“Don’t worry,” she said. “I’ll look after him. I’ve got no one here tonight and I’ll get the doctor to him in the morning.”
I tried to thank Jim by means of signs and he left. I continued to sit there taking alternate sips of whisky and tea until at last my mouth moistened up and I was more or less able to speak. During this time Maggie sat opposite me. I was now able to take her in properly. She looked about fifty. She had neat short black hair and a kind sympathetic face. Her nice comfortable-looking figure was clad in a tartan shirt and a pair of black trousers. Her whole demeanour radiated competence.
Her brown eyes smiled at me and I managed a halfhearted smile in return. I told her how sorry I was to put her to all this bother.
“It’s not a problem,” she said. “What you need is a bath and a good night’s sleep. We’ll phone the doctor tomorrow. Do you want anything to eat?”
“No thanks, but another cup of tea would be wonderful.” My voice box was operating again.
“OK, don’t move. I’ll fix it.” While she was gone I looked around the reception area where I was sitting. It was clearly a small Highland hotel. The board behind the reception desk showed ten hooks, all with keys hanging on them. There were a couple of prints of Highland scenes on the wall, a slightly worn grey carpet, a door half-open leading off to a room where I could just make out a couple of tables and a few chairs – obviously the breakfast room. Whether the hotel ran to evening meals I couldn’t tell. The reception desk had the usual display of tourist brochures and an old-fashioned bell for summoning the management. In front there was a narrow staircase. No lift.
While I finished my second cup of tea I started to realise that my nightmare was over. I was alive and well. I confess that this realisation brought tears to my eyes. No one would ever know how close to death I had been. There had been several occasions up there when I had very nearly given up. I had had to call up all my reserves to keep going and not to simply lie down, curl up in a ball and let nature take its course.
I brushed away the beginning of tears with the back of my hand. Maggie got up and came over to me and put an arm round my shoulders.
“It’s alright. You’re safe now. Come on let’s get you up stairs.”
I nodded dumbly and tried to get up. With Maggie holding one arm and me clutching desperately at the hand rail, we managed to make it up the stairs where she piloted me into the first bedroom we came to and there was the most wonderful sight you could imagine – a large bed with a thick inviting eiderdown. There was a door in the corner through which I could see a bathroom.
“Now you’re not getting into one of my beds in the state you’re in,” said Maggie. “Sit there a minute.”
She went into the bathroom and proceeded to run a bath. The sound of the running water was music to my ears.
“Now let’s get these clothes off you.” I must have looked embarrassed because she went on. “No need to worry. You won’t be the first man I’ve seen naked and there’s no way you can take a bath on your own.”
She then proceeded to help me get undressed in a perfectly matter-of-fact way which quickly dispelled any sense of embarrassment. “God, look at the state of your hands – not just your hands but the rest of you,” she said.
I looked down. My feet were blistered and bloody. My hands were lacerated and the rest of my body was scratched from the heather which was now strewn all over the floor.
“Come on, in you get,” she said in a kindly voice. “You can tell me tomorrow what happened to you.”
With her help I lowered myself gingerly into the warm water, gave a great sigh and lay back with my eyes closed. The next thing I was aware of was a pair of gentle hands carefully soaping my body. Maggie’s hands glided smoothly over me rubbing in the soap.
She then let the water run out so that she could attack the rest of me which had been under the surface. She didn’t miss a corner. It was the most relaxing feeling I had had in a long time. I abandoned myself to her ministrations and said nothing. I didn’t move a muscle. Even “him down there” was beyond reacting.
She then turned on the shower head that was attached to the taps and, after testing the temperature, she showered the soap off me, helped me out and dabbed me dry with a large soft towel.
I did nothing, said nothing. She was totally in charge. She helped me across to the bed and said, “Sorry I don’t have any pyjamas for you but you should be warm enough.”
I gratefully slid in under the covers, totally exhausted from my ordeal.
“Maggie, I don’t know how to thank you.” “We’ll worry about that in the morning,” she said. She looked at me kindly and thoughtfully. “Is there anything else you need?” “Not really,” I replied. I was half propped on the pillow looking up at the ceiling. My mind was coming to terms with my escape. It was running round in circles. I knew that, despite my exhaustion, it wasn’t going to be easy to get to sleep.
She was sitting down on the end of the bed. She leant forward and patted the back of my hand.
“I’ll leave the door open. Just shout if you need anything.”
And she got up, switched off the light and left the room. I lay there in the dark, thanking God that I had got back to civilization and vowing revenge on bloody Bill Dewar. But it didn’t take long for the effects of the warm bath, cleanliness, exhaustion and feeling safe to lull me to sleep.
Soon I was dreaming. It was a while since I had dreamed of Liz, but somehow she was there. We were lying on a rug in a grassy field. It was a warm sunny afternoon. I was frightened and exhausted from running away from someone. Liz was smiling and holding out her arms to me. I rolled over into her arms and she pulled my face down and pressed it to her breasts. The warmth, the softness, the smell soothed away my fear. Soon I was calm and warm. I tried to murmur my appreciation.
“Shhh!” she said. “Just go to sleep. They’ve gone. You’re safe now.”
I felt her wrap me up in her body and I slid off into sleep.
Chapter 18
I was awakened the next morning by the noise of the door opening and Maggie came in bearing a tray.
“Good morning,” she said breezily. “I’ve brought you some breakfast if you’re up to it.”
It took me a few minutes to register where I was. Two days ago I had been in my garden weeding the rose beds. Now I was lying in a strange bed – somewhere. Then the drastic events of the last two days came back to me. Coming to in the middle of wild mountains. My night out in the cold. My struggle back to the road.
I had been picked up by someone and brought here. This friendly woman was Maggie. She had looked after me, bathed me and put me to bed. Now she was bringing me breakfast. It was all too much.
This all flashed through my mind in a second or two. Then I recollected my dream of Liz and I lay still and smiled for a moment or two
“Maggie, where am I? I’m sorry but I haven’t a clue.” She looked surprised. “You’re in Lochbervie.” “And where’s that?” “It’s roughly bang in the middle of the Cairngorms.” I looked blankly at her “The Cairngorms?” “Yes.” I struggled painfully into a half sitting position and looked at her. She was standing beside the bed with a smile on her face.
“You need to eat something,” she said. “I’ve made you some toast and boiled you an egg. And there’s orange juice and tea.”
She put the tray down carefully on the bedside table and helped me to sit up properly. “Did you sleep well? How are you feeling?”
“Much better thanks,” I replied. “What time is it?” “About nine,” she replied, pulling back the curtains. Outside the window I could see that the sun had started its daily chore of lighting up the landscape and warming up the air.
“I’d better get up,” I said and turned to swing my legs out of the bed. It was then that I realised I was naked. I stopped.