Mr. Punch held his breath as much as he could, and, when he did breathe it was only to inhale shallowly through the damp handkerchief that Marie Laveau had tied around his mouth and nose. He turned to glance at Marie. She still wore the wet rag that he had fastened around her face. Nodding at him, she reached for his hand and squeezed it firmly to reassure him.
Neither of them could see very well—the smoke in the passage obscured their vision, and Punch relied on his hearing to guide him through the dense blackness. Moving away from the piercing screams, he knew he was getting closer to the staircase which led to the upper deck’s more luxurious cabins, and, of course, to his newly adopted son and the people who looked after him.
Punch tried his best to remain calm. First of all, he knew that fear would do him no good. However, most importantly, he did not want to alarm Julian who paced frantically deep inside their shared body.
“Colin, Marjani, Gamillla, Columbia, Toby and me puppet.” Punch repeated, over and over, silently to himself. With their names in his mind and heart, he knew he would be guided to them and that, once found, together they would all continue to live happily.
The ship groaned again and, above them, Punch could hear the creaking of the ceiling.
“Please don’t give ‘way.” Marie muttered.
Punch squeezed her hand as she had done for him. She appreciated that gesture.
Never had she thought she’d be walking into a roaring blaze with the Duke of Fallbridge—or whatever he called himself. If only, she thought to herself, she had not been blinded by her own anger. Perhaps she could have seen that she should have been aiding the man all along.
Marie could feel the heat of the floor through her boots and she was sure that the Duke was feeling it all the more keenly through his much thinner slippers.
Suddenly, the deck beneath her felt softer, and before she knew what had happened, Marie realized that she was falling.
Punch stumbled backward—still holding Marie’s hand—as her weight pulled him down. He yelped as he realized that she had fallen through the burnt floor. Clasping her hand tightly, Punch became aware that Marie was dangling above a pit of fire.
Trying to pull her up, he cried out, “Don’t let go of me hand!”
The floor beneath his feet moaned cruelly as he struggled to rescue Marie.
“Let me fall!” Marie cried through the rag over her mouth. “Save yourself!”
Did you miss Chapters 1-471? If so, you can read them here. Come back on Monday, February 27 for Chapter 473 of Punch’s Cousin.
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