Ten Days with Mr Darcy (on hold)

Chapter thirty-seven - The Hooded Man

They watched the video through to the end again before Jess even considered moving. Being held close, by Gareth, was a position she was in no hurry to change, but they couldn't spend all day in this dark dungeon. The hard bench would soon leave her too numb to walk anywhere. She lifted her head, keeping her voice low. "Should we explore more of the castle?"

His sigh sounded loud in the darkness. "Do you want to?"

"I think we should."

His hand slid from her shoulder to the small of her back. Then he stood, stretching his legs, and Jess felt bereft of the warmth and comfort that only came from Gareth. He helped her up and they made their way towards an arched entrance on the opposite side from where they'd entered.

The narrow passage beyond was only wide enough to walk in single file. Apart from the occasional arrow slit letting the daylight in, there was no other light, and in some places Jess could barely make out Gareth walking ahead. The passageway went around corners, up a few steps, down a few more; the flagstones worn by centuries of passing feet.

Reaching another staircase, they climbed to the next level. The passages here had more natural light, and more frequent arrow slits so they could see where they were going. Still, walking along a narrow path through almost solid stone in single-file was disorienting, and Jess had no idea where she was in relation to other parts of the castle.

The only constant point was Gareth and, thankfully, he seemed to know where he was going.

They came across another turret staircase and went up again, following more thin corridors, occasionally having to squeeze into stone rebates to allow other visitors to pass. Eventually, they reached a dead end. The cell-like room contained what used to be an arched window, now broken and barred with vertical iron rods. The only entrance was the one they'd walked through. There was nowhere else to go without retracing their steps.

Jess slid past Gareth to peek through the bars. She looked down onto the grass below, populated by a handful of tourists and surrounded by the high walls. "This must have been where the English lords locked up the Welsh prisoners."

He examined the view over her shoulder. "How would they do that then? There isn't a door."

"Not now, but there must have been once. It's probably rotted away after all these years." She turned away from the window. "Either that or they might have chained them to the wall."

Gareth was standing in the middle of the small space, effectively blocking her from leaving, and he didn't seem in a hurry to move. "I don't see any rings for attaching the chains. Besides, this room is far too clean and dry to make a good dungeon. They would have stuffed their prisoners below ground, in the dark...with the rats."

"If you think I'll squeal and jump into your arms at the thought of rats, you'll be waiting forever. Rats don't bother me."

"Handy to know." His gaze met hers and she held it. After a moment's pause the expression around his eyes softened. "Purely for curiosity's sake, if rats won't make you jump into my arms, what would?"

Jess laughed. "I'm not keen on spiders, especially the big ones with long twitchy legs." She touched the tips of her finger and thumb together. "Anything that size would make me nervous, particularly if it's running around on the floor. They're so unpredictable."

"In that case, I'll have to keep an eye out so I'm ready for it. Maybe do a few stretches...a couple of squats. Catching someone when they jump can be tricky, especially if it's unexpected. It's all in the knees, you know."

Although Jess appreciated his efforts to lighten the atmosphere, there were other, more weighty matters on her mind. She took a deliberate step forward, and then another, until she was forced to tilt her head up to maintain eye contact. "Perhaps we should practice ahead of the spider's appearance...you know, block out the moves and get the choreography right so you don't sprain anything."