Part 4 (1/2)

'Thank G.o.d you caught her,' said Evi. 'Those stupid b.a.s.t.a.r.ds. She had a nasty bruise on her foot a few days ago. Did she seem OK?'

'Well, obviously starving to death, but otherwise fine. Not that I'm much of an authority on horseflesh, I'm afraid.'

d.u.c.h.ess was standing squarely on all four legs. Would she be eating if she were in pain? Quite possibly, knowing d.u.c.h.ess.

'Are you sure you're not hurt?' asked the man, who, she noticed now, was wearing deck shoes. And the shorts weren't running shorts. They were blue and white striped cotton, almost to his knees, and the hair on the back of his calves was blond and thick.

'Quite sure,' she said, taking her eyes away from his legs. 'I'm a doctor, I'd know,' she added when he looked uncertain. 'Do you think you could help me get out of the road?'

'Of course, sorry.' The fair-haired man leaped to his feet and bent down, holding out his right hand for Evi, as if offering to help her up from a picnic rug.

She shook her head. 'That won't work, I'm afraid. I can't stand by myself. If you don't mind, can you take me under the arms and lift? I'm not that heavy.'

He was shaking his head, looking worried. 'You said you weren't hurt,' he said. 'If you can't get up by yourself I don't think I should be lifting you. I think we should call for help.'

Did he need it spelling out?

Evi took a deep breath. 'I'm not hurt now, but three years ago I had a bad accident and seriously damaged the sciatic nerve in my left leg,' she said. 'I can't walk unaided and my leg is certainly not strong enough to support my weight while I get up from these cobbles. Which are not very comfortable, by the way.'

The man stared at her for a second, then she watched his eyes fall to her left leg, unnaturally thin and ugly inside the crimson jodhpurs.

'Does this road get much traffic?' asked Evi, looking up the hill.

'It doesn't. But you're quite right. Sorry.' He knelt again and put his right arm under her shoulders. His left hand slid under her thighs and even though she'd been expecting it, had been quite prepared to be touched, she felt a shock running through her that had nothing to do with pain. Then she was upright, leaning against him, and he smelled of skin and dust and fresh male sweat.

'OK, ten yards up the hill there is a bench for weary shepherds to stop and take succour on. I don't imagine they'll mind if we borrow it. can you make it that far?'

'Of course,' she snapped, although it was easier said than done. She had no choice but to wrap her arm round his waist. He was hot. Of course he was hot, it was a hot day and she was hot too and she probably smelled of horses. Evi moved her right leg, and her left screamed at her to stop this stupid moving business right now.

'b.u.g.g.e.r it,' she muttered, trying without success to bring her weaker leg forward. Come on, you useless, b.l.o.o.d.y Come on, you useless, b.l.o.o.d.y ... ...

She stumbled and almost fell again, but her companion tightened his grip around her waist, bent lower and lifted both legs clean off the ground. Instinctively, she reached her free arm up to clasp him around the neck. His face had turned pink.

'Sorry, didn't want you going down again,' he said. 'Can I carry you to the bench?'

She nodded and a second later he was putting her gently down on a wooden bench close to the church wall. She leaned back gratefully and closed her eyes. How could she have been so stupid? Bringing d.u.c.h.ess all this way. She could have seriously injured them both. Why the h.e.l.l did life have to be so b.l.o.o.d.y difficult? She waited, eyes closed, until the tears had slipped back where they came from.

When she opened her eyes again she was alone. He'd just left her? Christ, she hadn't exactly been Miss Congeniality but even so ...

Pus.h.i.+ng herself forward, Evi looked all around. Across the street the windows were dark and empty. A heavy stillness seemed to have settled over the moors. The bike riders had disappeared hardly surprising given the trouble they'd caused but where was everyone else? So many houses, so many windows and not a soul in sight. It was Sat.u.r.day afternoon, for heaven's sake. Why was no one looking out to see what was going on?

Except, maybe they were. Behind one of those dark windows someone was watching her, she was sure of it. Without appearing to look, she let her eyes scan left and right. Not the faintest hint of movement that she could see, but there was someone there all the same. She turned slowly.

There it was. Movement. Way up high. Evi raised her hand to her eyes to shut out the sun. No, it was impossible. What she thought she'd seen was a shape scurrying along the top of the church. No one could be up there. She'd seen a bird. A squirrel maybe. Or a cat.

She unfastened the chin-strap and removed her hat. The pressure in her head eased immediately. She lifted her hair with her fingers, letting the air get to her scalp and soothe it.

She could hear footsteps. Her ginger-haired knight in s.h.i.+ning stripy shorts was back, half jogging along the church path towards her, carrying a gla.s.s of water.

'Hi,' he said as he drew closer. 'I can do tea as well but that takes a bit longer. How're you doing?'

How was she doing? She'd been hara.s.sed by feral teenagers who could move at warp speed, she'd fallen off a fifteen-hands horse, had to lie in the road like a beached whale, and then, just on the off chance that she had a shred of dignity remaining, she'd been hoisted off her feet by a ginger-haired twit who smelled like ... like a man.

'Better, I think,' she said. 'It's always a shock, coming off a horse. Especially when you don't land on soft ground.'

He joined her on the bench. 'I'll take your word for it,' he said. 'I don't want to sound rude, but should you really be out on your own, with a weak leg and all?'

Evi opened her mouth and then closed it tight. He meant well. She looked at her watch, giving herself a second. 'Well, it's not likely to be happening again any time soon,' she said. 'The yard I ride from are very strict. I'll be doing supervised trots round the manege for the next six months.'

'Well maybe ...' He caught a look at her face and stopped. 'How far have you ridden?' he asked.

'From Bracken Farm livery yard,' she said. 'It's about four miles across the moor.'

'Shall I phone them for you? I'm not sure if they can get a horsebox all the way up here, but I can walk-'

'No.' It came out louder and firmer than she'd meant it to because she had a feeling there was a battle imminent and, bruised and shaking though she might be, it was one she had to win. 'Thank you,' she went on, forcing a smile. 'I'll be riding back in a minute.' Feeling far from ready to remount, she finished the water and put her hat back on, determined to make I'm going now I'm going now signals, because she knew exactly what was coming. signals, because she knew exactly what was coming.

He was shaking his head. Well, of course he was shaking his head. He was tall and strong, with full use of his limbs, and that made him the boss. 'I'm not putting you back on that horse,' he said.

'Excuse me?'

'Sorry, pet, but you're disabled, you've taken a nasty fall and you've probably got concussion. You can't ride four miles across open moorland.'

Sorry, pet! She looked down at the road so she wouldn't be able to glare at him, because the disabled aren't allowed to be angry. If she'd learned one thing over the past three years it was that. Normal people who get angry are just p.i.s.sed off and that happens to us all; when you're disabled, any sign of temper means you're disturbed, you need help, you're not capable of... She looked down at the road so she wouldn't be able to glare at him, because the disabled aren't allowed to be angry. If she'd learned one thing over the past three years it was that. Normal people who get angry are just p.i.s.sed off and that happens to us all; when you're disabled, any sign of temper means you're disturbed, you need help, you're not capable of...

'Thank you for your concern,' said Evi, 'but, disabled or not, I am still responsible for my own actions and I don't actually need any help to remount. Please don't let me keep you.'

She handed back the gla.s.s and eased herself sideways on the bench. It would be better by far if he were to leave her alone now.

'How?' He hadn't moved.

'Excuse me?' she repeated.

'How, exactly, given that you couldn't get out of the road by yourself and needed to be carried to this seat, do you intend to walk fifteen yards down the hill and remount a large horse?'

'Watch and learn.'

She pushed herself upright. The wall was only two feet away, it would support her weight as she walked downhill.

'Hold on a second. Let's do a deal.'

He was standing right in front of her. Getting to the wall by herself was possible; negotiating her way around him first probably wasn't.

'What?'

'If you agree to rest for another ten minutes and then phone me the instant you get back to the yard, I'll help you mount and walk you back to the bridle path.'

So now she was bargaining for the most basic of freedoms with a man she'd just met. And if I don't agree?'

He produced a mobile phone from his pocket. 'I'll phone Bracken Farm livery yard to tell them exactly what's happened. I imagine they'll be on their way over before you reach the end of the wall.'