The Daughters of Eden Trilogy: The Shadow Catcher, Fever Hill & the Serpent's Tooth (93 page)

But Cyrus Wright isn’t listening. Still supporting her in the crook of his arm, he takes off his jacket and rolls it up to make a pillow. It feels soft as he lays her down on it. It smells of horses and cigars, and it’s warm from his body.

She must have dropped asleep, for when she wakes again Cyrus Wright has gone back into the walls, and she’s alone. It’s so quiet that she can hear the dust whispering across the floor, and the
plick
of the spring, and the endless murmur of the cave people, spinning their spells to send her to sleep.

When she awoke again, the cave people were gone. All she could hear was the rustle of the wind in the thorn tree at the mouth of the cave, and the high, lonely cry of a red-tailed hawk.

The pain was still there, deep in her belly, but it was duller now, no longer burning her up.
Baby dead, him dead.
Tears stung her eyes. She blinked them back. More tears left hot, salty trails down her cheeks.

She turned her head, and the glare at the mouth of the cave sent splinters of glass into her brain. She moaned.

A dark rock by the thorn tree moved and resolved into Ben. He came and knelt beside her and held his cupped hand to her lips for her to drink. The water tasted of earth and iron. Again she felt its cold strength curling down inside her: the strength of earth and iron and the spirits who lived in the cave. The strength of the Cockpits.

‘How long have you been here?’ she said. She was astonished by the weakness of her voice.

‘A few hours,’ he replied.

‘How did you find me?’

‘How do you feel?’

She turned her head away.

At the mouth of the cave, a tiny green lizard was sunning itself on a rock. Evie watched the fleeting motion of its sides: in, out, in, out. She licked her lips. Without turning her head she said, ‘What did you do with the blanket?’

‘I burnt it,’ he said.

She tried to swallow, but her throat was too tight. ‘Was there anything – could you see anything?’

‘No. Not much.’

She shut her eyes tight, but the tears squeezed out just the same.

There was silence, while he knelt beside her with his hand on her shoulder, and she cried. Again she heard the red-tailed hawk out in the hills: high and far away and lonely. The loneliest sound in the world.

When she’d stopped crying, Ben said, ‘Evie. Tell me something.’

She turned back to him.

‘When you were delirious, you called me Cyrus. I didn’t catch the surname—’

‘Wright. Cyrus Wright.’

‘Is he the father?’

She shook her head. ‘Cyrus Wright died a long time ago. At least, I hope so.’

There was a pause while he considered that. Then he said, ‘So who is the father?’

She did not reply.

‘Evie?’

‘Ben – no. I’m not telling.’

‘But—’

‘I said no.’

Another silence. Then he said softly, ‘Christ, Evie, what the hell were you thinking? Why didn’t you come to me? I would have got you the best doctors.’

‘The best doctors are white. They wouldn’t treat a mulatto girl who’s no better than she should be.’

‘Then I’d have got you a black doctor.’

‘There’s only one black doctor on the Northside, and he’s my cousin.’

‘And you don’t want anyone to know. That’s it, isn’t it? That’s why you came up here?’

She nodded.

‘Not even your mother?’

‘God, no! Specially not her.’ She paused to recover her strength. ‘She thinks I’m up at Mandeville, seeing a friend. And it’s got to stay that way, Ben. You’ve got to promise me that.’

He nodded. But something in his eyes made her uneasy.

‘How did you find me?’ she asked again.

He told her how he’d been riding in the hills, and met a frightened little girl on a pony. ‘She was babbling about something she’d found in a cave, so we came back here, and – there you were.’ He cleared his throat. ‘I did what I could for you, then I took Belle home. Well, at least I saw her safely to the crossroads.’

She frowned. ‘Her name was Belle?’

‘Yes. Isabelle Lawe.’

She shut her eyes in dismay. She pictured Belle excitedly telling her parents all about her adventure in the hills; which would mean that by now old Braverly knew, and Moses and Poppy, and most of Trelawny. Including her mother.

‘Don’t worry about Belle,’ said Ben, guessing her thoughts. ‘She won’t breathe a word.’

She threw him a suspicious look. ‘Why not?’

‘Because once we reached the crossroads, all she could think about was how she was going to catch it from her parents for venturing into the Cockpits. So I suggested a pact. I wouldn’t rat on her, if she didn’t rat on you.’

‘And you’re sure she’ll stick to that?’

His lip curled. ‘Oh, yes.’

She studied his face. ‘There’s something you’re not telling.’

He turned his head to look at the cave mouth, then back to her. ‘I sent for help.’

Her heart sank. ‘What sort of help?’

He ran his thumb across his lower lip. ‘I met young Neptune Parker, and sent him for supplies and horses.’

Jesus God. Neptune Parker was her second cousin! She opened her mouth to protest, but again Ben read her thoughts. ‘Don’t worry, he doesn’t know you’re up here. As far as he’s concerned I’ve just found something interesting in a cave.’

But still she sensed that there was more to come. ‘Was it only for supplies that you sent Neptune?’

Again he glanced away. ‘No. I also sent him to deliver a note.’

‘A note?’

He did not reply.

‘Who’d you send for, Ben? Who?’

He met her eyes. ‘She won’t tell anyone, Evie. You know you can trust her.’

In a horrifying flash she realized who he meant. But she should have known! With Ben it always came back to the same woman. Always. Even though he wouldn’t acknowledge it to himself.

She tried to rise up on her elbow, but the pain forced her back. ‘Jesus God, Ben! Sophie’s the last person you should have told!’

‘Listen,’ he said between his teeth, ‘I don’t want her here any more than you do. But I had to get someone. And at least she’ll have some idea of what to do.’

Sophie had no idea what Ben imagined she could do, but his request was so extraordinary that she obeyed it at once.

E.M. needs you. Bring medicine. Tell no-one (including Neptune). B.K.

A pencilled scrawl on a scrap of notepaper. In the space of a few seconds, she went from astonishment that he should seek her help, to indignation at his arrogance, to sharp anxiety for Evie.
Bring medicine.
Medicine for what?

By great good luck she was alone when the note arrived. Alexander had gone to a polo match at Rio Bueno, Cornelius was with Gus Parnell in Montego Bay, Rebecca was having her after-luncheon rest, and to Sophie’s intense relief Sibella was spending the day at Ironshore with Davina and the little Irvings. Lately she’d been impossible: moody, restless and excitable. But she’d barely noticed when Sophie pleaded a headache and stayed at home.

It had been surprisingly easy to get away without being seen – although that was probably due to the network of servants conspiring to help her. Neptune Parker was related to Danny Tulloch the head groom, and also to Hannibal, the second footman; and at Parnassus that counted for more than loyalty to the master and mistress.

But to her consternation, Neptune wouldn’t tell her a thing about where they were going. He was polite and respectful, but immovable. In taut silence they rode south-east through the cane-pieces to the edge of the estate. By the time they’d reached the Fever Hill Road, Sophie had had enough. ‘Neptune, what on earth is this about?’ she demanded, reining in her horse.

The boy looked unhappily at the ground and shook his head. Tall and solemn, with a narrow, clever face, he’d clearly been chosen for his silent disposition. ‘I don’t know, Miss Sophie,’ he mumbled. ‘Master Ben just said for to fetch you quick-time.’

‘But where are we going? You’ve got to tell me something, or I shan’t go any further.’

He looked so unhappy that she felt a twinge of guilt. ‘Somewhere up near Turnaround,’ he muttered.

‘Turnaround? But that’s miles away, in the Cockpits!’

‘Yes, ma’am.’

‘What’s up there?’

‘I don’t know, ma’am.’

She gave up. It wasn’t fair to cross-examine him. Besides, given Ben’s warning about mentioning Evie, there wasn’t much more she could ask.

They turned into the gates of Fever Hill and headed up the carriageway, stopping only briefly at the stables to collect fresh horses and what Neptune laconically called ‘supplies’, before putting the great house behind them, and following the narrow trickle of the Green River south towards the Martha Brae. Sophie didn’t have time to look about her, or feel more than a faint regret at this fleeting visit to the estate where she’d begun her life in Jamaica.

But now as they rode south through the nursery cane-pieces of Glen Marnoch, she realized that they were heading straight for Eden. Once they reached the Martha Brae, they would have to turn either right towards Stony Gap, or left towards Romilly. And if they were making for Turnaround, the eastward route via Romilly would be the more direct.

Romilly was on Eden land. Merely thinking about it brought her out in a cold sweat. She was astonished at the strength of her reaction. More than ever, she knew that she couldn’t go anywhere near Eden.

By the time they reached the Martha Brae, she was clutching the reins to stop her hands from shaking. Neptune stopped briefly to water the horses, but she remained in the saddle, ready to turn tail and run.

Eden was breathtakingly close. If she threw a stone at the opposite bank, she would hit it. Through the overarching plumes of the giant bamboo she could see the young cane of Orange Grove, where she and Evie used to play hide and seek. Half a mile downstream lay Romilly. And on the soft red banks directly opposite, old Braverly had taught Fraser to fish, in the final summer of his brief life.

Too many reminders. Too many memories. She couldn’t go back. Cameron hadn’t known what he was asking.

‘Miss Sophie?’ said Neptune.

She started.

He was looking at her oddly, and she realized that he must have spoken her name several times. ‘We go now? Yes?’

‘That depends,’ she said. ‘Which way?’

He gave her a puzzled look, then turned his horse’s head right, towards Stony Gap. Master Ben, he explained, had said to avoid Eden land.

She hardly heard him. She was shaking with relief.

They followed the river upstream to the bridge at Stony Gap, then Neptune took her on a track she didn’t know, which skirted the bare western slope of Overlook Hill before looping south around its foot, and coming out just south of the crossroads.

Now that she could forget about Eden, she had time to wonder about Ben. She hadn’t seen him since that day at the Myrtle Bank Hotel. She didn’t
want
to see him again. Especially not after that invitation to his Boxing Day Masquerade. What was he playing at now? What was she getting herself into?

An hour later, Neptune reined in beside a stunted calabash tree, and dismounted, and indicated the half-hidden mouth of a cave some twenty yards above the track.

Ben was nowhere about. ‘Is he up there?’ Sophie asked, pointing to the cave.

Neptune shook his head. Ben’s hat was no longer on the boulder by the thorn tree, which apparently meant that he’d gone elsewhere.

His absence astonished her. She’d just ridden ten miles cross-country in the baking sun, and he didn’t even have the decency to be here when she arrived. Setting her teeth, she dismounted, tethered her horse, and stiffly asked Neptune to lead the way. He politely declined. He had strict instructions not to go near the cave.

She didn’t know if that made her feel better or worse. But as she unbuckled the saddlebag containing the hasty collection of medicines she’d cobbled together with the help of the Parnassus housekeeper, she felt the first bite of real alarm. She glanced at the mouth of darkness gaping in the hill. It looked horribly quiet and still. What would she find inside? And what did Ben imagine she could do? She wasn’t a doctor. She wasn’t even a nurse.

She drew a deep breath and gave Neptune what she hoped was a reassuring smile. ‘Well, then,’ she said briskly. ‘If Master Ben comes back from wherever on earth he’s got to, perhaps you’d be kind enough to tell him where I’ve gone.’ Then she shouldered the saddlebag and began to climb.

After an hour she emerged from the cave, drying her hands on her handkerchief. And there he was: sitting on the ground halfway down the track, with his back to her and his elbows on his knees.

When he heard her he jumped to his feet. ‘How is she?’ he demanded.

No greeting. No
Thank God you came
. What did he care that she’d dropped everything for a one-line summons, and ridden ten miles in the afternoon sun? What did he care that she felt shaky and sick from the stink of blood and hopelessness in that cave?

Biting back her anger, she put her finger to her lips and motioned to him to follow her down the slope.

Neptune must have gone off to water the horses, because all that remained beneath the calabash tree was a neat stack of supplies. Sophie found a low wooden box in the shade, and sat down and put her head in her hands.

‘How is she?’ Ben said again.

‘I gave her a febrifuge and a sleeping powder,’ she muttered.

‘And?’

‘And she’s asleep,’ she snapped. She took off her hat and tossed it on the ground, and kneaded the back of her neck. ‘She’s extremely weak, and very low in spirits – which is hardly surprising. And furious with you for summoning me.’

She intended ‘summon’ as a reproach, but he ignored it. ‘But she’ll be all right?’ he insisted.

‘As far as I can tell, yes.’

His face was taut. He didn’t seem to believe her.

She said sharply, ‘I was surprised not to find you here when I arrived. Where were you?’

He blinked. ‘What? Oh. She wanted some Madam Fate. I went to look for it.’

She glanced at his empty hands. ‘No wonder you didn’t find any. It doesn’t grow round here.’