laurent panted.
Honoria leaned over and looked down into the darkness. A narrow stone staircase descended into the gloom.
“Go on now,” Sir Edward said, tossing a few stones into the darkness. They all listened to the sound they made when they hit bottom. It was a long drop but at least she hadn’t heard a splash. “I’ll keep watch on this side.”
Honoria swallowed, watching as Laurent and Lord Anthony descended into the gloom. Ernestine followed. Finally, she was the only one left.
“Go on doon, lass. Ye’ll dae fine.”
Shaking with fear, Honoria took one last look at the garden, at freedom, and stepped into the passage.
Twenty-One
Laurent descended intothe darkest recesses of the Temple. Down and down and down. Once he and Charles Philippe, the Comte d’Artois, had enjoyed exploring this passage and speculating on who had dug it and why.
But that was after much wine and with servants holding lanterns to light their way. Now they had little more than his memory and the torch Mackenzie had brought with him.
He reached the bottom and moved aside as Lord Anthony descended the rough steps hewn from rock. Next came Ernestine. Laurent held his hand out to assist her. Finally, Honoria made her way down. Laurent wished, again, she had not come. She was necessary to the mission and a vital part of the plan, but he would rather she were back at the safe house or on a packet to England.
He took her hand, holding it until she stepped off the stairs. He didn’t release it right away, even though the rest of the group was looking to him to lead them. Instead, he stared at Honoria, but he didn’t know what to say.
Lord Anthony lit the reeds soaked in oil at the end of the torch and light blazed in the passageway. It looked much like Laurent remembered it, only with a thin layer of dust on the floor. If the National Guard had found it, they hadn’t explored it.
“Ready?” Mackenzie called from above.
“Ready,” Dewhurst answered.
