Passionate Protection

The sounds outside the door became louder and took on definite patterns; at the same time more of the roof came crashing down, bricks and rubble falling sharply on to the steps. It was a race between life and death, Jessica thought, shivering at the knowledge, and they were the prize.

A piece of brick fell on her foot, but she scarcely felt any pain. She was so cold her body was practically numb.

'How long to you think it will be?' Lisa asked huskily. 'I'm so cold, Jessica!'

'Not long now,' she comforted her. There was a splintering sound above them, followed by a high-pitched whine. In the darkness Jessica could see nothing, but she could feel a faint dust settling on her face. They must be cutting through the door. A tiny glimmer of light appeared, followed by a small hole.

'Jessica?' It was Sebastian's voice, crisp and sharp. 'Jessica, where are you?'

'We're here,' she told him tiredly, hugging Lisa. 'At the top of the steps.'

'Listen carefully, then. The roof has collapsed and the door is jammed. We're going to cut the top half away, but whatever you do, don't move from where you are. We think there's been some subsidence underneath and the shift of your weight might cause the steps to collapse.'

'Lisa's hurt her ankle,' she told him, 'but I think it's only sprained.'

There were sounds of further activity beyond the door. The thin beam of light grew and at last she could see Lisa's face. She could also see how precarious their position was. Where the cellar had been there was simply a mound of rubble, and she shuddered to think of their fate had they been trapped beneath it. Several of the lower steps were already cracked, and even as she watched the cracks deepened and spread. At last the buzzing of the saw ceased, and light flooded their prison. She looked up, joy and love flooding her eyes as she saw Sebastian looking down at them.

'Take Lisa first,' she told him, lifting the little girl. His face was smudged with dirt, his hair ruffled and untidy, a curiously bleak expression in his eyes.

'Sebastian, hurry, the whole thing's going to go at any minute!' she heard Jorge call behind him, and she realised that Sebastian was alone in the crumbling shell of the building.

She also realised that she couldn't scramble over the half door without some help and that she would have to stay here alone while he carried Lisa to safety. He seemed to hesitate as though he guessed her fear, but she forced a smile, and lifted Lisa towards him.

His arms closed round her and he turned. Watching his back disappear into the darkness was the most terrifying and lonely feeling Jessica had ever experienced. When he disappeared she wanted to claw and tear at the wood in panic, but no matter how much she stretched she couldn't get over the wooden barrier. Behind her she heard a dull crack, and gasped in horror as half the steps suddenly disappeared, leaving her clinging to the door.

i

'Jessica, Jessica, it's all right, I've got you!' Strong arms clamped round her body, lifting her upwards, as she clung unashamedly to their warm strength.

It was only as he lifted her over the door that Jessica realised the appalling risks Sebastian had run. The building was completely demolished, a yawning chasm gaped beneath them. As Sebastian carried her to safety she heard a dull rumble, and glanced over his shoulder just in time to see the ground sliding away, taking the remnants of the building with it.

'It's the rain,' Jorge muttered as Sebastian reached him. Senor Alvarez was with him, holding Lisa, and both men were soaked to the skin, their faces anxious and drawn. Jessica hadn't even realised it was still raining until that moment, and she felt she had never enjoyed anything quite as much as the rain against her skin, and the cold breeze blowing down from the Sierras. 'It eroded away the ground beneath and the sheer weight of the building caused it to collapse.'

'If Sebastian hadn't remembered Lisa's "secret place" we might never have found you,' Senor Alvarez said gravely as they hurried towards the house. 'It is a blessing that he reached you in time.'

It was indeed, Jessica reflected numbly, shivering with the cold that seemed to reach into her bones, despite the warmth of Sebastian's arms.

In the house Tia Sofia was waiting, fear etched deeply into her face until she saw the two burdens Sebastian and Jorge were carrying.

'Lisa has hurt her ankle,' Jorge told her quickly. 'Doctor…'

'I shall telephone him now . . but first we must get them upstairs and out of those wet things.Tia, you help Lisa, I…'

Lisa murmured a protest and begged feverishly for her aunt Jessica. 'Go with Lisa, Tia Sofia,' Sebastian said quietly. 'I can help Jessica.'

Jessica wanted to protest, to tell him that she was too weak now to endure the touch of his hands on her body without betraying her love—a love he did not want. She knew that now. She had seen rejection in his eyes when he turned away from her by the cellar door when she had looked at him with her heart in hers.

He took her to a room she had never seen before, richly furnished in peaches and greens.

'You will want to be alone,' he told her almost curtly. 'This was my mother's room, it is part of the suite she shared with my father. I once said that when I married -my wife would always share my bed, but there are times…' He paused by the door. 'I am sorry about the child. I did not intend that it should happen,' and then he was depositing her on the bed, ignoring the dark smudges she was making on the silk coverlet. The child? Did he mean…? But… He disappeared into the bathroom, re-emerging several seconds later with a sponge and towel.

'Tia Sofia told me,' he said quietly. 'She was concerned for you and wanted me to know.'

'She may be mistaken,' Jessica told him, as a terrible pain tore at her heart. He didn't want her and he didn't want their child. 'Perhaps.' He didn't sound convinced. 'Come,let me sponge your skin, and then I will leave you in peace. You will feel better directly.'

She would never feel better again, Jessica thought numbly as he sponged away the dirt and dust, treating her as though she were a child of Lisa's age. The warmth of the room was making her feel sleepy, soothing away the intense cold that had gripped her in the cellar

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