He held her tightly round her waist to steady her and felt a bit embarrassed as she looked at him. Letting her go he started to spade out bits of brick which had loosened. A hole appeared below them and they gently pushed debris aside.
“I think I’ve broken my leg.” A voice spoke below them. “Can you pull me out, Seth?”
“Yes, ma’am. Of course I can.” He leant down, pulled her gently and stood with her in his arms. A broken leg and what a relief that she had no other obvious injuries. But she was old and she needed attention so he mustn’t delay.
“I’ll take her to the Reverend’s wagon,” he said to Hannah. “I’ll be back in a minute.”
“I’ll move to the next house,” Hannah replied, lifting the two spades and walking towards it.
Seth strode down the road towards the wagon, his eyes on the houses which he passed. Not houses anymore because there was hardly one left standing. He looked to the side where a couple of ladies he did not know were digging. The brides to be and was one of them Rachel?
Maybe he could ask on his return to Hannah but maybe he wouldn’t. Meeting in these circumstances was not very romantic and, anyway, there wasn’t time.
But Esmé, when he went to put her in the wagon, clutched onto him and didn’t want to let him go. A family climbed in and Esmé’s arms round Seth’s neck was like a vice.
“Go with her,” Hannah called after him.
Which he had to do, he found. He sat in the wagon with Esmé on his lap and the wagon pulled away. He looked briefly at the carriage he had hired which was lying on its side. He would have to get some kind of work to pay for its repair but what in view of the earthquake? If this area was affected so badly other areas would be too and nobody worth their salt would charge to rebuild.
He all but ran up the drive of the Reverend’s house when they reached it and Linda Barnsley opened the door.
“I’ve broken my leg,” Esmé said. “This brave young man and his lady rescued me.”
“There have been quite a few injuries,” Linda replied. “Dr. Cranford is here so you’re in good hands. Thank you, Seth.”
Seth lay Esmé gently on the couch and there were a few people sitting around. Linda had tea and cakes on the table and some children sat drawing on paper which she had given them.
Dr. Cranford walked over to sit next to Esmé. “I’ll have to reduce the fracture,” he said.
“Pardon?” She looked bemused.
“Like this.” He stood, took the foot in his hands and with a deft movement straightened the leg which was pointing sideways from the ankle instead of forward.
“Did that hurt?” he asked.
“Not at all. You’re a clever man.”
“We’ll splint it just now. Nurse Creedon is bringing some materials from the surgery in Lone Pine which, fortunately, is still standing. A lot of houses have collapsed, however.” He looked at Seth. “How are you doing in Middle Pine?”
“Most of the houses are down,” Seth replied, looking at Esmé’s leg. He had done something similar to that with a couple of animals who had broken legs though it was a bit different with a person. But he needed to get back so he mustn’t hang around. He all but ran to the door and Linda Barnsley ran after him.
“She’s a lovely woman,” she said.
“Pardon?” He turned to look at her.
“Hannah. All the ladies insisted on going to Middle Pine and their future husbands are very fortunate to have them, which includes you. We may not be able to have the ceremony today unless, of course, the rescue speeds up.”
“That is quite understandable,” Seth replied and ran out to where the Reverend was waiting in his wagon. They started away from Lower Pine and within minutes were back in Middle Pine. He ran down the road to where Hannah was clearing rubble.
She was on her knees at this moment, the two spades beside her, her hair still held back in the way he had done it earlier. Seth Lomas was not the man for her, Seth thought. He would be better for one of the shorter women and a couple of them were that, he had noticed. One was slightly plump though not at all fat, the only lady he had seen clearly because of being sidetracked by the earthquake. The rest he would see later, which would include Rachel, of course. But now there was more work to do and he must concentrate on that. He must also not say anything about Seth Lomas because he didn’t want Hannah to feel nervous about her bridegroom to be.
Chapter 5
Seth would probably see if he could find his fiancé, Hannah thought as she watched him walk up the road with Esmé, and this would be a good time for him to do it because it must be very frustrating for him to be stuck with a lady who wasn’t his bride to be. Rosie, she felt sure, because she spoke of a Seth, and the other Seth would be the one to whom Hannah had written.
But Rosie didn’t seem to be as young as this Seth though looks could be deceiving. She definitely wasn’t nineteen years old, Hannah was sure, so maybe she had lied about her age. But Hannah’s Seth was a nice man, she had been able to ascertain from their letters, and she was looking forward to meeting him. Would he be as good looking as this Seth?
But her looks were not spectacular, anyway, so it wouldn’t matter. What did matter was what was inside a person and what was inside Seth she knew to be very acceptable from his letters.
It was a good thing he wasn’t the Seth with whom she was working, she thought, because he was probably a bit vain. Anyone who looked like him would be that. Tall, muscular, lean. He was all the romances of the day said a hero should be though the rest she did not know. He did appear to care about the people he was trying to rescue but then he would because he had lived here for quite a while.
It had seemed exciting when she set off from her original destination to make her way to New York and then on here. She had been on trains before but not on such a long journey. Maybe the excitement had faded just a tiny bit because of the length of the journey but overall she enjoyed herself and the presence of the other young ladies after she left New York had made it more interesting. The scenery was breathtaking and seemed to change constantly as they went from state to state.
But an earthquake? That was a totally different thing and something she would never have anticipated. There was no romance in an earthquake and did it mean that this area would have such things? They had already had one rather violent aftershock so would there be more? It was probably a vain hope to expect there not to be.
So why had she left relative security to come here? Maybe she needed to remind herself. Where she was didn’t have earthquakes. It was respectable and safe. It had shops, hotels and parks. It was where she ought to be now, not desperately trying to dig someone out of a flattened house.
But the only kind of men she met there were those who did not have marriage on their minds. There were plenty of them and they always seemed to be interested in her, something she could not quite understand because she never encouraged them. If she went to a dance she rarely sat. When she walked down the road she was often spoken to by some gentleman or other.
What was even worse was the way other women regarded her. As a threat, she sometimes felt, but why should they be threatened? She was no prettier than anyone else and she certainly did not want any of their husbands.
She dressed well, of course, and loved the fashions of the time. She enjoyed choosing new outfits and wearing them. She paid attention to her hair and tried different styles. She had a multitude of hats which meant that she could wear a different one each week to church. Because her family were well off she could afford such things and, anyway, her mother was fashionable too.
But her mother was married so that meant that nobody criticised what she wore. She was respectable and a pillar in the community and church. But Hannah also attended church and loved God though that didn’t seem to put any of her suitors off even when she mentioned it. Maybe it made them even more persistent.
Her father would protect her, of course, but she never confided in him concerning such things. Maybe she
felt a bit ashamed of it though she knew it wasn’t her fault. And some of the men who made advances were his peers which made it worse.
But she had mentioned it to her older sister, Rosemary, who was married to Antony Small and had two children, Cleo and Jane. She thought she would get advice from her because they had always got on well but Rosemary didn’t seem to take it seriously. Her mother she did not tell because she wasn’t sure what she would say about it. She might think Hannah was encouraging the men.
So marriage really was the only option and this was where women sought a husband, in the west. This was where a life of conjugal bliss could be found. The minister’s wife had told her that when she enquired. She had to look up conjugal but now she knew what it meant and now she was going to be in a conjugal relationship, that was, once this earthquake settled down.
She had not told her family what she intended to do and said she was going to stay with a friend. Once she was married it would all seem respectable and she would invite them to come to California. Seth would be glad to meet them and she could meet his family too.
The area was beautiful, she thought, and on their approach into the little town it had looked a nice place to stay. Which Lower Pine probably was because the people there had been sensible and not used adobe bricks for their houses. But here and probably also in Lone Pine there were only flattened buildings and the smell of death. Now there were people trapped under rubble who were dependent on those who were trying to rescue them. It was a scene of disaster, the likes of which she had never seen or imagined before. It was horrifying.
So where was her Seth digging at this moment and what did he look like? Was he as good looking as the other Seth? Was he as nice as he sounded in his letters? Was he as sweet? He certainly sounded good on paper. She stood to push her spade under a pile of bricks but they wouldn’t budge. She pushed a bit harder. She wasn’t weak, she knew, but going through piles of the stuff was very difficult.
“Let’s do it together.” She turned with relief at the sound of Seth’s voice and they pushed their spades under at the same time. The rubble lifted and they began to alternately dig and pull out rubble.
He was a strong man, Hannah thought, but probably not half as nice as her Seth. Her Seth wouldn’t feel she was bossing him around, which she felt sure this man had at first. He would kiss her and tell her she was beautiful, even if he didn’t think it. He would put her hair back less awkwardly when she asked him. She bent to scrabble at the earth as she heard a voice below and Seth dropped on his knees beside her.
“Lena!” A man raced down the road towards them, his expression distraught. He started to desperately pull away pieces of debris. “Lena! Are you there? Are you alright? Are the children alright?”
“Yes, but Jasmine has broken an arm. I’ve tried to get the rubble from above us but I’m frightened it will all collapse.”
“We’ll do it. Tell Jasmine Percy is alright but he’s broken his leg and can’t walk. He tried to but the bone is sticking out. Dr. Cranford is treating it. I told him I’ll look after things.”
“How is our house?”
“It’s still standing, probably because it’s made of wood. Thomas, George, Carol. Are you alright?”
“I’m frightened,” said a little voice.
“We’ll have you out in no time, honey. You don’t have to worry.” John looked at Seth. “What is the best way to go in, do you think?”
“Carefully,” Hannah said.
“Ma’am?”
“This is Hannah,” Seth said.
“How do you do. My name is John Lawson. I come from outside the village. My wife was visiting here.”
“I can see a bit of a gap,” Hannah said. “We need to pull the bricks aside slowly so it doesn’t collapse. If we can get a hole big enough to lift them out we should be alright. We have to be very careful though because everything is so precarious.”
“It’s very kind of you ladies to help,” John said, beginning to lift away pieces of rubble. “And not a very nice welcome for you. Catch that, Seth.” His tone was a bit desperate as a large piece of wall began to slip down and all three of them grabbed it to push it aside. John leaned his head into the hole which resulted.
He brought the children out one by one, slowly, carefully, and little George began to cry. Hannah dug into a pocket in her skirt.
“I found that,” she said, handing him a coin. “Would you like it?”
He sniffed and took it, his eyes large and soulful, and Hannah handed a coin each to the other two as they looked at her. The women climbed out, John lifted Jasmine and they all moved away from the house. As they did so the ground began to shake again and little George hung on to his mother.
“Take them to your house,” Seth said. “It will be safer. Or else to the vicarage. That is made of wood so it probably won’t collapse. If it does it won’t cause so much damage. The doctor is also there. It’s not really a time to be alone.”
“I think I’d like to go to the vicarage,” Jasmine said. “God is more likely to be there.”
“God is with us wherever we are,” Hannah said, standing. She lifted her spade and started to walk towards the next house. What would they find there, she thought. More trapped people and would anyone have died? So far there were no deaths, as far as she knew, but the couple of double storey houses she had seen would be worse unless the people were upstairs at the time.
Seth ran after her. “Are you sure you don’t want to go to the Reverend’s house?” he asked.
She frowned as she looked at him. “Why would I want to do that?” she said.
“The other ladies are going and there are a lot of men here now.”
“I don’t want to go,” she said. “Have many gone to see how things are in Lone Pine?”
“I just spoke to Rex. It’s very bad there, he said, but all the men have gone from Lower Pine and a few from here. Also the men in Lone Pine who are not affected are helping. Probably many of their houses have fallen but a lot of them work outside the town.”
“We have to keep doing what we can,” Hannah said. “And we have to get everybody out quickly because it’s terrifying for them.”
They worked down the houses systematically while the other men did the same in different directions. Seth wrote names as they went along and Hannah could see Rex also doing it further along the village where he was working.
It was a long and laborious task and the time seemed to pass slowly. It was hot. The work was slow. There were quite a few injuries. Reverend Barnsley kept coming back to the village and taking people to Lower Pine. The ladies in the houses there, he said, were taking in families and said they would keep them until somewhere could be found for them to stay or they could rebuild. He was now going to Lone Pine to collect some more people because only a couple of houses had survived. Those who were able had taken people to the surgery but they would need food which he was taking to them.
He was wonderful, Hannah thought, and so were the others in Lower Pine. So was Mrs. Barnsley because she was taking everyone in and organising who would go where, the Reverend had said. Would that happen where she came from because it was a big place and people wouldn’t know one another as well as they appeared to here?
She bent over the house where she was working, her eyes half on the men who worked on the other side of the road. They were attaching large pieces of wall to the horses and getting them to pull them away, moving on and doing the same to all the houses. It made things a bit easier though the final clearing had to be done by hand.
There was a faint cry from below which was more than worrying. It sounded as if whoever was there was deeper than most of them had been. Hannah turned to look at Seth as he knelt beside her.
“Did this house have two storeys?” she asked.
“I’m not sure. By the size of the rubble I think maybe it did.” He beckoned Rex. “Can you get the horses to haul off a lot of this rubble?” he asked.
“Yes, of course.”
Hannah stood back while they did it though every couple of minutes she asked them to stop in order for her to call down. Each time the voice below became clearer, much to her relief. But she had no details as to the person’s welfare and maybe there was more than one. The pile of rubble slowly decreased until they reached ground level.
“We’re in the cellar.” A voice came from below.
“Only one person lives here,” Rex said. “He must have visitors.”
A lady, they were to find, who came out with her face covered. The man put his arm round her protectively and both were covered in dust.
“I want to go to the vicarage in Lower Pine,” he said. “Can the Reverend take us? Is he anywhere around?”
“He’s just come into the village,” Hannah replied, looking down the road. She took the woman’s hand for an instant. “I’m pleased to meet you. My name is Hannah.”
The woman nodded, walked towards the Reverend’s wagon and the man followed her. “We want to get married,” he said, turning back for an instant. “It was my fault that we didn’t before.”
“Well, if it took an earthquake,” Seth muttered.
“Pardon?” Hannah asked.
“Just a joke.” He moved towards the next house, obviously a bit embarrassed, and Hannah followed him. She wasn’t as naive as he might think, she thought, and she could only be pleased for the woman. She was relieved when Rex said that the occupants had been accounted for.
But as she went to move on she heard a faint sound and fell on her knees to listen. It was a meow and there was a cat in there. She beckoned to Seth.
“There’s a cat,” she said.
Now he was going to say they couldn’t waste their time on an animal and she was all ready with a reply. Of course animals were important. How could anyone think they weren’t? Nobody had a right to dismiss them and she wasn’t leaving until they could get it out.
Seth knelt beside her once again, in the way he had many times. She looked at him briefly. He really was good looking but he hadn’t a right to dismiss animals. He began to remove rubble, his face screwed in concentration.
Lone Pine Bride (The Brides Of Lone Pine Book 1) Page 4
