Presumed Dead Read Free Page B

hour or so later, that
the warm sun streaming into the refuge hut brought Alice out of a deep sleep.
She felt snug and comfortable under the pile of blankets, and for a few moments
thought she was at home in her own bed.
    Then she tried to move, which was a
mistake. Pain washed over her and she suddenly remembered, with fresh horror, what
had happened the night before. The burning rage she’d felt towards Ross, the
rage that had driven her through the snow and across the ice, the rage that had
saved her life, flared again.
    She lay perfectly still for a few moments
looking around, trying to take in her new environment. Slowly she moved each
part of her body, testing it for function and pain. She was incredibly stiff
and found every movement agony, but eventually managed to prop herself up on
one elbow so that she could look out through the open door.
    Just outside the hut she could see a tall,
deeply tanned man wearing a white T-shirt and red climbing trousers. His braces
hung loosely at his sides and he was drinking from a steaming tin mug. He kept
looking up at the sky, cocking his head from side to side as if listening for a
distant sound. Apparently feeling her eyes on him, he glanced over his shoulder
into the hut, and seeing she was awake, quickly came inside and knelt on the
floor next to the bunk.
    ‘So you are awake!’ he said in good English
with a mild French accent. ‘How are you feeling?’
    She studied his handsome features, the
three-day-old stubble, the tousled dark hair, the worry lines on his forehead
and the look of anxiety on his face. She tried to smile, but her chapped and
split lips were too painful. Finally she just settled for saying hoarsely, ‘Not
too bad. Thank you for helping me,’ as she lay back down flat on the bed,
wincing with pain.
    ‘It was my pleasure,’ he said, brushing the
hair from her face and gently feeling the temperature of her forehead with the
palm of his hand. ‘You had me worried for a while last night. I thought I would
never get you warm.’
    She was overwhelmed by his kindness, and
felt her anger ebbing away. Not knowing really what to say, she asked, ‘What’s your
name?’
    ‘Philippe Dulac. What is yours?’
    ‘Alice Webley.’ Then she asked, ‘What is
this place?’
    Looking around him he replied, ‘This wooden
palace is the Refuge de la Charpoua, high on the Glacier de la Charpoua, about
seven kilometers from the town of Chamonix. It is one of many refuge huts
placed throughout the mountains for climbers to use. But you do not look like a
climber. Tell me, how did you manage to get this high up without any
equipment?’
    Alice shifted her gaze away from him and
said, ‘I’d rather not say.’
    Philippe looked rather taken aback by her
reticence, but said cheerfully, ‘Well, do not worry, we will have you safe in a
hospital as soon as the rescue helicopter arrives.’
    Panic flared in Alice. She looked straight
at him again and asked urgently, ‘Have you called them yet?’ She desperately
wanted time to think things through before going back.
    ‘Cell phones do not work in most of these
deep valleys, and the smaller huts do not have radios, but the helicopter
patrols the area several times every day. When I hear them coming, I will
signal to them. Do not worry.’
    Alice relaxed a little, then asked, ‘How
badly am I hurt?’
    ‘Nothing too serious, mainly bruises and
some cuts on your hands and legs. I think you must have fallen.’
    ‘I fell all right,’ she said coolly. Then,
after thinking for a few moments she added, ‘Look, I don’t think it’s worth
bothering the helicopter rescue people. Couldn’t I just stay here for a little
while, then walk down?’
    ‘Without crampons? You would never make
it!’
    ‘Don’t you have any spare ones I could
use?’ she asked.
    ‘There are a few spare pieces of climbing
equipment here for people to use in an emergency,’ he admitted.
    ‘Fine then, that’s what I’ll do.’
    ‘But you are