* * * *
The fight was long and bloody, but eventually Leon pummelled Pedro into momentary insensibility. He was in little better state himself, bleeding from several cuts, and with one eye closed and puffy.
'Come, we must be away before he recovers,' he panted, and reached for Yasmin's bundle.
'I will carry that,' she said hastily, and he did not argue, knowing how little strength he had left.
They plunged into the woods, following a narrow track for some time and then, when Leon felt they had put a sufficient distance between Pedro and themselves, they took to the trackless parts.
'He will not suspect this, and so if he tries to follow us it will confuse him,' he explained.
'Where shall we go?' Yasmin asked, breathless with the speed he was setting.
'Anywhere away from Pedro,' he replied tersely. 'He is like a mad bull when he is thwarted.'
'But the tribe! What will you do?'
'I have told you I would go anywhere with you. If you will have me I will finish with them. They would not take you back now, and I can only protect you by leaving them. It was fortunate I was watching Pedro today, and saw him leave the rest.'
Yasmin, unable to think of an adequate reply in the face of such devotion, simply urged him to greater speed. After an hour she suggested they might now rest for a while, but Leon would not hear of it, even to wash his injuries.
'Pedro is too determined. I halted him for a short while, but he will soon have recovered. We must go on as long as we can.'
They plodded on, more slowly now, and helping each other, not speaking. Suddenly there was a noise behind them and Leon swung round.
'Run!' he ordered urgently, but Yasmin was incapable of it, and stood wearily beside him as he peered through the gloom, for by now it was almost dusk and the woods were dense.
A dog appeared, and Yasmin gasped, but it was not such a dog as the gypsies had. It was a lapdog, a King Charles spaniel, and after eyeing the strangers suspiciously for a minute it yapped twice, and then disappeared behind a bush, and they heard it snuffling as it ran off.
Yasmin breathed a sigh of relief, laughing weakly, and Leon smiled slightly.
'We must be near to a house or a village,' he said. 'Maybe we can find shelter there for the night.'
More lightheartedly they went on, but they were too carefree. Yasmin was a few paces away from Leon, in front of him, when she heard a snap of metal, and he cried out. She swung round, and for a moment did not see he was lying twisted on the ground. Then she saw him and ran across.
'Leon! What is it?'
'A man-trap,' he whispered through clenched teeth, and Yasmin looked down in horror to see the viciously cruel jaws of the trap closed over his leg.
Chapter 4
With a gasp of horror Yasmin dropped to the ground beside Leon and tried to force the trap open, but she was not strong enough to move it at all. Leon lay back attempting to suppress the groans forced from him by the excruciating pain.
'I must seek help. There will be a house nearby,' Yasmin said worriedly. 'But how shall I find you again? The wood is thick and it is almost dark. Have you a candle or any means of showing a light?'
'It would be of no avail,' he groaned,
'You cannot remain here!'
'If we tell anyone I am bound to be transported,' he reminded her, and she grew rigid with horror, for she had forgotten during the months of wandering with the gypsies the drastic punishments imposed on those convicted of even minor wrongdoing. Yasmin knew they would be charged with poaching and trespassing, and there was no defence that could be offered to prove their innocence. The fact they were gypsies would induce everyone to believe in their guilt, for gypsies were always blamed for such offences, and it would be accounted a triumph to have caught two.
'But even if I can free you from the trap, you will need medical help,' Yasmin pointed out.
'I shall have to do without it. If we can get word to my mother, she has remedies that will help me. But first we must release this trap. Between us we might be able to. Here, hold it here and I will try to force it open. Pull when I say.'
Yasmin was doubtful, but they did their utmost to pull the wicked jaws apart, without success. Leon was so grievously hurt, on top of the injuries Pedro had inflicted, he could not exert much pressure on the trap, and even with Yasmin's strength added to his, they could not move it. For what seemed hours they struggled, and Leon was rapidly losing strength. He was bleeding badly, and though Yasmin tried to staunch the wound with her handkerchief, it did little good while the teeth, vicious jagged barbs of metal, bit into his flesh.
'I shall have to go for help,' Yasmin decided at last. 'If we are transported we can at least start a new life, but if I leave you here much longer there will be no life at all!'
'You must not be involved,' he said slowly, struggling to control the pain. 'Take a message then, if you will, but afterwards you must run away. Promise me you will not come back with them!'
'Indeed I must, to show them the way and make certain they find you,' she replied, and he was too weak to argue, knowing the truth of what she said. 'Besides,' she added, 'I am responsible for this. But for me you'd not be in such a plight.'
Yasmin stood up and looked about her carefully, noting the landmarks so that she would be able to find the spot, though by now it was very dark and her heart misgave her when she thought of the difficulties ahead. Confident at last she could find Leon, Yasmin walked away, going on in the direction they had been taking when the calamity befell them. She had gone about fifty yards when she came to a small, overgrown path, and she breathed a sigh of thankfulness that now the going would be easier. Noting an oddly shaped holly bush near to where she had joined the path, Yasmin began to run along it, and to her relief within a few minutes she heard the clip clop of a horse's feet. She stumbled, and almost ran into the dim shape of the horse in the near darkness.
'I beg of you, please help me! He is caught in the trap and I have not enough strength to release it. I pray you help me, whoever you are, or he might die?'
'What the devil! Who? What trap? Where?' the questions came sharply.
Yasmin was unable to reply for a moment. Marvellous as it seemed to her, the voice was familiar, one she would never forget. It was Sir Edward Curtis, and the wonder of it silenced her for a moment while she peered upwards in an attempt to distinguish his features.
'Where?' he repeated impatiently, and she was brought to her senses.
'Along here, then through the trees,' she directed, turning and starting back the way she had come, sure he would follow. He went after her, and when she stopped beside the holly bush and told him they needed to leave the path here, he dismounted to lead his horse through the trees. Yasmin walked on until she judged she was near the place, and then called out to Leon.
'Leon, can you answer to guide us? I have help.'
His reply came, from very close, but he sounded weak. Sir Edward was before her and was bending down, striking a light with his flint, when she reached them.
'Come here, hold this,' he ordered brusquely, and as Yasmin hastened to obey he was grasping the jaws of the trap in strong capable hands. Within a few seconds he had them open, and gently he moved Leon's leg aside.
'I fear it is broken,' he said, whipping off his cravat and folding it rapidly into a pad with which to stop the worst of the bleeding. 'Have you a petticoat?' he demanded of Yasmin, and she hastily pulled one off and began to tear it into strips. Handing them to him, she watched as he bound up the leg. Leon was half swooning after the inevitable extra pain of the movements he had suffered, and Yasmin saw Sir Edward glance anxiously at him once or twice.
'Thank you,' she ventured as he straightened up, but he did not seem to have heard her.
'I cannot carry you with your leg broken. I will go for help. There are some keepers' cottages less than ten minutes away, and we can bring a litter for you. When we return, call to guide us,' he added to Yasmin, and then was gone.
* * * *
She sat and cradled Leon's head in her lap, but as he was incapable of speech they were silent. Yasmin dared not think of what would follow this rescue – the court charges and the likely transportation – but distracted herself with remembering each word that had been uttered, then and on the other occasions when she had spoken with Sir Edward. In a curious way, despite the predicament they were in, she was happy. She had utterly forgotten Pedro, and her life with the gypsies seemed an age away.
Yasmin's reflections were interrupted by a shout, and she called back. In seconds she seemed to be surrounded by several large men who competently dealt with lifting Leon onto the litter they had brought, and then began to carry him away. Yasmin stood motionless, and then found Sir Edward at her side. He touched her arm gently, and she started as if burnt, then looked up at him.
'Come,' was all he said, and turned away. Trembling from his touch, she followed him and after ten minutes or so they emerged into a clearing at the side of which stood a pair of cottages, their windows lit in welcome. Yasmin followed the men across the clearing and into the kitchen of one of them, to find a mattress had been laid before the fire, and a plump, motherly looking woman was bustling round getting blankets and scolding two children who were asking fretfully what went on.
Leon was placed gently on the mattress, and Sir Edward glanced over at Yasmin as she stood hesitantly just inside the door.
'I have already sent for the doctor. He should be here soon and I do not think we ought to do any more until he comes. But would you care to eat?'
The woman was placing bread and cheese on the table, and Yasmin suddenly felt hungry. She sighed deeply, smiled and nodded, and Sir Edward turned back to Leon, getting a flask that she guessed held brandy out of his pocket. He knelt beside Leon and lifted his head so that he could drink from the flask, and the woman indicated Yasmin was to sit at the table. She poured out a mug of cider for her, and also some for the men, and seeing there was no more they could do for Leon they came across and sat at the table, taking the thick slices of bread and cheese she cut for them. Yasmin accepted some gratefully, for she was hungry after all the exertion of the afternoon and it was long after the time she would normally have eaten supper. She cut the bread and cheese, and sipped the cider, murmuring her thanks. They did not ask her questions, for which she was thankful, and must have assumed they were what they appeared to be, gypsy poachers.
Soon the woman disappeared, chivvying the curious children before her, and the men took their leave of Sir Edward and went off. They were alone with him. He walked across to the table and poured some more cider for himself, and then stood looking down at Yasmin unsmilingly.
'You were foolhardy to be in the woods at that time,' he said at last, coldly. 'It was fortunate for you and your brother that I came along then. That path is little used.'
'Leon is my cousin,' she said quickly. 'I most grateful to you, Sir Edward, for your help. Will he recover? Oh, that cruel trap! How could anyone deliberately plan to catch a man in such an inhuman way!'
To her dismay she suddenly began to weep, and bent down to rest her head on her arms while sobs, reaction against the ordeal, shook her body.
'Yasmin, my dearest,' Leon said weakly from his mattress, and hearing him speak Yasmin rose and ran to fling herself down beside him, clasping his hand in hers. With his other hand he gently stroked her hair and she gradually quietened. As she brushed the tears from her eyes there was a commotion outside, and a hearty voice calling out. The doctor walked in and dropped his bag down on a chair.
'Well, what have you for me now, Sir Edward?' he demanded, and not waiting for an answer strode across to look at Leon. Yasmin stood up and retreated to a corner, and after the first comprehensive glance round the room, the doctor ignored her. He examined Leon quickly and Yasmin was relieved to judge from his movements, which were firm and decided, that he was a competent practitioner.
He worked swiftly and quietly, and Sir Edward acted as his assistant, handing whatever the doctor demanded, and helping to hold Leon still while the broken bone was eased gently into position before the splints were bound on. Leon bore it all stoically, biting his lips to prevent groans from escaping him. The doctor finished and rose.
'They are wicked instruments, those damned traps!' he commented acidly. 'Is all the pain and the work they cause for me worth the saving of a few confounded rabbits?'
Yasmin glanced involuntarily at Sir Edward, to find him looking at her, an odd expression in his eyes. She knew he read the accusation in hers, and after a moment when their glances locked, she dropped her gaze.
The doctor did not wait for any reply. He was packing his bag, and he turned to Leon as he snapped the clasp.
'I will be along to see you tomorrow morning, young man. You'll be right as a trivet again in a few weeks if you obey my instructions. You can thank your stars you were discovered before any more damage had been done by exposure. Brr! It's a devilish cold night. Yours, Sir Edward.'
Leon smiled weakly and began to thank him, but was told to save his breath for getting better. The doctor nodded at Sir Edward, glanced for a moment at Yasmin, and then turned and stumped out of the cottage. Sir Edward turned back to the others.
'I will be back in the morning. Mrs Barber will provide you with a bed,' he said briefly and was gone also.
Mrs Barber came back in and asked solicitously how Leon was. He thanked her, and she shrugged, though she smiled at him. Then she turned to Yasmin.
'You can share my daughter's bed,' she said, and though Yasmin protested she would prefer to curl up on a chair in the kitchen where she could attend to Leon, Mrs Barber would not hear of it.
'My man will sleep here. Sir Edward gave orders,' she stated, and would not be moved from that. Sir Edward's word was clearly law to her, and so Yasmin was taken off to crawl into bed beside a sleeping child of five or six years old.