Christmas,’ Jack pointed out. ‘It’s supposed to snow.’
Bryony gave a shiver and pulled her fleece up to her chin. ‘Well, it looks nice on the Christmas cards but it’s not so great when you’re out on the mountains. Why didn’t you let me go with Toby?’
‘Because he’d be so busy staring at your legs he’d let you fall down a crevice.’
Bryony gaped at him. ‘Jack, I’m wearing fleece trousers. They’re hardly revealing!’
‘Your legs would look sexy in a bin bag.’
She stopped dead. He thought her legs were sexy? He’d never said anything like that to her before. She was staring after him in confusion, wondering why he’d said that, when he glanced back at her.
‘Why have you stopped? You needed to admire me from a distance?’
She grinned, suddenly feeling light-hearted. ‘Why are men like placemats?’ Shifting her rucksack slightly to make it more comfortable, she caught up with him. ‘Because they only show up when there’s food on the table.’
He smiled and as they continued up the path it started to snow again. ‘I hope they’ve got some form of shelter,’ Jack muttered, and Bryony nodded, her expression concerned.
‘I hope we find them soon. It’ll be dark in a couple of hours.’
They trudged on and the snow suddenly grew thicker underfoot.
‘Crampons and ice axes, I think, Blondie,’ Jack muttered, pausing by a snow-covered rock and swinging his rucksack off his back.
They stopped just long enough to equip themselves safely for the next part of the rescue and then they were off again.
Bryony stayed behind Jack, watching him place his feet firmly and confidently in the snow, the sharp points of his crampons biting into the snow.
They walked for what felt like ages and then suddenly heard shouts from above them.
‘Sounds hopeful,’ Jack said, increasing his pace and altering his direction slightly. ‘We’ll check it out and then I’ll radio in to base.’
Bryony breathed a sigh of relief when they rounded the next corner and saw two women huddled together.
‘Watch your footing here,’ Jack said, frowning slightly as he glanced to his right. ‘There’s a slope there and a sheer drop at the end of it. I know because I climbed up that rockface last summer with your brothers. This snow doesn’t feel very stable to me.’
‘Shall we rope up?’
He shook his head. ‘We’re all right for now, but we’ll rope up before we go down.’
They reached the two women and one of them immediately burst into tears.
‘Oh, thank goodness…’
Bryony dropped onto her knees beside her, aware that Jack was already on the radio, giving their exact location to the rest of the team.
‘You’re going to be fine,’ she said gently, slipping her arm around the woman’s shoulders and giving her a hug. ‘Where are you hurt?’
‘I’m not hurt,’ the woman said, but her teeth were chattering and she was obviously very cold. ‘But my sister slipped on the snow and hurt her ankle and cut her wrist. I think she must have hit a rock when she landed. It was bleeding very badly so I pressed on it hard with a spare jumper that we had in our bag and it seemed to stop.’
‘Good—you did just the right thing.’ Bryony shrugged her rucksack off her back. ‘I’m Bryony and I’m a doctor and a member of the local mountain rescue team. What’s your name?’
‘Alison Gayle.’ The woman was shivering. ‘And my sister’s name is Pamela. I feel so guilty dragging you out in this weather. We’ve put everyone in danger.’
‘Don’t feel guilty,’ Bryony said immediately, ‘and you haven’t put us in danger. It’s our job and we love it. And we have all the right equipment for this weather.’
Which was just as well, she reflected ruefully, because the weather was getting worse by the second.
The snow started to fall heavily and Bryony brushed the soft flakes away from her face with a gloved hand and looked at the sky with a frown. The visibility was reducing rapidly. She moved over to check on Pamela and Jack joined her.
‘All right, the rest of the team is on their way up.’ He dropped down next to her and smiled at Alison. ‘Lovely day for a stroll in the hills.’
Bryony moved over to Pamela and noticed that the woman looked extremely pale and shocked.
‘You’re going to be fine now, Pamela,’ she said firmly. ‘I’m just going to check your injuries and then we’re going to get you off this mountain.’
She pulled off her gloves and carefully unwrapped the blood-soaked jumper so that she could examine the wrist injury more carefully. As soon as she released the pressure and exposed the wound, blood spurted into the air and Bryony quickly grabbed the jumper and pressed down again.
‘It’s an artery, Jack,’ she muttered and he was by her side in an instant, the bulk of his shoulders providing a barrier between her and the elements.
He was strong and confident and, as usual, she found his presence hugely reassuring.
‘I’ve put Alison into a casualty bag so she’ll be fine for the time being.’ He unwrapped the wrist himself, quickly assessed the extent of the injury and then pressed a sterile pad over the laceration and smiled at Pamela.
‘That’s going to be fine,’ he said smoothly, elevating her arm and handing a bandage to Bryony with his free hand. ‘We’re going to bandage it tightly and keep it up just until we can get you off this mountain.’
The woman looked at him with frightened eyes. ‘I can’t walk down—my ankle hurts.’
‘Don’t you worry about that. That’s why we bring my blonde friend here,’ Jack said cheerfully, winking at Bryony. ‘She’s the muscles of the operation.’
While he chatted and teased, Bryony tightened the bandage and gave him a nod. ‘All done.’
‘Good. So now let’s check the ankle. How painful is it, Pamela?’
The woman looked at him, her lips turning blue with the cold. ‘Agony.’
‘So we’ll give you some gas and air to breathe while we check it out,’ Jack said immediately, reaching into his rucksack. ‘I want you to take some slow breaths. Great—perfect.’ He looked at Bryony. ‘Right, can you cut that boot off and let’s see what we’re dealing with here? And make it quick. She’s cold and we need to get her into a casualty bag.’
Bryony sliced through the laces and gently removed the boot and then the sock. ‘The ankle is very swollen,’ she murmured, and Pamela gave a little groan and took several more breaths of the gas and air. ‘Could you put any weight
