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“What is happening?” Amelia asked, her voice trembling.
He took her by the shoulders, pulling her close to him, but instead of kissing her, which he would have done under any other circumstances, he looked into her eyes and said those dreadful words which filled him with the worst fear imaginable.
“Fire.”
The word made her gasp. Her eyes took on a hue he had never seen before, a hue he never wanted to see again.
“Come,” he urged breathlessly, grabbing her by the hand. “We must warn everyone else.”
Just as they went out into the corridor, smoke started to sneak up on them. Amelia pointed to their left.
“It’s coming from over there!” she exclaimed, pointing a finger.
The smell was becoming more potent, more overpowering. So was the smoke. Arthur knew that within moments, they might be unable to breathe, down on the ground. And that would be the end.
Without any hesitation, he slid his arm underneath Amelia’s knees and the other around her waist, pulling her up into his arms. He expected her to protest, to rebel at this sudden show of intimacy caused by his fear, but she said nothing. Instead, she threw her arm around his neck, pulling herself even closer to him. She had become so little in his arms, so delicate. Love conquered the fear that threatened to render her paralyzed. He knew that he had to keep Amelia safe. His entire mind and body focused on that. Fear was irrelevant.
With Amelia in his arms, he rushed down the corridor in the direction opposite from the one the smoke was coming from. He was still scarred by images of what happened to his parents. He also tried to help them, but he failed. He was too late to do anything. But not this time.
He continued down the staircase towards the main door. There, he stopped to pull the main bell. He yanked it as hard as he could. The sound of the bell rang throughout the house, reverberating angrily like the choir of demons who woke up from the very depths of hell. He knew that only this sound would wake up all the servants.
Then, he continued outside, putting Amelia down only when they were out of the house. Still breathless, he cupped her face.
“I have to go back inside,” he told her, their lips so close that they were almost touching. She covered his hands with her own. They were cold, clammy. He could only imagine how frightened she must be.
“I won’t let anything happen to you, Amelia… I promise you that,” he whispered, pressing his lips to hers quickly in a promise of forever then he rushed back inside, not looking back.
Mrs. Collins was already in the main corridor, followed by a few of the maids.
“Get everyone out!” he instructed her.
He didn’t need to tell them twice. The urgency in his voice told them all they needed to know, and Mrs. Collins immediately hurried the girls out with both hands outstretched as she led them towards the door. Behind them, the butler appeared, followed by the cook and the rest of the servants. Only when he was certain that everyone found their way out safely, did he continue back upstairs.
The smoke was becoming more dense, gripping at his throat. Arthur felt as if he had swallowed an angry cat, and now it was trying to claw its way back out of his throat. He coughed severely a few times. He rubbed his eyes. He knew he was getting closer to the source of the fire, but it seemed that it was still fortunately contained in just one part of the house, hopefully just one room.
He kept on going, despite the fear which made his knees weak, which made his feet feel as if they were made of lead. Every step was more difficult than the previous one, but he kept on going. He couldn’t allow fire to consume this house again. Not this time.
He rushed in the direction of the eastern wing, and there, the music room was all engulfed in flames which were licking the half open door, threatening to move on to the hallway and the rest of the house. He stopped there, trying to figure out what the best way to extinguish the fire. He needed water, sand, anything that would quench this fiery beast. But he knew he couldn’t leave. He couldn’t turn his back on it.
At that moment, he heard the sound of footsteps. He turned around and saw that several of the men had followed him back inside. They were carrying buckets of water, and some had large blankets on them to prevent fire from touching them in case they got too close. One of the men gave him the bucket, and together, they started extinguishing the fire. Fortunately, the room somehow managed to contain all the rage, and apart from a few now darkened lines on the wooden floorboards of the hallway, the rest of the house was intact.
Arthur could not believe it. It all felt like a nightmare, but this time, he woke up into a dream, not another nightmare. Amelia and everyone else were safely outside. No one got hurt. They managed to keep the fire contained, somehow, through some inexplicable providence.
But it was no providence. He knew that his parents were watching over them. There was no other explanation. It was through sheer miracle that he was awake, that he managed to smell the fire before it became uncontrollable.
He turned to his men. They all had the same relieved look on their faces. They were smiling, albeit a little nervously. He knew that feeling. He could not stop grinning. He could not stop thinking how much he wanted to rush back outside, lift Amelia in his arms and shower her sweet face with kisses. He promised himself that was what he would do as soon as they were left alone.
For the time being, he looked in the direction of the nearest window, at the clear night sky. There was not a single star visible, only the bright moon which shone as the sun itself. He smiled softly, feeling an incredible amount of gratitude. He felt like this was his second chance at life, his second chance at love, and he would be damned if he was going to let it slip through his fingers.
CHAPTER24
Awhole hour had passed since Arthur fortunately took notice of the fire and, with the help of the rest of the men in the house, put it out before it caught the whole house. Amelia was sitting in the drawing room, still stunned by what just happened. Mrs. Collins had wrapped her in a light blanket then went to fetch some tea. The rest of the servants were allowed to go back to their quarters to rest although Amelia was certain that sleep would not come easily to any of them.
She glanced at the door, waiting for Arthur to return. She still remembered how he lifted her up in his arms, taking her out to safety. Her entire body trembled at the thought. Lady Susan could not have been more wrong. Arthur did not have one wicked bone in his entire body. Amelia had been certain of that before, but now, she was adamant in proving that to everyone else. A man like that did not deserve to have his name dragged through the mud for someone else’s amusement or whatever strange sort of satisfaction they might obtain out of it.
Suddenly, she heard footsteps. Her gaze shot immediately in the direction of the door, but it was only Mrs. Collins with a tray of tea. She was smiling although Amelia was certain that deep down, the housekeeper was as shaken as the rest of them. Only, she had more self-control. She did not wish to reveal this to the rest of them. As the housekeeper, she was always expected to keep the composure of not only the house, but everyone in it as well as herself.
“Here is the tea,” Mrs. Collins spoke softly as if addressing a child who had just taken a fall and needed to be hugged and kissed so that the scrape would hurt less. Amelia appreciated the comfort.
