‘It is important,’ Lady Elizabeth said insistently. ‘Think about your world, imagine marrying someone who didn’t know how to interact with the other landowners or their wives, who made socialising more difficult for you.’
‘I wouldn’t decide not to marry someone just because she didn’t know how to make small talk about cotton or workers’ rights.’
He could see she wanted to say more on the subject, but something caught her eye down below. Josh leaned over the edge of the box, following her line of vision, catching sight of the flickering flames just as someone below shouted, ‘Fire.’ Immediately he felt a rush of energy throughout his body, as if it were preparing him to jump down and tackle the blaze himself.
The fire looked as though it had started at the edge of the stage, where the curtain had billowed and strayed too close to one of the sconces holding half a dozen candles. As they watched the fire flickered for a few moments and there was a second when it seemed as though it might die out, and then suddenly it took hold, speeding up the curtain, sending out thick billowing smoke.
For a long moment all eyes were turned to the stage as if mesmerised by the flickering flames and then the shouts and screams began as people began to panic. Josh knew a fire like this in a packed building with only one main entrance could be a disaster and quickly he grabbed hold of Lady Elizabeth’s hand and pulled her to her feet. He’d seen a fire like this before, in one of the warehouses near where their ships docked, and he would never forget how quickly it spread or the devastation it had left in its wake.
‘We need to go,’ he said, pushing the chairs out of the way and pulling her out of the box. Their box was situated right by the stage and as such they were one of the closest to the fire and furthest from the stairs. Already people were dashing out of their boxes and stampeding along the wide, plush corridor, their politeness forgotten in their panic.
Josh held Lady Elizabeth’s hand in his, not caring about the impropriety, just wanting to know she was safe by his side. Quickly they followed the crowd, every so often checking over their shoulders for the flicker of flames.
By the time they’d reached the stairs the fire still wasn’t visible on the upper level but black billows of smoke were starting to pour out of the doors to the boxes and fill the corridor.
‘My mother.’ Lady Elizabeth turned a worried face up towards him. ‘What if she hasn’t got out?’
‘She was closer to the stairs. She will be somewhere in front of us. She’s probably outside already.’ It was the truth, their box had been further from the exit than any of the others and they were here with the rest of the audience trying to escape, but he hoped Lady Hummingford hadn’t frozen in fear as some people did when faced with fire. He let his eyes flicker over the crowd, hoping to see her statuesque figure but not able to pick anything definite out just from the backs of so many heads.
Tightening his grip on Lady Elizabeth’s hand, he surged forward, knowing that even if her mother wasn’t outside he wasn’t going to let the woman beside him re-enter the building. He’d seen the devastating effects of a fire first-hand and knew once Lady Elizabeth was outside he would pin her to the ground rather than let her risk her life by going back into the building.
With relief he spotted Leo a little ahead of them, helping an older lady who was struggling with the pushing crowd and the angle of the steps.
‘Why has everyone stopped?’ Lady Elizabeth’s eyes were filled with fear as she looked up at him. It was true the crowd was only inching forward at the bottom of the stairs, the grand entrance foyer completely packed wall to wall with people.
‘They are moving but the doors are holding everything up.’
Not designed to let people out in an emergency, the grand glass doors would only let a couple of people through at once.
Josh allowed himself to glance behind them at the smoke rapidly advancing. They would get out, he was sure of it, but not before they had inhaled lungsful of the harmful smoke. Quickly he took hold of Lady Elizabeth’s wrap and began looping it around her chin and mouth.
‘It’ll protect you from the worst of the smoke.’
‘What about you?’ She had to repeat herself a couple of times to make him understand her now her mouth was covered.
‘I’m fine.’
They were halfway across the foyer now, swept along in the crowd, which seemed to have grown a mind of its own. Josh wasn’t sure they would be able to get out of its pull even if they wanted to. Behind them the doors to the lower auditorium stood open and they could feel the heat of the flames on their backs. The fire had spread from the stage area, devouring the heavy curtains and then starting on the plush-covered seats in the stalls.
Beside him he could feel Lady Elizabeth trembling and realised she’d glanced back too, and he gave her hand a reassuring squeeze.
‘We’re nearly there, we’re nearly out.’
It was thirty more agonising seconds before they were at the front of the crowd and out through the doors into the fresh air. Lady Elizabeth clawed at the wrap at her throat and then sucked in great breaths of air and he felt the fresh air tickle his throat and make him bend over double coughing.
‘We need to get you further away.’
‘What about you?’
‘I have to see that Leo got out.’
