6. Chapter Six

Gabriel looked around the room he had been cleaning up. Most of the larger pieces were gone. It needed to be dusted and mopped, but that would come later. At least there were no holes in the walls of the room, unlike some of the others. Part of the ceiling was discolored, but he had not had time to investigate. A sudden snapping sound had Gabriel looking around in concern. That sounded like wood snapping. Was the structure less sound than he thought?

A sudden shower of wet plaster came from the ceiling by the outer wall. Taking a step back from the falling particles, concern growing, Gabriel turned to go investigate the problem. He hadn't gone two steps when a muffled shriek and a crashing sound stopped him dead in his tracks. Coughing at the particles of dust and loose particles in the air, Gabriel swung his gaze back to where the discolored plaster had once been. Blinking rapidly to get the grime out of his eyes, he focused on the fact that there was a foot sticking through the ceiling. It was a woman's foot stuck through the floor of the second floor and into the ceiling of the first. He knew that shoe; it was Miss Mary's shoe.

Turning in a rush, he fled the room, calling out as he went. "Jeremy, get one of the maids and hurry to the second floor. I think Miss Bennet has partially fallen through the floor and we need to get her free."

Jeremy's response from the next room was quick. "Yes, sir!" His footsteps took off at speed toward the kitchen.

Taking the stairs two at a time, Gabriel rushed to the room that Miss Bennet was in. Upon entering, as much as he wanted to rush to her side, Gabriel paused to look around the room. It would not do to rush to her side and bring the whole of the floor down. His gaze first narrowed in on Miss Bennet. She was sprawled haphazardly on the floor, her body partially splayed, and her forehead resting on her out flung arm prevented him from seeing much of her face. "Miss Bennet, are you well?"

Looking up, her eyes wide in a pale face, Miss Bennet gulped before responding. "I do believe the floor has been weakened by the elements getting in through the broken window."

"Yes, it appears that is the case." Gabriel felt a ghost of a smile flicker across his face at her so obvious statement. She had completely ignored his question about her wellbeing. "Are you injured?"

Biting her lip in a way that did something to his heart, she said, "Not that I can tell, though I am afraid to move too much and risk falling further through the floor."

Offering a smile that he hoped was not too grim, Gabriel glanced at the surrounding floor. It seemed that the floorboards were only discolored near the window where she had fallen through. The closer you were to the door, the more sturdy everything appeared. "Are you able to get your foot free?" Stepping cautiously closer, he tried to see how she was stuck, but all he could see was her skirts pooled around her prone form.

"I do not think so." Miss Bennet paused, seeming to try something but wincing, she stopped. "My ankle seems to be lodged against something and I am afraid that if I tug too hard, the entire floor may collapse."

"Oh, my goodness." The voice of the maid came from behind Gabriel. Turning, he saw that the young maid stood next to Jeremy, her hands clasped to her chest, her face creased with worry.

Looking at the grim-faced Jeremy and the frightened maid, he spoke. "Thank you for coming to help. Jeremy, do we have a ladder on the property?"

"Yes, sir, I think I saw one over by the stable. I will have Isaac fetch it. We will set it up downstairs. Just in case." Ducking out of the room, he rushed off.

Taking a few more careful steps, he knelt down outside the ring of oddly colored wood. He could reach out and grab Miss Bennet at this distance, but he did not want to injure her accidentally by tugging on her if her foot was stuck.

Turning back to the maid who stood by the door, he smiled. "I am sorry, but I do not remember your name." Gabriel tried to remember if he had ever been introduced to her, but came up blank.

Adopting a determined posture, she straightened her back and seemed to shake off her fright. Looking him in the eye, she said, "Nellie, sir. What can I do to help Miss Bennet?"

"I am going to try something, but if that does not work, I will need to go downstairs and free her foot from below. If that happens, I want you to stay up here with Miss Bennet." When he saw her nod, Gabriel turned back to Miss Bennet, who, despite her appearance of calm, was pale. Looking closer, he could see sweat beading along her brow. "It seems we are in an odd situation, Miss Bennet. What say you to reaching out and taking my hand and trying to use me as an anchor to pull yourself free?"

Nodding her head, Miss Mary reached out and grasped his hand. Despite the fright of the moment and the fact that her hand was trembling, Gabriel had to swallow at the strength of her grip. She was looking for him to help her. She trusted him, and he would not let her down. Feeling her pull herself towards him, he tried not to pull as well but instead tried to remain firm and allow her to make the progress on her own at her own speed.

Crying out, Mary stopped suddenly, pain etched deeply in the lines in her face. "I think there is something sticking the wrong way into my ankle." Putting her free hand down beside herself, she tried to gain a better angle, but suddenly things began to give way. Slipping further down, she screamed, but then clamped her mouth shut. Biting her lip as she slowed and then stopped, Miss Bennet gripped at his hand, terror evident in the whites of her eyes.

"I do not think this is working." Miss Mary whispered. Closing her eyes, she seemed to focus on her breathing, steadying herself. The hand not wrapped around Gabriel's was pressed to her chest over her heart.

"Nellie, I want you to come over here and lie on your stomach. Once you are able, it would be best if you could hold Miss Bennet's hand to hold her steady. Miss Mary, you need to take Nellie's hand and I will work on getting you free." Looking at Miss Mary, he noticed her eyes were still closed, and she was still biting her lip. Her grip had only tightened. He tried to gently releasee her hand to allow Nellie to take it, but Miss Mary would not let go. Running his free hand over her the back of her hand where it gripped his own, he tried to soothe her. He could feel the pounding of her pulse in her wrist. Leaning down, he kissed her knuckles and then, lowering his voice, he cajoled. "Come now, Mary, you are going to have to let me go. I am going downstairs. I will try to see if I can free your foot so that you can pull yourself out."

When he used her first name, Mary's eyes popped open, and she searched for something in his expression. Whatever it was that she was looking for, she found because, though she still looked terrified, she loosened her grip. She let go in stages until only the tips of her fingers brushed against his and then, visibly shuddering, she was free of him. Only Gabriel knew he would be forever within her thrall.

Nellie, who lay on the floor next to him, reached out and took Mary's hands in both of hers. "There now Miss Bennet. Mr. Goulding will be going to get you free, and all will be will in no time."

"You have my word," he vowed, "I will have you free in no time." Dashing off, Gabriel raced down the hall and down the stairs. It seemed as if he was going so very slowly and yet in no time at all he was downstairs and in the room that had Mary's leg through the ceiling.

Mary allowed the soothing nature of Nellie's voice to flow over her. Clinging to her hand, Mary locked her gaze on Nellie's. "Thank you for being here with me. I never get into scrapes like this. Normally, this is Elizabeth's job." Mary knew her laugh was hollow and would never fool anyone but if she tried to be serious at that moment, she would burst into tears.

Smiling soothingly, Nellie nodded before speaking, "I have often heard tails of your sister getting into scrapes. Didn't she fall off the edge of the path on the way up Oakham Mount? Broke her arm, I heard say."

"Yes, that she did." Of course, Lizzie had been helped off that edge by the weasel Wickham, but he was no longer anyone's worry. "Here I thought I would be safe if I stayed mostly indoors."

Squeezing Mary's hand in reassurance, Nellie grinned. "Well, despite everything, at least you have a handsome young man desperate to help you. Take it from me—that doesn't happen every day."

"He is rather handsome, I must admit." Mary remembered his wide green eyes regarding her with such concern. His eyes were not the green of her sister Lizzie's deep emerald, or of her own hazel eyes that could not decide whether they were mostly brown or muddy green, but rather the green of the first leaves of spring. He had always had the thickest of lashes. She knew any number of women would pay for lashes like his. His face had a strikingly chiseled appearance, and his dimpled chin added a touch of ruggedness. With light brown hair, the color of toasted wheat, and a ready smile, Mary always felt warm when she had his attention.

With a sigh and a giggle, Nellie said, "I wish I had a beau such as him, that is for certain."

"I wish I did too—" Mary grimaced at the peculiar sensation of a hand on her foot. That was really rather odd. She tried to interpret the feelings of wood poking into her leg from her knee down. Where originally just her foot was on the other side of the floor, now mostly her ankle was free while her foot floated upon nothing. With her left leg kneeling on the floor, she carefully distributed her weight, praying that it would prevent any additional damage and keep her from falling through.

Giving Mary's hand a pat, Nellie shook her head. "Oh, don't you doubt yourself! He might not have said anything to you yet, but his eyes speak volumes."

A loud knock from below them had both women looking at the oddly colored floor with concern. "Miss Bennet!" The voice was muffled, having come from the floor below, and while it was impossible to tell who spoke, Mary suspected it was Mr. Goulding.

"Yes?" Mary called, looking down at the floor that had swallowed her leg.

"A piece of wood is angled in such a way to prevent you from pulling your leg up. I am going to attempt to remove it. You must let me know if anything pains you."

"Do not worry, I will make sure you know." Mary managed to keep her voice steady, but anxiously bit her lip once more, oblivious to the fact that she was on the verge of drawing blood if she didn"t cease worrying at it. She was not the best at dealing with pain and knew she would give herself away whether she tried to hide it. She would never have handled a broken arm and a fall down the side of Oakham Mount with as much grace as Lizzie had.

Drawing Mary"s attention with a gentle squeeze of her hand, Nellie engaged her in conversation. "Miss Bennet, have I ever told you how much my family feels indebted to yours?"

Mary's attention jerked to her companion. "How ever have we helped you so? I remember you lived here before we moved away, but I do not remember doing something so significant that it would feel indebted."

Keeping a firm grip on Mary's hand, Nellie replied, "While you were here, you and your older sister taught the local children to read and write. My little brother was one of the children you taught."

Tilting her head, Mary's mind sifted through all the children that she had helped teach over the years. "Is your little brother Nathen?"

Nodding, Nellie chuckled, "Yes, he is."

"He was always the cutest little thing, all painted over with so many freckles." Mary grinned despite the odd felling of things at her foot and ankle moving around without her command of it. Blinking rapidly, Mary tried to keep from crying as the pain in her ankle increased with whatever was happening. She forced herself to pay attention to Nellie and gripped her hand ever tighter.

"That would be our little Nathen." Nellie got a far-off look on her face as if picturing the freckle-faced little scamp. "He took what you taught him and kept working at it. He has earned himself an apprenticeship with the town solicitor, and is on his way to becoming something. No one in our family has ever had much learning at all, and now young Nathen is learning and working at a solicitor's. He might even make clerk someday."

Giving a little shake of her head, Mary asked, "That is all splendid, but how is your family indebted to me and mine? All Elizabeth and I did was help to teach him what we could."

"He will go farther than any of us ever dreamed for him or ourselves. It is because of you, your family"s kindness and compassion for those who could not offer more to their own." Nellie looked into Mary's eyes, seemingly happy that despite the unfortunate circumstances, she had the opportunity to explain her gratitude. Or possibly, Mary thought, she was simply glad she had distracted the woman whose hand she held from her parlous situation. "When the position became available to help at Netherfield with you coming back to the area, I knew I had to make myself available to help."

Mary studied the girl who held her hand so tightly. She had at first thought Nellie to be in her early twenties, but now that she was looking closer, maybe she had been off by several years. It was possible that she was only in her upper teens, possibly Lydia's age of eighteen or even nineteen. "While I would want no one to feel indebted to me, I am happy to hear that the work we did made a difference." Mary managed, grateful for the distraction as it felt like something was sawing against whatever poked against her leg. It was sending jolts of pain up her leg with every movement, and she hoped that whatever was happening would not cause her to fall through the floor entirely and land on whoever was trying to help. What a disaster would that be.

Gabriel made it down the stairs in record time but stood frozen, looking up at Mary's poor, captured leg. He finally jerked free of his fearful trance when Jeremy and Daniel came into the room carrying the ladder between him. "Good timing, gentlemen. I was unable to help get Miss Bennet free from above, so we will have to work at it from down here. Let us set the ladder directly below her and see what we can do."

It was a simple task to get the ladder set up and for one of the men to hold it steady while he climbed closer to Mary's foot and ankle. Gaining height on the problem at hand helped him to see exactly how she was stuck in the floor. A thick splinter of wood was pointing the wrong way for her to pull her leg out. It looked as if when she pulled up, it had started to dig into her skin just above the ankle.

Gabriel was glad that she had stopped moving because she had begun to bleed where the sharp edge of the splinter was digging into her. The sight of her blood trickling down her ankle and then soaking into the soft cloth of her shoe left him feeling slightly sickened. How could he remove the splinter without causing more damage? Drawing his gaze away from Mary's blood, Gabriel fixed his sight on the two men below him. "What tools do we have that might cut wood?"

Rubbing at the back of his neck, Jeremy suddenly looked up at him, his eyes alight with realization. "I think there is an assortment of tools in the stable. I am not sure what, though."

"Run and get what you can. We need something we can use to see or cut a bit of this away for her to be able to pull free."

Nodding, Jeremy took off, leaving Isaac to stay behind and help. Looking up at the foot coming through the ceiling, Isaac commented. "It looks like something is digging into her. You will need to get rid of that before she is free of the problem."

Looking at it carefully, Gabriel tried to best understand how to go about freeing her. "Yes, I think I will have to either whittle away at the wood sticking into her ankle or maybe saw it free of the rest." Gabriel hesitated, fully aware of the impropriety of looking at and touching her ankle, but he couldn"t let it stop him from lending a hand when she needed it. Gritting his teeth against the shiver that ran through him when he touched her skin, he focused on what was important. He ran his hand along her ankle and felt around the splinter. It seemed that when she had pulled her leg up, she had lodged the wood into her skin.

"Is it stuck in her leg firm like?" Isaac asked from below him.

The splinter resisted his attempts to gently separate it from her leg. He quickly stopped when she seemed to wince as he struggled with the splinter, he growled under his breath saying, "It has cut her some on the sharp edge, and it seems to be lodged into her skin. I do not think it is cutting anything dangerous, though." Gabriel tried not to think of how delicate her ankle felt in his hand when he tried to see how close the wood was to her skin. This was not at all the time to realize that he had never seen her ankles up close. He had never seen any lady"s ankles, or rather, ankle up close. Shaking his head at the direction of his thoughts, Gabriel forced himself to think of the danger to Mary if she fell through the ceiling.

Nodding, Isaac seemed to process the information. "I doubt it will be very comfortable for her to have it sawed on, but unless she wants to live the rest of her life stuck through the ceiling, we shall have to try what we can."

Gabriel nodded but did not feel capable of speaking at that moment. He was too fixated on the thought of possibly bringing Mary pain in order to free her. It was not an easy thought. Could he hurt her for her own good? Should he ask one of the others to do it if pain was unavoidable?

Coming in with an arm full of tools, Jeremy returned in a rush and out of breath. "I brought whatever I thought might have any chance of helping." Setting the tools on the floor with a thud, he sorted through what lay there, searching for something. Once found, he handed the tool up to Gabriel before returning to the base of the ladder. "I think this small hack saw might be of the most use if you are looking to break away a small piece of wood."

Gabriel swallowed convulsively. He could not leave a task that might hurt Mary to someone else. He had to stand up and do what he must. Deciding that he had to at least warn her of what was transpiring, he shouted through the floor. "Miss Bennet!"

"Yes?" came a very muffled reply.

Running his finger along the handle of the tool he had been handed he thought for a moment and then proceeded to say. "It appears that a piece of wood is angled in such a way to prevent you from pulling your leg up. I am going to attempt to remove it. You must let me know if anything pains you."

There was a slight pause, and then another muffled response. "Do not worry, I will make sure you know."

Grasping at the section of wood he had chosen with one hand and the small saw with the other hand, Gabriel set to work. He carefully positioned the saw, aiming to cut the wood as close to the remnants of the solid ceiling as possible. He could feel the friction and push and pull on the wood with the hand that was holding tight to the wood itself.

Glancing over, he took note that the wood was wobbling slightly as he sawed. It did not look like it was digging deeper into Mary, but it was moving around some, aggravating the wound. He knew that it must be hurting Mary, but she had yet to cry out. Continuing his efforts, he was frustrated at the speed at which he was making progress. To be fair, he was making progress, and he was trying to be careful so as not to hurt Mary unduly. The metal teeth of the saw bit into the wood and small traces of sawdust began to drift down into his hair and eyes. Blinking rapidly, he tried to keep his eyes free of the irritants floating down into his face.

After what seemed like too long, the largish splinter came free of the floor despite sticking out of Mary's leg. Normally he would leave it in to be better taken care of later, but he knew it could injure her if she tried to pull her leg up through the hole still lodged in her. Knowing it would hurt Mary Gabriel bit back a growl, and mouth in a hard line, he pulled out the splinter out as gently as possible. Her bleeding had been steadily increasing but was not heavy enough to be worrisome.

Gabriel dropped the bloody splinter to the floor, his hands trembling as he peered into the hole that still cradled Mary"s leg. It appeared from this angle at least she would be able to pull her leg up without anything else stabbing her. Climbing down the ladder, he looked at the two men who were eager to help. "I am going to go upstairs to see if Miss Bennet can remove her leg now. Stay here and shout if it seems as if something, anything, is amiss."

Only waiting for their nods of agreement, Gabriel rushed back up the stairs. Rushing into the room where Mary patiently awaited her liberation, he couldn"t help but notice the pained look on her face. She also had the remnants of tears on her lashes. As soon as he entered the room, her expression became hopeful, a hint of a smile appeared on her still pale countenance. Trying to reassure her, he spoke in a calming voice. "I think I have removed the impediments to removing your leg from the hole."

"Well, that is reassuring." Mary once again smiled, and it pained Gabriel to see that it did not reach her eyes. "What would you have me do?"

Coming closer, he took Nellie's place on the floor. Reaching out, he offered his hand and was relieved to see how quickly she took hold of him. "I want you to slowly try to pull your leg free. Just like before, use me as a fulcrum and try to put as little pressure on the floor as possible."

Nodding her head, she responded, "All right." Mary bit her lip again. Gabriel saw where her lip was starting to bruise and even split at her misuse of it. Closing her eyes, Mary began to pull against his hand and this time she seemed to be making progress. Then all of a sudden, she was free and falling into him from the force of her release.

Eager to get her away from the dangerous hole in the floor, Gabriel took her in his arms and scooted backwards towards the doorway. The first thing he noticed after his scramble away from the danger was the quiver that was running down the length of her body. Everywhere she leaned against him, a fine tremor shook her small frame.

Mary was the smallest of her sisters, only shorter than Mrs. Darcy by an inch or so and every inch of her seemed to be affected by the recent experience. "It is all right. You are fine. You are free and everything is well." He crooned in her ear, smoothing back the hair from her face. Her hair was more straight than curly, and it seemed to be coming free if its many pins.

Having her so close, he saw just how damaged her bottom lip was. Bitten, bruised and bleeding, it looked painful. Had he caused her that much pain? Unable to stop himself, Gabriel ran his thumb softly along Mary's abused lip. Their eyes locked in a wordless conversation full of apology and forgiveness.

After their endless moment, Mary seemed to come to herself. She sat up, trying to move away from him and away from his support. Gabriel felt the loss of her warmth acutely. "Thank you ever so much for your aid. I was foolish in the extreme to think to come up here on my own." Looking away and around the destroyed room, she shook her head in derision. Her voice was a ragged whisper. "I only wanted to see what my father had done to my room."

Noticing Nellie standing in the hallway with an indulgent smile, Gabriel quickly stood and offered his hand to Mary to help her up. No matter what he may want for his future, this was not the time or place to indulge his wish to stay close to her. "It was a natural desire. Though in the future I would suggest avoiding any discolored floorboards."

Accepting his hand, Mary stood, but gave a visible wince when she put pressure on her injured foot. "Thank you for your aid and thank you for not lecturing me on my stupidity." Her wry smile did not hide the vivid blush that had begun to race across her face.

Turning, Mary made to limp away towards the stairs. How she meant to get anywhere in the condition she was in was perplexing. Though he could no longer see her ankle, he knew she must still be bleeding, and she was noticeably limping. Tilting his head, Gabriel watched her for a moment, confused by her behavior.

Rushing to Mary's side, Nellie tried to wrap her arm around her smaller frame. "Miss Bennet, let me help you."

Hair flying about Mary shook her in denial. "Oh, thank you Nellie, but I am fine. I am not so very injured. I can make my way back to the kitchen under my own power, I am sure of it." The limping continued.

Gabriel easily caught up with Mary. She was not moving quick. Leaning around, he observed her brightly colored cheeks. Their rosy hue was so vibrant, they seemed to have taken on a fiery glow. Was this denial due to embarrassment?