He was too heavy to push off but she began to kick and fight as best she could while he wrestled to lift her skirt. As she felt the cool air on her skin, she opened her mouth and let out a blood-curdling scream that made the birds in the nearby trees take flight. She felt him ripping her drawers aside as his other hand clamped across her mouth. She was crying so hard now that she was blinded by tears and despair tore through her as she felt him snatching at the buttons on his flies. Even before he had managed to undo them, she could feel his hardness and she knew that she was about to be raped. But suddenly he was hauled off her and as she rolled into a ball and began to sob, she heard Barnaby curse.
‘Why, youfilthylousy bastard!’ She had never heard Barnaby so angry as he threw a punch that sent Bertie skidding across the grass as the bloodstained knife flew out of his hand.
The next minute the men were rolling about in a tangle of arms and legs and she was suddenly aware that they were dangerously close to the edge of the cliff.
‘Barnaby?.?.?. becareful.’ The words had scarcely left her mouth when they both disappeared and she let out another scream.
The seconds seemed like minutes but eventually she crawled to the edge and, looking down, she managed to just make out where they were. Barnaby had landed on a ledge halfway down but Bertie had fallen even further. She swiped the blood from her face and after tucking her skirt into her waistband she began to climb down to Barnaby, whose leg was twisted at an unnatural angle.
‘Are you all reet? What can I do?’ she sobbed when she finally reached him.
His hand rose to stroke her cheek. ‘Y-you’re hurt!’
‘No, it’s nothing.’ She swiped at the blood flowing from her cheek again and glancing up the cliff she began to cry harder as she told him, ‘I don’t think I can manage to get you up there.’
Even in the gloom she could see that Barnaby’s face was the colour of lint and he was clearly in a lot of pain.
‘I-I think you’d better run to Jennings’ farm and get help,’ he said as his head lolled to the side and she knew that he had passed out.
She stared at him for a moment, torn between leaving him and doing as he said, but soon common sense took over and she scrambled up the cliff face and ran as if her very life depended on it. By the time she reached the farm her lungs felt as if they were on fire and the second she set foot in the yard the border collie ran from his kennel and began to bark furiously.
Somehow she managed to gabble out to the farmer and his wife what had happened as Mrs Jennings made her sit at the table.
‘You’d best get the men together and take a door to carry them up,’ she told her husband. ‘Meanwhile I’ll get Johnnie to ride into town for the police and the doctor. I’m afraid you’re going to need stitches in this, my dear, it’s very deep. You were lucky, another inch an’ he’d ’ave had your eye out!’
She had fetched a bowl of water and a clean piece of huckaback to bathe the wound, but Amber pushed her hand away.
‘No?.?.?. you don’t understand, I have to go back to make sure Barnaby’s all reet an’ my baby is all alone in the house.’
‘In that case, I’ll come back with you an’ tend to you there,’ May Jennings told her in a voice that brooked no argument. ‘You’re in no state to be left on your own, lass.’
Fifteen minutes later, with Farmer Jennings and three of his farmhands the solemn procession set off and Amber was able to show them exactly where the fight had taken place on the clifftop. ‘Barnaby is about halfway down,’ she told them, her voice quavering. ‘He’s stuck on a sort o’ ledge an’ Bertie’s a little bit further down from him.’
‘You just get yourself back to the ’ouse wi’ my missus, lass. We’ll find ’em an’ when the police an’ doctor arrive send ’em over ’ere to us.’ Bill nodded at his wife and she took Amber’s arm and led her away as, carrying the door, the farmer and his men began to descend the cliff.
Thankfully Amber found Charlotte was still sound asleep when they got back to the house, so finally she allowed May Jennings to press her into a chair while she bustled away to get some hot water. Up until that time, Amber had been almost numb with shock but as the woman tenderly cleaned her face and tried to stem the bleeding the tears came and Amber couldn’t stop shaking.
‘Have you a drop o’ brandy in the place? It’ll calm you down.’
‘Y-yes, I think Barnaby has some in there.’ When Amber nodded towards the cupboard beneath the dresser the woman fetched it and tipped a generous measure into the hot sweet tea she had just made for her, before adding some to her own for good measure.
‘Now, get that down you,’ she ordered. ‘It’s good for shock.’
Minutes later two policemen from the town arrived along with the doctor and Mrs Jennings directed them to where the rescuers were battling to bring the two men up the cliff face. Barnaby was the first to be carried into the kitchen on the door and when Amber saw his leg bent halfway between his knee and his ankle, she gasped with horror and leaning over the arm of the chair she promptly vomited all over the floor.
‘We’d best get it in position while he’s unconscious because this is going to hurt like hell,’ the doctor said. ‘I’ll need some nice straight pieces of wood as well to use as splints.’ He glanced up at Amber. ‘And once I’ve seen to him, I’ll see to you, young lady.’
Amber nodded numbly; she could hardly take in what had happened but she knew that it was all her fault. If she hadn’t gone out to get some air?.?.?. The voices around her became fainter and thankfully she knew no more.
*
‘That’s it, lass. Come on ’ave a sip o’ this.’
Amber blearily opened her eyes to find herself lying on the settle looking up into Mrs Jennings’ concerned face.
‘B-Barnaby?.?.?.’
‘It’s all right, lass, they’ve set his leg,’ the woman told her.
