The Hidden Legacy by Julie Roberts

Author:Julie Roberts [Roberts, Julie]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Accent Press
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER TWELVE

The tunnel door closed. Meredith was now at the mercy of Madame Lightfoot. What was she going to do with her? Murder her? Throw her body in the river? Or give her to a brothel? The word alone horrified her, but to be sold into one … her skin tingled and she shuddered … to be owned and forced to … Meredith couldn’t think beyond that. She was in the hands of not only an art thief but a monster with no morals.

The lie she had told Clemmie meant no one knew where to find her. She should have sent a message to Adam, but there hadn’t been time; the note had said three o’clock. She was on her own and it was her responsibility to find a way of escape.

Her eyes adjusted to the dim candlelight. In front of her the dark woman led the way through an arched brick tunnel the height of a grown man, with an unpleasant smell rising from the dry mud floor. Behind her, Cuba John carried the painting.

‘Where does this come out?’ Meredith could feel the ground sloping downwards and from the candlelight the tunnel was cut straight as an arrow.

‘It matters little to you where it ends. You’re my,’ she paused and her laughter filled the space around them, ‘… my guest?

‘You can’t do this. I would give you the Turner, but I don’t know where it is. That’s the truth. Why won’t you believe me?’

‘Perhaps I do now. But you’ve become a threat to me.’

Meredith could now see a wetness coating the walls and beneath her feet the ground had become soft. It slowed their pace and she began to wonder who had built the tunnel? It must be hundreds of years old. Obviously, the innkeeper was unaware of its existence. She tried to judge the distance from the inn, but couldn’t.

Fear held her nerve. Screaming hysterics would only enrage Madame Lightfoot. And the thought of Cuba John’s hands on her kept her running to keep up with the candlelight.

Water started to drip from the roof, wetting her hair. Slimy green fungi appeared on the walls. How much further were they going? If the woman in front of her succeeded in her plans … she was disappearing without any clues left behind.

The tunnel ended at a wooden door. Lightfoot took a key from her pocket and opened it. Meredith followed and stepped into the room beyond. The other paintings from The Grapes Inn were propped against the walls. So this was how they were moved.

Cuba John set his package down and closed the door.

Meredith couldn’t tell if this was a house, an inn, or a warehouse. The room was without furnishings, the whitewashed walls bare and the floor scrubbed clean and dustless. Only one door led into other parts of the building. Escape was looking impossible.

‘Go to your room, Cuba. I’ll call you when you’re needed.’

‘Would you like me to take the young lady? Give you a last moment with your treasures.

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