I reached out to her and felt her bony hand grasp mine. It was like being held by a skeleton. “Try to get one leg free,” I urged.

She grunted and groaned. “I can’t move them an inch,” she said. “Pull harder.”

I took both her hands and pulled. It seemed that her struggles were only making her sink more quickly.

“I’m going, Trix. Damn it. What a bloody stupid way to end it,” Robbins called. She let go of me to turn back to him. “No, Robbie. No!” she screamed, trying to grasp at his face, his hair. We watched in silent fascination as the mud rose over his mouth. We heard him cough and splutter. Then it was past his eyes and then there was a horrible sucking sound and the bog claimed him completely.

“Oh, God,” she whimpered. “I don’t want to die like that. You have to get me out quickly.”

I grasped her hands again, but she was now up to her thighs. Suddenly she realized that it was impossible. She was caught.

“Well, if I’m going, then you are too,” she said and she gave a mighty jerk, catching me off guard and sending me sprawling forward into stinking mire. I tried to scramble to my feet but she still had my hands in a grip of iron and I felt the pull of the bog gripping my legs. I wriggled and strained, trying to break her grip on me. I heard her laughing.

“I guess you won’t be marrying a prince anytime soon,” she said.

Darcy, I thought. Why did I send him off to the house for help? Why hadn’t he sensed I’d be in danger? Why wasn’t he here when I needed him? And now I’d never know what it was like to make love to a man, to be married, to have a child. . . . I felt hot tears stinging on my frozen cheeks. If only I can hang on somehow until she’s sucked under, I thought. That will surely break her grip. But I pictured a dead hand locked onto mine forever as I was sucked down with her. Not a pretty image. I wriggled and squirmed closer to her so that our arms were no longer outstretched. I felt instantly that the mud was more deadly here and knew I only had a few seconds to act. Without warning pulled myself up toward her with all my might and sank my teeth into her hand. She yelled and instinctively let go. I floundered, scrabbled, slithered out of reach.

“You little devil,” she snarled. “But it don’t matter. You’re going down too, and serves you right.”