The Rescue

‘Elaine!’ Sarah yelled, running towards her friend. Maria and Alice stirred and rushed after her.

‘She’s alive,’ Sarah stated unnecessarily, as Elaine opened her eyes, and tried unsuccessfully to sit up. She fell back to the ground, whimpering in pain. Sarah probed her hip.

‘You’ve broken your pelvis, I think. It’s OK, Elaine, you’ll be OK. If we can just get you to a doctor, you’ll be up and dancing in no time. Alice, we need to keep her warm, can you find something to cover her up. Alice?’

Looking around, Sarah saw Alice walking towards the mangled body of her husband.

‘Alice, come back!’ Sarah called out. ‘Shit!’

She jumped up from Elaine’s side and, stepping gingerly over the rocks littering the hillside, she grabbed Alice’s arm, pulling her away from the grisly sight of flies settling on the sticky blood covering the remains of the Reverend’s face.

‘Leave him, Alice, we’ll look after him shortly. There is nothing we can do for him now.’

Sarah barely managed not to retch at the sight of the Reverend’s body. Death scenes in the movies always seemed so much cleaner, more clinical than this. She’d no idea that death smelled so vile.

She pulled on Alice’s scrawny arm.

‘Come on, Alice, we need to look after Elaine and the Major. Come on.’

Pulling her arm again, Sarah all but dragged the bereaved woman up to the crest of the hill where she found the bandits had disappeared, taking with them the horses and their luggage. The Major was motionless on the ground, his chest moving up and down. So, alive but no use. There wasn’t another person to be seen, the shrouded hills in the distance the only witnesses to their predicament.

Sarah shrugged off the feelings of panic. Her companions were as useless as newborn babes with their sheltered lives and lack of education. Needlepoint wouldn’t help here. She snorted hysterically as she realised her public schooling and first aid courses had given her more knowledge than all these woman put together.

‘Alice, you must stand on the road and try to attract the attention of someone to help us. We have to get Elaine to a doctor,’ she instructed, grabbing the nearest item of clothing strewn on the ground.

It happened to be one of the Reverend’s spare cassocks. Sarah paused. The black cotton scrunched in her hands, Alice’s porcelain face turned an even paler shade of white. Unapologetically, Sarah threw it over Elaine. Reducing the effects of shock was more imperative than protecting the sensibilities of the widow.

‘The road, Alice, the road. You need to stand on it.’

Alice nodded at Sarah’s repeated instruction, rearranging her face into an unreadable mask. It takes a special sort of woman to rise above her own grief, Sarah thought. She called out to Maria.

‘Maria, can you check on the Major? You may need to turn him onto his side, to make sure he can breathe properly.’

She fussed over Elaine, trying to make her as comfortable as the hillside would allow. Being on an incline was not ideal, but Sarah didn’t think she had the strength to move the woman on her own. She’d have to wait until help arrived.

The sun pulsed down, baking the ground and the women on it. Sarah wiped sweat from her brow, thankful for the first time that her voluminous outfit protected her from the rays. At some stage, Elaine had lost her bonnet; her skin was turning pink in the heat. Sarah sat so her shadow provided a modicum of protection.

‘I’ll bet your face has never had this much sun in your whole life,’ she joked, bringing a faint smile to Elaine’s face.

‘The last time I had this much sun was when a group of us girls went to Ibiza for a Bank Holiday weekend. You’d love it there – you wouldn’t understand it, but you’d love it,’ Sarah carried on, knowing that Elaine was in too much pain to really comprehend anything she was rabbiting on about. ‘I had this new bikini, and the catch at the back kept coming undone; so embarrassing. In the end, one of the girls had to put a safety pin in it, just so it would stay up between the towel and the water.’ She prattled on, saying anything just to keep Elaine awake.

The sun set, and with it the temperature fell, chilling them all to the bone. Sarah and Alice dragged the unconscious Major from the crest of the hill, down to Elaine. Together the four women huddled together under the stars, the injured woman drifting in and out of consciousness, oblivious for the most part to their predicament.

Maria advocated moving down to the broken carriage.

‘It’ll be warmer, and we could use the seats as cushions. It’s better than staying here in the open. Surely we can carry Elaine between us, and we can come back for the Major?’ she whined.

Alice didn’t respond, staring at the heavens above her, lost in memories of her husband.

Archly, Sarah replied, ‘No, Maria, we won’t be moving Elaine. We don’t know the extent of her injuries – unless you have a medical degree we don’t know about? We’ll stay here with her. We’ve done the best we can do for Major Brooke, but we’re safer here, just off the crest of the hill for now. We need to stay together to avoid any risk of exposure.’

She lowered her voice.

‘Think of Alice, and the Reverend. We won’t be going any further down the hill.’

At the sound of a wild animal howling in the distance, Sarah added, ‘We’re safer together.’

The night passed, each of them finding no comfort in the openness of the countryside. The sounds of nature creeping closer and closer. Sarah felt Elaine’s brow, hot to the touch, her breathing shallow. They were all parched, in part dreading sunrise, but impatient for the sun to crest in the hope a new day would bring salvation along the road. Sarah sent Alice back up to keep a lookout for travellers. Maria was sulking, sitting further up the hill, glowering at Sarah. She blamed Sarah for her sleepless night, and the stone bruises which now adorned her body.

Sarah dozed next to Elaine, dreaming of Chinese pork dumplings served in broth, when Alice shouted from her position by the road.

‘A carriage, with British soldiers!’

Sarah and Maria scrambled up the bank, joining her at the roadside. There were a dozen or so mounted soldiers escorting another carriage coming their way. The women waved frantically at the red-coated Englishmen, and two of the outriders urged their mounts on towards them.

The lead rider pulled up in front of them.

‘Ladies, what the devil are you doing on the side of the road? These are dangerous times to be out without an escort. The Sepoys are rioting in other parts of the country. Where are your menfolk?’ He looked around.

Sarah stepped forward.

‘We were attacked – by some locals, I think. Two of our companions are injured, and one is … one is dead. We need assistance.’

At her account of being attacked, the second rider wheeled his horse around and cantered back to the carriage, shouting instructions as he went.

The first rider dismounted.

‘These are uncertain times. You are fortunate you were not also killed. We’ve received reports that women and children are being slaughtered in other places where the troubles have erupted. We can escort you to Delhi, but we are en route to Simla and we mustn’t delay any further. We must get through to provide additional protection for the Viceroy. We’ll see what we can do for your injured companions, to make them comfortable for the journey. I am Colonel Scarborough and …’

Sarah had been about to interrupt him, when another shout took her words away. Two of the riders had found Major Brooke, and were hauling him up the hill, still unconscious.

‘Sir, it’s Major Brooke.’

The Colonel abandoned his conversation with Sarah, and rushed over to the Major.

‘Jesus, what happened to you?’

The Major stirred, his eyes still closed, not quite back in the world of the living.

‘You know each other?’ Sarah asked, as she joined them.

She couldn’t help but feel protective of the man who’d saved her life, and who had risked his life to help Elaine and the Reverend. The new carriage had now arrived and the soldiers mobilised to transfer Elaine and to recover the body of the Reverend.

Alice was in her element, directing them the way a choreographer produces a cabaret, her grief submerged under her efficiency. Perhaps she’d been hasty dismissing the abilities of her friends, Sarah thought. Alice was proof that every person has the capability to rise to the occasion. Maria, however, had climbed into the carriage, and lapsed back into her default position of curling into the corner, shutting the world out by closing her eyes.

Eventually, the Colonel replied, ‘We trained together in England, a long time ago now. He was coming out to join the regiment here. We need all the good men we can get at the moment. The problem with the Sepoys is getting out of hand. Some poor decisions by others has led to this, and now, attacking English travellers on the roads, bloody unacceptable.’

He caught himself swearing.

‘Excuse me, ma’am, it’s not often I’m in the company of ladies at present. My manners are rusty. Please, ride in the carriage. I’m sure his Lordship won’t resent the intrusion, given the circumstances. We’ll need to send a telegram to Headquarters, advising them of the attack, but unfortunately it will be low priority at present. We’re all being deployed to quell what some are calling a rebellion. All over some damn shell casings, a rort. Stupid decisions, poor leaders, that’s what caused this.’

He looked abashed at his coarse language again.

‘I’m sorry. As I said, it’s been a long time since I was in the company of a lady. Let me help you in.’

‘Thank you, Colonel, I’d rather Elaine and the Major had the comfort of the carriage. I’m happy to ride upfront. That’ll give them some more room.’

‘I’d not be happy with a lady riding up front, ma’am. We can make room, I’m sure.’

The Colonel looked unhappy.

Sarah looked inside the carriage. Alice was seated in one corner, and Elaine was stretched out along the rest of the seat, her head in Alice’s lap. Maria was in the opposite corner, eyes closed, shadows etched on her face. The Major had been propped up facing Alice, with Lord Napier in the middle, putting on a stoic face at the influx of passengers into his conveyance.

‘No sir, I think I’ll sit up the front.’

Ignoring his protestations, she clambered up and sat herself next to the young driver. The Colonel could do nothing more than shake his head, his sense of propriety wounded. He remounted his gelding, and the troops carried on their way.

From her perch on top, Sarah surveyed the countryside. It all seemed so innocent. She tried not to think about the body of the Reverend, strapped to the back like a piece of luggage. If she ignored the soldiers, the body, and her damaged friends, she could make believe she was on holiday, that all was well in the world, that after the tour she’d return to London, to her bills, her shop, and her friends.