Chapter Twenty-Six
Jimmy opened his rucksack and pulled out a coil of rope. Tying one end around the thickest part of the birch tree, he stepped into an abseiling harness, then clipped himself on to the rope. He wrapped a second length of cord around the tree and handed one end of it to Mandy before snapping the other end onto his harness. ‘Let this out as I go down,’ he told her. ‘When I need you to pull, I’ll shout. If it’s Jack, you might have to pull him up on his own. I’ll try to guide him, but it depends on the climb.’
Lying on her front, Mandy wedged herself more deeply into the snow and took hold of the rope as Jimmy shuffled backwards to the edge of the hole. After a few false steps, when he dislodged chunks of snow without getting any purchase with his feet, he managed to wedge himself against the side wall. He sat back into the harness, letting the rope take his weight. Simba whined as she saw Jimmy disappearing. ‘It’s fine, Simba,’ he called to her. ‘Stay there.’ Simba lay down beside Mandy and Zoe joined her, resting her elegant face on Simba’s back. Mandy was glad of their company and the warmth she could feel radiating from them.
‘Can you try and give me some light?’ Jimmy called as he started to lower himself into the mineshaft. Mandy let out the rope with one hand and tried to hold the torch steady in the other. The cold ground was pressing into her stomach. Snow was falling again. She could feel it landing on her neck. Flakes drifted into the shaft, twisting and turning in the torchlight. Trying not to shiver as the cold bit deeper, Mandy watched the top of Jimmy’s head inch down. Sounds drifted up to her: the scrape of his boots on the side wall, an occasional clatter of falling pebbles. Then finally, the crunching of feet on gravel, and Jimmy’s voice, like an echo. ‘He’s here.’
Mandy held her breath. Here and alive? Her ears strained, but there were only scraping sounds and light tugs on the rope: movement, but no voices.
‘Now PULL!’ When the yell came, Mandy felt a sense of panic. How could she hold the torch and haul in the line at the same time? It wasn’t possible. She needed to brace herself and use two hands on the rope. Jimmy would have to be in the dark for now. She hoped enough daylight would shine down the shaft to allow him to see a little. Flipping onto her back, she braced her feet against the birch tree. Somewhere behind her, she could hear Jimmy climbing up the shaft, even faster than he had descended. Mandy half hauled herself up the rope, half reeled it in. Unseen, shrouded in darkness, Jimmy was bringing Jack up from the depths.
‘Mandy.’ When his voice sounded close beside her, she almost let go of the rope. Wrapping it around her left hand, she flipped over to see him staring at her over the edge of the shaft. His eyes were wide and his face etched with strain.
‘Can you take him?’ Jimmy managed through clenched teeth.
Gripping the rope so tightly it burned her palm through her gloves, Mandy edged closer to the hole. Jack was curled in Jimmy’s arms. His face was deathly pale, but as Mandy watched, his eyelids fluttered. He was alive.
Breathless, Mandy knelt on the ground, reached down, and wrapped her right arm around the sleepy-eyed toddler. Alive he may be, but as she felt his skin, she was shocked at how cold he was. Shuffling backwards, she lifted him clear of the hole. A moment later, Jimmy was beside her, coiling up the two ropes, repacking his bag.
Mandy cradled Jack in her arms. He was heavy, but she should be able to carry him. Opening her jacket, she hugged the little body close to hers and wrapped her arms as far round him as she could. Jimmy nodded his approval, adding an extra layer in the form of a foil blanket from his bag, which he laid around her shoulders, tucking it in around the small boy in her arms. Pulling his mobile from his pocket, he called Susan and asked her to arrange for an ambulance crew to meet them. Then calling the dogs, they set off.
It was snowing again in earnest as they made their way back down the hill. Jimmy walked in front of Mandy while she was carrying Jack. When she began to stumble under the weight, Jimmy took the boy into his own arms, tucking the small body into his jacket as Mandy had done before him. His face was grave as he looked down at the little white face and he doubled his pace, moving so quickly it was all Mandy could do to keep up through the deep snow.
By the time they reached the lane, it was full of people. The mountain rescue Land Rover was there, with a paramedic crew. Jack was lifted from Jimmy’s arms by a female paramedic dressed in red overalls, her brown hair tucked into a fleece cap. ‘We’ll take it from here,’ she said. ‘The ambulance is down in the village so mountain rescue gave us a lift.’ Her voice and face were reassuring.
There was a commotion among the knot of people and Susan broke through, her face crumpling when she saw Jack. She bent over her son as the paramedic cradled him, her long hair falling over Jack’s face. Mandy felt a lump in her throat and tears prick her eyes.
Susan looked up. ‘You found him,’ she whispered. ‘Thank you. Thank you.’
‘Simba found him,’ Mandy managed to say. ‘And Jimmy rescued him.’
The paramedic started to carry Jack towards the Land Rover. ‘Come on,’ she said gently to Susan. ‘Let’s get this little chap to hospital for a check up.’
As the Land Rover drove away, Mandy suddenly felt weak and shivery. Exhaustion and cold were beginning to catch up. Someone took her arm, and Mandy realised it was Gemma Moss. ‘Come on, hero,’ Gemma said with a smile. ‘Can you walk back, or shall we wait for Luke?’
‘I can walk,’ Mandy said, forcing her feet to move. She looked around for Jimmy, but he was several metres away, tending to the dogs. As she watched, he stood up and looked round as if searching for her. He took a step in her direction, but then Luke, appeared, taking hold of her other arm, and he and Gemma steered her down through the crushed snow towards the village. For a moment, she though that Jimmy would come to her still, but then Gary Parsons from the Fox and Goose appeared. Then Jimmy too was walking among his own band of human props. She watched his head bob with each step, a shade taller than his helpers. She wanted so badly to feel his arms around her. Her head was spinning with weariness, and she was dimly aware of people chattering around her.
‘Such a relief.’ ‘Hats off to Mandy.’ ‘Thank goodness.’ ‘Wonderful dogs.’ Mandy wanted to put her hands over her ears. The only voice she wanted to hear was Jimmy’s, but he might as well have been on the moon.
Suddenly they were back in the village. They must have walked straight past Animal Ark, Mandy realised. She hoped someone had let Helen and her parents know that Jack had been found. The Christmas tree on the green was smothered in lights and swathed in snow. Although it was only early afternoon, the lantern above the entrance to the Fox and Goose was lit, adding a Victorian charm to the Christmassy scene. Mandy found herself carried into the pub on a wave of humanity. The fire was burning brightly, stinging her cheeks and making her blink. She realised she was perched on a chair right by the fireplace. Her fingers were painful. They had been numb, but when she pulled off her wet gloves, they turned red and started to swell.
‘Mulled wine all round,’ announced Bev. Someone called, ‘One over here for Mandy.’
A warm glass of red wine was pressed into her hand, wafting the scent of cinnamon and cloves. Mandy took a mouthful and felt the liquid warmth slide down inside her. Beside her, the coals shifted, sending sparks up the chimney. Mandy lifted her head and looked around.
The bar was full. There were people at every table. Half the village must have turned out to look for Jack and most of them had ended up here. There was Brandon. Rachel was with him. Gemma and Luke had ended up on the far side of the room. They were talking to Jimmy, Mandy realised. She felt as if she was hemmed in by the fire, toasting like a marshmallow. With a stab of unease, she noticed that Geoff Hemmings was on the other side of the fireplace. He glanced at her, then turned to talk to a bearded man she didn’t recognise. Were they talking about Hope Meadows? Now the other man was looking over at her. The tense feeling that had filled Mandy for days returned with a vengeance.
Somewhere near the window, an older lady dressed in hiking trousers and an Icelandic sweater was tapping her glass. As the room fell silent, she held up her phone.
‘I’ve had a text from Susan,’ she called out. ‘Jack is suffering from mild hypothermia, but he’s recovering well and should be allowed home today. She sends her love to Mandy and Jimmy, to all the members of the mountain rescue team and to everyone else who helped.’
There was a wave of congratulatory noise. Glasses were raised. ‘A toast to Mandy and Jimmy!’
Bev yelled that she had put a donation box on the bar for the Mountain Rescue service.
It should have been wonderful, Mandy thought. She was steadily getting warm and dry. A second glass of mulled wine had been pressed into her hand. Everyone wanted to tell her how wonderful she was. But the one person she wanted to talk to was as out of reach as Jack had been at the bottom of the mineshaft.
Mandy’s seat was almost opposite the door of the pub, so when it swung open, she saw immediately who had arrived. It was still snowing outside, but rushing in, pulling off her scarf, shaking snow from her flame red hair, came the person Mandy least wanted to see. It was Molly Future. Spotting Jimmy at the far side of the room, Molly rushed over, bending to give him a kiss on the cheek and hugging him. ‘Well done!’ Mandy saw her mouthing the words. She looked … Mandy searched for the word. Elated? Ecstatic? Jimmy was smiling. They looked so good together.
She couldn’t take her eyes off them. A feeling of sadness welled up inside her. She had worked so hard to accept the fact that they were together, but for a short while this afternoon, she and Jimmy had been a team again. She wanted to be able to walk over and hug him, but it wasn’t her place.
Molly was standing close to Jimmy, she was looking round the room as if searching for somebody. When her eyes reached Mandy, she smiled and waved. Mandy had the sensation of being crushed, bodies pressing around her, the walls of the pub closing in … Then she saw Molly again, pushing her way through the crowd. She was coming over.
Mandy stood up, almost sending the table beside her flying. ‘Let me through, please.’ Her urgent request, three times repeated, was successful. A few moments later, she was outside the pub, stumbling through the churned snow at the side of the road. She had taken only a few steps when she heard the door open and close.
‘Mandy?’
It was Molly’s voice. For a moment, Mandy contemplated ignoring her. But Molly had done nothing wrong, and Mandy had to face her sometime. Steeling herself, she turned and dredged up what she hoped would pass for a smile.
‘Are you okay?’ Molly was peering at her in the dimming light.
Pressing her mouth together, feeling a prickling behind her eyes, Mandy was unable to answer.
‘I can see you’re not,’ Molly went on. ‘Come on, I’ll take you home.’
Her voice was practical, yet sympathetic. How could Mandy tell her that she didn’t want her pity?
Molly took her arm and started to steer her in the direction of Animal Ark. ‘I’m sorry if you’re not feeling well.’ Molly’s voice was inexorable. ‘Shouldn’t you have asked Jimmy to take you home? I know you and he are …’ Her eyes widened and she broke off. ‘Is that what’s wrong? Has something happened to you and Jimmy?’
Mandy’s feet had stopped moving. Her mind was finding it hard to focus. ‘Me and Jimmy?’ She turned and looked straight into Molly’s eyes. ‘But I thought you and he … I saw you together. Out in the new bar in Walton.’
There was snow settling on Molly’s hair. She shook it off and frowned. ‘You mean the Friday after we rode out together?’ She shook her head. ‘I passed my Senior Equitation and Coaching Exam. He promised me ages ago he’d treat me when I got it. I’m so glad we managed to stay friends after we broke up. Romantically, Jimmy and I are ancient history. Didn’t you know? You should have asked me if you were worried.’
Why didn’t I, Mandy wondered. ‘You said …’ She was having trouble thinking. ‘You said you had a preference for men from the Lakes when we were out riding. I thought … I thought …’ She trailed off.
‘I’ve been seeing Aira. Aira Kirkbryde,’ Molly said. ‘We met the day of the Running Wild opening.’ Her face was still puzzled. ‘Didn’t Jimmy tell you that either?’
The man from the Lake District, Mandy thought with a sense of shock. It was Aira Kirkbryde, not Jimmy at all.
Molly was gazing at Mandy. ‘I know he meant to tell you he was taking me out, but then everything else took over, I guess …’ A wave of realisation passed over her face. ‘Something terrible happened at Running Wild. Didn’t you know that either?’
Mandy shook her head. She was shivering again.
‘One of his clients died.’ Molly’s voice was bleak. ‘He was crazy busy that week with all the fallout. But I don’t understand why he wouldn’t have told you eventually.’ Her blue eyes were anxious.
Mandy’s head was spinning slowly, as if snow had clogged the space behind her eyes. Someone had died? Helen had said someone had been taken to hospital from the Outward Bound Centre. But died? Dear God.
Wait.
Jimmy had come to talk to her that weekend. Rushed through the storm. And she had turned him away.
She got her breathing under control. ‘I think it was my fault,’ she whispered. ‘Jimmy did come round, but I didn’t listen …’ she trailed off.
Jimmy standing on the doormat with rain running down his face. She had shouted at him. Shame filled her.
‘Hey.’ Molly patted her arm and tugged her forwards. Mandy followed, feeling as if she had fallen down the mineshaft after all and was wading through an alternate universe.
‘Don’t worry about it,’ Molly said. ‘Jimmy’ll listen if you talk to him. It didn’t work out with him and me, but he’s a nice guy. He’s playing his cards close to his chest, but I definitely get the feeling he’s into you. He kept on mentioning you, then changing the subject.’ She sent Mandy a gentle smile. ‘It’ll be fine, really it will.’ She stopped at the turn-off to Animal Ark. ‘You’ll be okay from here, will you?’ she checked. ‘I should be getting home.’
‘Of course I will.’ Mandy managed a weak smile.
‘Do talk to Jimmy,’ Molly urged. ‘He seemed kind of sad today.’
Poor Jimmy, Mandy thought as she trudged under the old wooden Animal Ark sign. It was half obliterated by clinging snow, the words obscured. Someone had died at Running Wild. It must have been awful. Mandy should have been there for him, and instead she had jumped to all the wrong conclusions. Was there any way he would forgive her? Molly seemed to think she should try, but Molly had no idea how furious Mandy had been with Jimmy when he appeared on her doorstep.
She would have to speak to him, she decided, mentally squaring her shoulders. Even if he wouldn’t forgive her, she needed to apologise. She couldn’t do it now, but she would do it as soon as she had the chance. Stamping the snow from her boots, she followed the familiar path down the side of the cottage and round to the back door.