Chapter 16
Chapter Sixteen
Adog came into view … a border collie.
Is that … Wainwright!
‘Hey, boy – over here!’ Rosie’s eyes filled with tears again as she was overcome with relief.
At first, Wainwright carefully picked his way across the rocks, but then he leapt into the water, splashing through it until he reached her. He stopped, barked again, and looked towards the entrance.
‘Hello?’ Ant’s voice echoed around the cavern. ‘Rosie? Is that you?’
‘Over here!’ she called, blinking back the tears, her voice wobbly. ‘Sorry! I can’t really move. I’ve … um, I’m a bit hurt.’
Ant quickly made his way over, and as he reached her his eyes fell on the flashing torch. He gave her the loveliest of smiles and said, ‘Well done, Rosie. Thank god we found you. What have you hurt?’
‘My ankle,’ she said. ‘You know what? I really hate stepping stones.’ She smiled weakly as he sat down beside her and switched off the torch, slipping it in his pocket.
Wainwright rested his chin on Ant’s knee, gazing up at him, and Ant ruffled his ears.
‘Good work, boy,’ he said. ‘Special snacks soon.’
He turned to Rosie. ‘I’ll take a look at your ankle, but are you okay otherwise? Warm enough? Dry?’
To her dismay, the concern in his voice made the tears spill over. She just couldn’t help it. ‘I’m so sorry,’ she sobbed. ‘I’m such an idiot. Going off by myself because … well, just because I needed time alone. What a fool, deciding to do that on a mountaintop.’
‘Not at all foolish,’ he said gently. He raised a hand as if to touch her, but it switched direction, settling on Wainwright’s head. ‘Mountaintops are the best thinking spots in the world. Remember how we said that before? On our rock?’
She wiped her eyes and sniffed. ‘The houses and cars and people, they all look so tiny, and everything’s put in perspective and you realise what’s really important.’
‘I understand.’ His low, soothing voice was like a life belt, and she took a deep breath in as she felt herself calming.
‘Ant – could I possibly have a hug?’
Now he didn’t hesitate, putting an arm round her, and she leaned against him. As they sat in silence, Rosie’s remaining distress floated up and away, into the dark, invisible reaches of the cavern.
‘You must have been scared,’ he said, ‘lost, and caught in the storm. But you did everything right. And it’s easy to take the wrong path in the mist.’
‘Did I?’ she said.
‘You missed the turnoff to the road.’
‘Oh, right. I wasn’t sure, when I came to another fork. A runner told me to look out for a fork, but only one.’
‘Mick,’ said Ant. ‘He’s a friend. I met him on the way up; he said he’d passed you. This path you ended up on comes out south of Rydal, about an hour’s walk from Grasmere.’
Rosie grimaced. ‘I wouldn’t have enjoyed that, even without the ankle situation.’ She thought for a moment. ‘But Ant, if you thought I was on the other path, how come you found me?’
With his free hand, he fished in his rain-jacket pocket and pulled out one of Rosie’s Moomin socks. ‘You left them in the shop,’ he said, smiling. ‘Wainwright picked up your scent.’
‘Oh, that’s amazing! Dogs can do that?’
‘Special dogs can,’ he said. ‘He’s a mountain rescue dog. And the team’s on alert. I’ll contact them as soon as we’ve assessed your injury; you might need to be stretchered down.’
‘Oh god,’ said Rosie. ‘Mountain Rescue? How embarrassing. What will they think of me?’
‘Well – I’m the leader,’ he said, ‘and I think you’re doing great.’ He gave her a little squeeze.
Her mouth dropped open. ‘You’re the mountain rescue leader?’
‘I am. But believe me, Rosie, compared to a lot of the people we rescue, you’ve coped brilliantly, and you were adequately prepared.’
‘Thanks to you.’
He lifted his arm from her shoulder, and she felt its absence.
He took a packet of dog treats from his pocket and gave a few to Wainwright, then turned to look at her.
‘Dale raised the alert,’ he said, his eyes on hers.
‘He phoned me when you didn’t turn up. Ashley apparently gave him a bollocking, for leaving the mountain without you. ’
‘Dale’s the reason I went off by myself,’ she said, not looking away. ‘But they didn’t really need me – I’d done my bit. Plus I wanted to be able to tell Ashley I’d reached the top.’ She smiled. ‘And you, I think, Mr Hill. You might say I had a point to prove.’
He gave a low chuckle. ‘I knew you’d love the fells, when we tested your boots.
You got it immediately. But I wanted you to understand the dangers, too.
’ His smile faded, and he looked away, out across the inky water.
‘Often that’s down to the weather, but sometimes it’s just bad luck.
An unlucky trip, a slip on a wet rock …’
‘A clap of thunder amplified by a giant cave? I jumped out of my skin and lost my footing; that’s how I twisted my ankle.’
He produced a walkie talkie, and it crackled with static as he turned it on.
‘It’s Ant. I’m at Rydal Cave – I’ve found her.
’ There was a short reply which she didn’t catch.
‘Ankle injury, about to assess. Stand by.’ He switched it off.
‘Poor reception,’ he said, ‘because of the conditions and the cave. I’ll call in again when we’re on our way.
’ He paused. ‘That was Dale. He’s on the rescue team too.
He won’t be happy till you’re back, safe and sound. ’
Suddenly, it felt vital to Rosie that Ant understood. ‘I won’t be seeing him when I’m back. I’ll be straight into a hot bath, if I can manoeuvre myself in.’
He nodded, and she wasn’t sure if he’d got the true meaning of her reply. This man was difficult to read.
‘Okay,’ he said, ‘let’s take a look.’ He moved beside her foot. ‘I’m going to remove your boot. Yell out if it hurts, and I’ll stop.’
His touch was so gentle, there was no need to yell out. He then took off her sock, and the cool, damp air soothed her foot. He slid a hand under her heel and examined the ankle. ‘That’s some nasty swelling,’ he said, ‘but it’s probably just a sprain.’
Ant rummaged in his backpack, brought out a first-aid kit and unwrapped a dressing.
He placed her foot on his thigh, and she watched as he expertly wound the bandage, up and around her ankle and back in a figure of eight, several times before securing it with a fastener.
Then he eased her sock back on – amazingly, it was dry.
‘Unless you’d prefer your Moomin sock?’
She giggled. ‘I’m good. That feels so much better already.’ Though she suspected that had more to do with his steadying presence, the hug, and the touch of his hands, than his medical skills.
‘Are you a trained paramedic?’
‘Just the basics.’
He gave her a couple of painkillers, which she downed with a slurp of water. Then he took out a bar of chocolate and passed over a chunk.
‘Is the provision of chocolate part of the basics?’ she asked, closing her eyes with pleasure as she bit into it.
‘Painkillers are useful, but I find chocolate goes the extra mile when it comes to comforting stressed walkers,’ he said.
‘I’m feeling very comforted, thank you.’
As he went to put away the first-aid kit, she noticed the label on the green plastic box. Property of Ambleside Mountain Rescue. Contact: Ben Hill … And there was a phone number and email address.
‘Ben Hill?’ she said. ‘Do you have a brother?’
‘No, that’s me,’ he said, putting her boot in his backpack. ‘Dale calls me Ant and it stuck, and I don’t mind because Ben’s the Scottish word for a hill, so I’ve always thought it sounded silly. Hill Hill.’
Rosie laughed. ‘I see. And Ant Hill doesn’t sound silly?’
‘Fair point. But it’s hard to shake off a childhood nickname.’ He sat back down beside her, nibbling on a square of something white that glittered in the gloom.
‘What’s that?’
‘Kendal mint cake,’ he said. ‘Great for energy, but me and Dale are the only people I know who like it.’
Rosie wondered why this kind, serious man was so chummy with the unspeakable Dale. ‘Have you and Dale known each other a long time?’
‘Best mates since we were kids,’ he said. He glanced sideways at her. ‘He was pretty frantic when he discovered you were missing, even though we knew you couldn’t have gone far. I haven’t seen him that worried in a while. He’s out looking too.’
Rosie scowled. ‘Probably scared he’ll be held responsible, seeing as he was the only local on the team.’
‘What? No – he was genuinely worried about you.’
‘To be honest, Dale doesn’t strike me as the worrying type.’
Ant gave her a long look. ‘Dale’s … not everything he seems. There’s more to him than you might think.’
What was this all about? Why was he speaking up for his mate?
She pulled a face. ‘That’s as maybe. But I’m not a fan of his attitude to women.
There’s more to Madison than you might think too, but he was quite horrible to her, and he said some extremely mean things behind her back.
That’s not a great way to treat a girl.’ She looked him in the eye.
‘Especially one you’ve just had sex with. ’
Ant looked surprised, then embarrassed. ‘I didn’t know that.’
‘Pretty damn sure.’
‘I thought it was you–’
‘No.’
The half-frown she was becoming familiar with made a return. She had no idea what he was thinking. ‘Right,’ he said. ‘Well, moving on … let’s see if you can support your weight at all. A slow hobble down the hill might be possible.’
He held out a hand. She managed to stand up, but when she put her weight on her left foot, the pain made a swift return. ‘Ow. I don’t think so. I’m so sorry, Ant. Ben.’ She sat down again.
‘Please stop apologising,’ he said. ‘You’re a trooper. Okay, plan B. I’ll carry you to the entrance, then we’ll see how you get on with my telescopic crutches. We’re only half a mile from the road.’
‘I was that close?’
‘You did the right thing, taking shelter in here.’
He stuffed her day pack into his backpack, collapsed her walking pole and added that, then hopped down into the shallow water at the pool’s edge.
She shuffled across her rock until he was able to scoop her up.
Taking her weight, he began making his way towards the entrance, Wainwright splashing ahead of them.
She felt the strength in his arms, as she had when he’d lifted her onto that first rock. Our rock, he’d called it. Again she felt that lightness of being, as if her recent trials and tribulations had lost their weight, too.
Slowly and steadily they made their way towards the light, to find that the rain had stopped. The soft Lakeland air smelt of wet earth. Rosie tightened her arms around Ant’s neck, acknowledging how lovely this felt. How …
She was surprised to discover that, all at once, she very much wanted to kiss this man. As he held her close, the ache in her ankle was joined by a different kind of ache. She resisted a strong urge to bury her face in his warm neck.
What was going on? Was this some sort of victim-rescuer fixation syndrome, prompted by his kindness in the cave – which was probably all part of his training, with the aim of calming lost, frightened, or injured fell walkers.
What would Ant think, if he knew what was going on in her head?
‘Brace yourself,’ he said. ‘Put your good foot down.’
He gently lowered her until her booted foot met the ground. She kept her arms round his neck (for balance) and stood there on one leg, looking up at him.
‘Um …’ He looked around. ‘Can you support yourself while I get out the crutches? I’ll just move you over here …’ He put his hands on her waist and lifted her closer to the cave entrance. When he put her down, she still didn’t release her grip on Ant’s neck.
Ant, who was, in fact, Ben.
Maybe keep it ’andy, in case you meet a Ben.
He looked down at her and smiled awkwardly. ‘Rosie – you need to let me go.’
Sometimes in life, you have to take a leap of faith.
‘I don’t want to let you go,’ she said.