In any other set of circumstances Henrietta might have hesitated before taking his hand (and the thought did occur to her to be fairly anxious about it even now), but this was hardly the time to dally. She placed her hand in his and hurried to follow him, still holding her skirts up with her free hand. She managed to make it several feet down the tunnel (with water seeming to follow hot on her heels, or was she only imagining that the crack was growing bigger to chase her out?) before the rough ground got the better of her heels, and she went tumbling towards the lake floor.
