She frowned slightly, walking steadily in the darkness, following Ellie and Tom. She couldn’t stop thinking of the things he’d said to her on top of their rock. Had she put too much pressure on him? He’d always been so confident and in control, it had never occurred to her that he might have doubts of any sort.
Had she been unrealistic about their relationship?
She walked in silence for a while, aware of Ellie chattering away in the background.
And then suddenly a brief flash of light caught her eye.
She stopped dead, her eyes fixed on a spot ahead of them. ‘I saw something.’
Tom turned to her. ‘Where?’
‘Higher up.’
He frowned. ‘The path is very narrow there.’
‘I saw something,’ Sally said firmly, her eyes searching the darkness for another flash of light.
Ellie spoke to Max and the dog shot off. He was wearing a high-visibility coat with bells attached and a green chemical light that glowed in the darkness.
‘He looks like an alien,’ Tom muttered, but Ellie’s attention was fixed on the dog.
He moved further away from them and for a moment all they could see was the green glow of the light.
Then he bounded back and barked at Ellie.
‘He’s found them,’ she said immediately, bending to praise the dog. ‘Better let the others know.’
The wind gusted violently and Sally staggered slightly. Instantly Tom’s hand shot out and he steadied her.
‘We should rope up here,’ he said gruffly, swinging the rucksack off his back and delving for the necessary equipment. ‘The path narrows here and it’s badly eroded. I’m not taking any chances in the dark.’
They sorted out their own safety and then Ellie led the way, following Max until they reached a figure huddled down on the path.
‘One of them. Only one of them.’ Sally dropped to her knees beside the boy. ‘Are you Lester or James?’
He was shivering too badly to speak to her and Tom immediately handed her some extra layers which she wrapped carefully round the child.
‘You’re going to be fine,’ she said soothingly, ‘and we’re going to get you down. Where’s your friend?’
The boy turned his eyes to hers and in the light from her helmet she could see that he was white and shaking. His eyes turned to the path. ‘He went over the edge …’
Sally felt a chill run through her that was nothing to do with the icy wind. ‘Over the edge? All right—well, we’ll sort him out, too. But are you Lester or James?’
‘I’m James.’ The words were little more than a whisper and they were all but swallowed by the howl of the wind. ‘And this is my fault. It’s all my fault. He came with me. And he fell.’
The boy was clearly shocked and on the edges of hypothermia himself. Sally slipped an arm around him. ‘Don’t worry, James. We’re going to find your friend. In the meantime, we need to get you down to safer ground. It’s a bit risky up here with this wind.’
She straightened and let Ellie take over while she, Sean and Tom moved to one side to plan.
‘If he’s gone over the edge here, he’s gone all the way to the bottom,’ Sean said grimly, and Sally shook her head.
‘Not necessarily. There’s a rocky outcrop halfway down. I know because I ate a sandwich there once.’
Tom raised an eyebrow. ‘Only you would picnic on a sheer face.’
‘There was a good view.’ Sally was still staring into the darkness, hoping to see something. ‘On the other hand, he might have gone straight to the bottom.’
Sean shouted over the edge and flashed his torch, but there was no response.