Moonflower Madness by Margaret Pemberton Page A

as the first-aid box amongst the stores.
    The Chinese were standing immobile, the expression on their faces one of alarm.
    â€˜There’s been an accident,’ she said briefly. ‘Can you boil some water and make some tea?’
    She wasn’t sure if Zachary Cartwright would need boiling water for whatever he was about to do to Charles’ arm, but she was certainly in need of a cup of tea.
    The first-aid box, with a vivid red cross painted on the lid, was easily found, and by the time Zachary had helped Charles into camp and seated him in one of the canvas chairs, Gianetta had it open and at his side.
    â€˜Is there any brandy?’ she asked Zachary. ‘The Chinese are boiling water for tea, but …’
    â€˜There’s brandy in my saddle-bag,’ Zachary said briefly. ‘There’s no need for tea.’
    â€˜Oh yes, there is,’ she retorted spiritedly. ‘ I want the tea!’
    He looked towards her, his eyebrows raised, a flicker of grudging amusement in his dark eyes. ‘Yes,’ he said. ‘Of course.’
    To her stunned surprise, she found herself flashing him a smile before she hurried off to search his saddle-bag for the brandy. When she returned, Zachary had removed Charles’ shirt, and Charles’face was grey, his jaw clenched against the pain.
    â€˜It’s a compound fracture,’ Zachary was saying. ‘You’re going to have to decide whether you want me to do my best with it and continue with the expedition, or whether you want to return to Chung King for proper medical attention.’
    â€˜What will happen if I stay?’ Charles asked, white-lipped.
    â€˜It will heal. Healthy bones always do. But it will never be the same as it was before.’
    â€˜And if I go back to Chung King?’
    â€˜Then you’ll be able to have the bone set correctly. In three months’time it will be as good as new.’
    â€˜How will I get back to Chung King? I won’t be able to ride.’
    â€˜You will,’ Zachary said, taking a sling and bandages out of the first-aid box. Although Charles seemed not to notice, there was a subtle change in the inflection of his voice.
    Gianetta looked across at him. Charles was sucking his breath in sharply, clenching his teeth together as Zachary began to bind the arm in a secure sling. He wasn’t going to say so, but she knew that he was disappointed in Charles.
    If Zachary had fractured his arm she knew he would never, for one moment, have considered calling off the expedition and returning for medical help. Somehow or other, he would have continued. But Charles wasn’t Zachary. His commitment to the expedition was not as fierce, or as obsessed. To Charles, the expedition was merely an adventure, an adventure that had gone wrong and that he now wanted to have nothing more to do with.
    â€˜Drink the brandy, Charles,’ Zachary said to him as Gianetta poured a generous measure into one of the tin drinking mugs. ‘I’m going to bind the sling very firmly against your body. You’ll be able to balance and ride with your good arm once the shock has worn off.’
    Charles downed the brandy, closing his eyes against the pain as Zachary began to bind his arm into position.
    After a while Charles said, ‘So we’re all going back? We’re all going to return to Chung King?’
    Zachary secured the broad bandaging with a safety-pin and stood up, looking down at him. ‘I don’t think there’s any need,’ he said at last. ‘Gianetta has to return, and she might as well do so with you. Two of the Chinese can go with you. I’ll carry on as intended and pick up replacement men at the next town.’
    At the unexpected use of her Christian name, Gianetta’s eyes flew open wide. It was the first time he had referred to her as anything but Miss Hollis. She wondered if he was aware of his lapse into familiarity and if so, what had occasioned