A messenger appeared in the dawn light. He brought news from the British camp. Help was a day’s march away. Sir Campbell Shakespear, military advisor to General Pollock, was on his way with a force of six hundred Kazilbashi cavalry to protect them.
The camp was roused. If they could get over the pass and to the next fort, eleven miles away, they would be in less danger from attack. Sultan Jan’s troops – regrouping in the Hindu Kush – were planning a reprisal.
They struck camp and moved on with renewed urgency. The Kaloo Pass at fourteen thousand feet left them breathless and labouring in the morning sun but they decided not to rest or stop to eat until they got down to the fort. By afternoon, sitting exhausted in the shade of the fort walls they were overjoyed at the sight of Campbell Shakespear arriving with a troop of Afghan horsemen.
John and Pottinger went ahead to greet them – John saluting his fellow Kazilbashis – and the pair rode in with Campbell Shakespear. The new arrival was soon surrounded by excited women and officers wanting to hear all his news.
Pollock’s army, having fought its way up the Khoord-Kabul Pass, had defeated Akbar’s Ghilzai force and reached Kabul three days ago. The British ensign was flying over the Balla Hissar. General Nott had reached the plain of Kabul several days earlier.
‘Then why did he not send troops to free us?’ Pottinger asked.
Pollock’s advisor looked embarrassed. ‘He decided not to risk his men.’
‘Not to risk his men?’ Florentia cried indignantly. ‘So he leaves it to Afghans to save us? What sort of commander is he?’
‘Some of his officers protested that they wanted to be sent but he told them no. That’s why I volunteered to come at once,’ said Shakespear, ‘and General Pollock agreed. I’ve asked that a brigade be sent as soon as possible to protect us through the Kohistan and hold the passes on the way back to Kabul. In the meantime, I can lend you some of my horses so you can make quicker progress.’
For the following two days, the former prisoners and their Afghan escort pressed on through the mountains, bivouacking at night and relying on the generosity of local Kazilbashis for sustenance. When they arrived once more at Istalif, Aziz laid on another feast. Hearing that Alice’s daughter had been found and reunited with her mother, Aziz had sweetmeats brought out for all the children and a special cake for Lotty. The girl seemed bemused by the fuss but ate the cake with relish. Alice was thankful to see that her daughter’s appetite and health – apart from lice in her hair – had not suffered in captivity.
Two days later, the convoy of former captives was out of the mountains and crossing the plain. In the heat of midday, the vanguard of officers who had been scouting ahead came cantering back with news. A cloud of dust on the horizon was a column of British troops moving towards them.
Within the hour, they were surrounded by cheering men of the 13th Light Infantry led by Sir Robert Sale.
Dinah was the first to fall into her father’s arms, weeping with relief. Then the hardened commander was embracing his wife and being introduced to his new granddaughter.
Alice could not prevent tears of emotion pouring down her cheeks at the sight of Florentia being reunited with her husband and his obvious delight at finding his family unharmed. How they deserved their happiness after these terrible months of separation and danger!
They arrived at Sale’s camp to the sound of a royal salute being fired from the guns of an artillery mountain-train and all the officers rushed out to welcome and congratulate the rescued. That night, they bivouacked under the trees. Alice overheard some of the officers talking about her; they were wondering why her husband had not come to meet her. She felt humiliation that they should pity her but was almost faint with relief that Vernon had not come. By all accounts he had dramatically recovered from illness and was now attached to Nott’s camp since being freed from the fort at Noor. She felt a rising panic at the thought of having to face him again.
John appeared at the edge of the awning and nodded for her to join him. Settling down Lotty in her blanket to sleep, Alice asked Emily to keep an eye on the girl for a few minutes. In the dark, she followed John behind a tree.
‘What do we do next?’ Alice asked him.
‘I’m to report to Pollock when we arrive at the main camp tomorrow,’ John said.
‘Why so soon?’ Alice asked in dismay.
‘Sale says that Pollock is worried about trouble in Kabul – thinks that Nott is encouraging acts of revenge and looting,’ John told her. ‘Some of Nott’s own officers are complaining that he’s torching villages and turning a blind eye to attacks on local women.’
Alice gave an impatient sigh. ‘Hasn’t there been enough savagery? Are we to act no better?’
‘That’s what Pollock thinks,’ said John. ‘He wants a response in proportion to the deeds done. He’s ordering that the Char Chouk, where MacNaughten’s body was hung, be demolished. But not for every Johnny soldier to be allowed to run amok. He’ll want me in Kabul to make sure that our Kazilbashi allies are protected. And I want to see that Rajban and his family are safe – I left them in the care of Khan Shereen Khan.’
Alice tried to smother her fear. ‘I’d hoped you could be with me to face Vernon.’
‘I did too,’ John said, frowning in concern. ‘Stay with the Aytons until I can be with you. From what I can gather, Buckley’s been at Nott’s camp since the captives at Noor were freed last week. Make sure you stay at Pollock’s camp in the meantime.’ He gripped her hands in his, willing her to have courage. ‘We will be together,’ John promised. ‘You, me and Lotty. That is what you still want, isn’t it?’
‘Of course it is,’ said Alice, ‘more than anything.’
Quickly he pulled her to him and kissed her hard on the lips.
‘This nightmare will soon be over,’ he said, ‘and we can begin our life together – just as we should have done long ago.’
Alice could hardly bear to let go of his hold. Reluctantly, she did so. They exchanged loving smiles and then she hurried back to Lotty.
The following day, they marched past a strangely quiet Kabul. There was no sound of commerce or bustle, just a brooding, ominous silence, as if the city were holding its breath.
In contrast to this was the reception of the freed captives at Pollock’s camp on the slopes of the Siah Sung hills opposite Kabul. They were greeted by a twenty-one-gun salute and fêted like heroes and heroines returning from beyond the grave.
Alice and Lotty shared a tent with the Aytons. Surrounded by large numbers of well-armed troops with plentiful supplies, Alice went to sleep that night feeling that her daughter was safer than at any point on their hazardous journey. But the next day she could find no sign of John, and Sandy confirmed her fears that he had been sent to Kabul to help keep order for the beleaguered Amir Fateh Jung against remnants of Akbar’s supporters.
Abruptly and without warning, five days later, Vernon appeared in the camp. Alice and Emily were resting from the midday heat when he marched into their tent. Struggling to her feet, Emily greeted him nervously and quickly left them alone. Alice could hardly breathe for the rapid hammering of her heart; just the sight of him made her chest tight with fear. He looked much healthier than when she had last seen him – fuller faced and walking with a swagger – and she imagined how he was enjoying being a soldier again. She wondered if he had been indulging in any of the orgy of revenge that Nott’s men were rumoured to be carrying out.
‘My dear, you look terrible,’ he said with a look of dismay, making no attempt to touch her. ‘Your complexion is quite ruined and I hardly recognised you in your outlandish clothes. I thought I’d walked into some native quarter.’
‘It’s all we have,’ said Alice huskily, her mouth dry. How typical of Vernon to make a disparaging comment instead of welcoming his wife back safely. Yet his lack of sympathy gave her courage; if he thought so little of her, he would let her go without a fight.
‘Well, we’ll have to change that,’ said Vernon
. ‘I’ll order one of the durzis at Nott’s camp to make you up something suitable as soon as you’re settled there.’
‘Nott’s camp?’
‘Of course,’ said Vernon. ‘We can’t expect the Aytons to keep you – it must be very cramped here.’
‘I’d rather stay here – and Emily and Sandy don’t mind—’
‘But I do.’ His look was sharp. ‘It looks like I can’t take care of my own family. Now where is my daughter?’
‘Sleeping,’ said Alice, moving protectively towards Lotty, who was lying on a mattress next to Alice’s.
Vernon stared down at the girl. She was pink-cheeked and her damp blonde curls were stuck to her temples. Her mouth was slightly parted in slumber. Alice wondered if Vernon felt the same hard tug of possessiveness that she did.
Suddenly Lotty’s eyes fluttered open. They widened at the sight of the tall man looming over her. Alice reached out, fearing the girl might scream. But Vernon was quicker. He scooped up the child into his arms and planted a kiss on her forehead.
‘My darling Charlotte!’ His voice sounded hoarse. ‘How your papa has missed you!’
‘Papa?’ Lotty echoed in bemusement.
‘Yes, my little princess. Papa has come to keep you safe. Your naughty mother let the bad men take you but that is never going to happen again, is it? Papa is going to take very good care of you.’
‘Vernon, don’t say such things,’ Alice protested.
He shot her a dismissive look. ‘But it’s true, isn’t it? You can’t be trusted on your own to keep our cherished daughter safe.’
Alice felt wounded. ‘If you cherished her so much, why didn’t you make any attempt to go after her and save her? You let others do that.’
His look turned icy. ‘Oh, I’ve heard how Sinclair is taking credit for rescuing Charlotte – he and his heathen friends.’
‘He risked his life for Lotty,’ Alice hissed, her anger igniting.
‘And I wonder why?’ snapped Vernon. ‘No doubt you paid him generously with your favours.’
Alice flinched.
‘I thought as much,’ Vernon sneered. ‘But I’ll not have you whoring under my nose in the British camp with that man. You’ll keep your distance.’
Alice summoned all her courage. ‘John and I love each other – we always have done. When this nightmare is over and we’re back in India, I intend on leaving you.’
She thought she saw a flicker of surprise cross his face but it was soon replaced by his habitual sneer towards her.
‘I don’t think so,’ he said.
‘I want us to live separate lives,’ Alice said with determination. ‘You don’t love me, Vernon, and I don’t think you ever have. You certainly don’t treat me with the kindness and respect that a husband should. I know now that you only married me for my money.’
He gave a mirthless laugh. ‘What a pathetic romantic you are, Alice. Marriage has nothing to do with love. It is only ever a contract over wealth and siring the next generation.’
‘Then you will have to go looking elsewhere for both of those. You have spent most of my fortune already – and I will not be forced into your bed again.’
‘You better be careful what threats you make,’ he said, his voice steely, ‘unless you want to lose Charlotte for good.’
Alice’s insides went cold. ‘What do you mean by that?’
Vernon clutched the girl tighter and faced Alice with a look of loathing. ‘If you run off with Sinclair you will forfeit all right to her as a mother.’
‘Don’t say that.’ Alice felt faint. ‘Lotty needs me.’
‘What Charlotte needs is my protection,’ he said. ‘You have shown yourself incapable of giving it. First you risk her life by bringing her to this god-forsaken place and then you allow barbarous tribesmen to steal her away.’
‘You know I couldn’t have stopped that!’ Alice cried.
‘My daughter will never be put in such peril again. She’s a Buckley, and from now on she will be treated as such – not dressed up like some native urchin and exposed to your loose morals. So don’t think for one moment I would allow you to take her from me and let Sinclair step into my shoes as her father.’
‘You’ve never shown the slightest interest in Lotty,’ Alice accused him. ‘You rejected her for being a girl and made it quite plain you wanted nothing to do with her. This is all about punishing me for loving John, isn’t it? But if you deny Lotty her mother, then she is the one who will suffer.’
‘The choice is yours, Alice. If you love the girl as much as you say, then you’ll stay with her – and with me. Because I promise you this: if you leave me, you will never set eyes on her again.’
Alice stepped towards Lotty and held out her arms. She could see the girl’s chin trembling; she was confused and upset by their arguing.
‘Please, Vernon, give her to me.’
But he held her firm. Lotty began to whimper. ‘You must promise first to come with me and not make a fuss,’ he bargained.
Alice was appalled at his threats; she knew that he wasn’t bluffing. In that moment she realised that Vernon would do anything to thwart her and John being together – to make them both suffer – and he knew that the only way of getting her co-operation was to deny her a life with her precious daughter. Even if John had been there to defend her, he could have done nothing to protect Lotty. The girl was the possession of Vernon and the Buckleys. If she left her husband, Alice knew that she would have no legal right to take Lotty. What a pipe-dream it had been, thinking that Vernon would care so little for the girl that he would be happy to see the back of them both. This was about Buckley pride – and revenge against John.
After the trauma of Lotty’s kidnapping, Alice knew she could not bear to be separated from her daughter ever again; her life would not be worth living. The truth hit her like a blow to the stomach. She would do anything to keep her child – even stay with Vernon – and her hateful husband knew it was her one weakness.
Alice swallowed her disgust. ‘I promise to come with you to Nott’s camp,’ she said. ‘Now give her to me.’
‘Walk out in front of me and say goodbye to your friends,’ Vernon ordered, ‘and then you will have her.’
Eyes smarting with tears of anger and humiliation, Alice turned and did as she was told.
Emily tried to protest at Alice’s going. ‘Wouldn’t it be better to keep the children together, Major Buckley? Alexander and Lotty are such friends.’
‘It won’t be for long, Mrs Ayton,’ Vernon said with a reassuring smile. ‘But you can understand how I want to have my daughter with me after all this time of separation.’
‘But, Alice . . . ?’ Emily gave her a worried look.
‘My wife is in complete agreement with me,’ said Vernon. ‘Aren’t you, my dear?’ He gave Alice a warning look.
Alice swallowed down words of rebellion. All she wanted was to have Lotty safe in her arms again.
‘Yes,’ said Alice. She tried to convey to Emily with her expression that she was going under duress but her friend just looked baffled.
Alice bade Gita collect up their few possessions and then she was following Vernon out of the camp.
CHAPTER 42
General Nott’s Camp, outside Kabul, October 1842
Cut off from her friends and any attempt to get a message to John, Alice submitted to Vernon’s wishes. She and Lotty were fitted with new petticoats, dresses and shoes. Alice found them painful and restrictive in comparison with the loose comfortable Afghan clothing and was thankful that the worst of the summer heat was over. Her only defiance was to carry John’s Spanish coin in her pocket and touch it frequently as a talisman of hope.
It was early October and to her relief Vernon was largely away on forays with his new cavalry unit, putting down the last resistance of Akbar’s forces. The short, brutal acts of retaliation soon had Akbar’s supporters in retreat.
Vernon came back with spoils – jewellery and silks – for which he expect
ed her to be grateful. Alice refused to even touch them, knowing how they must have come from the wives and families of plundered chiefs. She slipped a necklace to Gita – Alice had insisted that Lotty’s ayah and sons come with her from Pollock’s camp – and told her faithful servant to keep it to sell if she was ever in need.
‘That murdering Ghilzai savage, Abdullah, is dead,’ Vernon told Alice with glee. ‘They say his widow has taken up the resistance. As if we British are going to be cowed by some young woman in a veil!’
Alice knew that Vernon relished the death of this chief above all others, for he was the brother of Vernon’s murdered mistress, Raiza. Perhaps her husband had feared that Abdullah might come seeking his revenge for Vernon seducing his sister and dishonouring their tribe. Now, with the warrior chief slain, Vernon could sleep more easily.
Alice suspected that Vernon forced himself on the women he robbed. It sickened her to the core to think that he might do so but he had not ordered her into his bed as she had feared. He let her sleep with Lotty – guarded as they were day and night – and showed no interest in her sexually. Alice wondered if the thought of her and John being lovers had revolted Vernon as much as his philandering had her. She just prayed that his disgust of her continued.
‘All that needs to happen now,’ said Vernon, ‘is to reduce Kabul to ashes and then we can all go home with our heads held high.’
‘But Pollock doesn’t want that to happen,’ said Alice.
He shot her a look. ‘How would you know?’
Alice looked away. She must learn not to say what came into her head. She would bide her time, allowing Vernon to think she was cowed by him. Once they were gone from Afghanistan, she would think of ways of making her and Lotty’s situation better.
‘Anyway, it’s no concern of yours,’ said Vernon with a dismissive wave of the hand. ‘Tomorrow, they are going to blow up the Great Bazaar and then we’ll have some sport.’
In the Far Pashmina Mountains Page 49
