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The moon dipped behind a cloud and she was plunged into darkness. There was that sound again—a child's voice, a plea for help. Where was it coming from? Where was Mark?

Sarah plunged forward, heedless of the water swirling around her legs. The current was fast, shocking in its power, and she knew that she had to find that child before it was too late. Some dreadful instinct told her that time was running out.

'Where are you? Call out to me. Let me know where you are.' She moved onwards, her legs dragging as the force of the water tried to push her back. It was rising as she battled on, and now it almost reached her waist, making her shudder, her body shaking with cold.

The cry came again, more faint this time, losing power as though it was being swallowed up, and she turned towards the sound. 'Try to hold on,' she called. 'I'm coming. I'll get you.'

She could hear the rush of water now, and she looked around and despaired. Then the moon came into view once more, and Sarah let her glance move over the expanse of water in front of her and all around her. She caught a brief glimpse of something light-coloured then it disappeared. What was that? Was it a child? She waded towards it.

Bending low, she reached down. Her fingers encountered something cold and clammy, and she suddenly felt sick. It was a child's body tossed casually by the raging water against the hedgerow in a tangle of arms and legs. Sarah stared down at the child and saw a girl's face, lifeless, staring blankly upwards. She bent and gathered her up in her arms, but the small figure was limp like a rag doll and chilled to the bone.

'Sarah?' Mark's voice came to her from several feet away. She looked around but she couldn't see him. Hearing his voice made her realise that he was safe at least, and that knowledge helped to sustain her.

'I'm here,' she said, her voice thready. 'I've found a child. I'm going to try and get her back to dry ground.'

'I'll get to you as soon as I can.'

She struggled to hold the child aloft while she battled the surge of water. Her limbs felt like lead, and she had to halt in order to steady herself every now and again, but she focussed on getting back to Mark's car. He had parked it well away from the water, and she needed to get there fast.

At last she reached drier ground. Here she was safe from the floodwater, and she laid the little girl down on the verge, kneeling down beside her, struggling to get her breath after her exertions.

The child seemed to be about six years old, she reckoned, but she wasn't breathing and there was no pulse, and Sarah was panicky with the thought that there was nothing she could do to save her.

She checked the little girl's mouth for debris and then, when she was satisfied that it was clear, she tilted the child's head back a little, and breathed into her mouth, stopping to press down on her chest with the palm of her hand every now and again. She continued like that for some time, fearing that it was already too late, but unwilling to give up.

There was a movement beside her, and she looked up to see that Mark had returned. He was carrying a woman, and now he laid her down carefully alongside the girl.

'Is she still alive?' Mark looked at the child, his expression etched with concern.

'She isn't breathing. I'm doing what I can for her. Have you called for an ambulance?' She went on with the compressions while she was talking, then blew air into the child's mouth once more.

'Yes, I did that as soon as I saw that the mother was in a bad way.' Mark was walking around to the back of his car and Sarah heard him open the boot. He came back a moment later and placed an oxygen mask over the woman's face.

'How is she doing?' Sarah asked.

'She's breathing, and she seems to be coming round now. She must have stumbled and lost her footing somehow, because when I found her she was lying slumped across a low-lying tree branch. There's a gash on her head, and I think she must have been knocked out for a while.'

The woman moved, trying to push the mask away. 'Where's Vicky?' she managed. 'My little girl—what's happening to her?'

'We have her here and we're doing what we can for her,' Mark said. 'Try not to upset yourself and concentrate on breathing deeply.'

The child suddenly spluttered but then lay still, and Sarah caught her breath. 'I need to intubate her,' she said. 'Do you have an airway in your car?'

'Yes, I brought my emergency kit from the boot. It's here.' He shone the torch so that Sarah could see what she was doing, and now she worked quickly and carefully to insert the endotracheal tube and airway. As soon as she'd finished, she covered the girl's mouth with the mask and ventilation bag and started to apply positive pressure, pumping oxygen into the child's lungs.

'I'll get some blankets,' Mark said. 'The ambulance should be here any minute.'

They did what they could to keep the mother and child warm until the ambulance came. The little girl was in a bad way but at least she was breathing now. Sarah was afraid that she was suffering from hypothermia and they needed to get her to hospital quickly. Her spirits lifted when she heard the ambulance in the distance.

The paramedics worked quickly to attend to their patients, and Sarah went with them in the ambulance so that she could look after the little girl on the journey. The mother appeared to be stable for the moment.

'I'll follow you in the car,' Mark said.

Once they were at the hospital, the emergency team took over. 'We need to get both of them warmed up,' the doctor said. 'Perhaps you should go and get yourselves dried out. We'll let you know what's happening.'

Sarah looked down at her once beautiful blue dress. It was streaked with dirt and soaked through, and she was shivering with cold. Mark hadn't fared any better. He, too, was wet through and through, and he sent her a rueful glance.

'He's probably right.'

'I'm not going anywhere until I know that the little girl is all right,' she said.

He nodded, but turned away and left the room for a moment. A short time later he was back, and he draped a blanket around Sarah's shoulders. 'You're wetter than the fish in my pond,' he murmured. 'I thought I told you to stay in the car while I checked things out.'

'I'm glad that I didn't.'

He gave a crooked grin. 'Actually, so am 1.1 saw that the woman's car had been abandoned in the middle of the flow of water. The doors were open, and I realised that she had been in her car when she was caught up in the flood. She must have decided to walk to safety with her daughter, but the sudden rush of water overwhelmed them as the river burst its banks. I found the woman and managed to lift her clear, but I didn't know about the little girl until it was too late. She must have been swept along with the current.'

'Do you think that they'll be all right?'

'I do. The child probably survived because the water was so cold. It slows the metabolism and helps to prevent damage to the brain. They're both in good hands now. I'm sure that they'll come through this.'

The emergency doctor agreed with him. He came and found them some time later and said, 'We're going to admit both of them for observation, but things are looking good. We've been attempting to bring their temperatures back to normal, and they've started to respond to treatment. I don't think that they'll have suffered any ill effects from this.' He smiled. 'It was lucky for them that you two happened to be around at the time. If I were you, I would go home and get yourselves warmed up.'

Mark nodded. 'Thanks for letting us know.' He glanced at Sarah. 'He's right in what he says. It's time that I was getting you home. If you stay in those cold wet things for much longer, you'll end up in a hospital bed yourself.'

He turned her around and led her away. She was still wrapped up in the blanket, but when they went out into the corridor he put his arms around her and hugged her close. She guessed that he was just trying to instil some heat into her, but all the same it felt good to have him hold her that way. He was strong and protective and she wanted to stay locked in his arms for a long, long time.

'Where
are we going?' Sarah peered out of the car window into the darkness, trying to work out the route that they were taking, but Mark had turned the car off the main road. She didn't know this road. 'This isn't the way to my father's house.' She shivered, her clothes clinging to her damply and sending a chill through her despite the covering blanket.

Mark shot her a quick glance. 'It'll be quicker if we go to my house first. It's only five minutes away, and I think it will be better if we get you warm and dry as soon as possible. I'll make sure that you get back home, don't worry.'

'I didn't realise that you lived this close to the hospital. I always thought that you had a house out in the country.'

'I did, but when I took over as consultant I decided that I would be better off with something nearer. I was lucky in that this house came on the market at the right time. It's still fairly rural and when I saw it I realised that it was just what I was looking for.'

He turned the car onto a country lane and a little while later he slowed down and said, 'Here we are.'

He pulled into a wide driveway, and when Sarah stepped out of the car and looked around she saw that lanterns illuminated the porch and the side of the house, providing a welcoming glow.

It was a sprawling building, stone built, with roofs set at different levels and lovely Georgian windows overlooking the fields opposite. The house was colourwashed with white paint and bordered by an array of shrubs and climbing plants. A low wall, also painted white, fronted the building and enclosed a neat cottage garden.

Sarah didn't see many other houses around, and this one nestled comfortably in a corner of the rural landscape, set back from the road.

She stared for a moment. 'It's beautiful,' she said. A gust of cold wind ran through her and she shivered, pulling the blanket more closely around her.

'Come on, let's get you inside.' He led the way, opening the front door and showing her into a wide hall. 'Through here,' he murmured, indicating a room off the hall.

It was a large sitting room, warm from central heating, but he went and lit the fire at the hearth so that the glow of flame brightened up the room. She went and stood in front of the fireplace, letting the warmth surround her.

Mark said, 'I'll go and make us a hot drink, and I'll see if I can find a change of clothes for you. I can let you have a T-shirt and an overshirt and a sweater, probably, and there should be some of my cousin's jeans around somewhere. She's about your size.'

'Does your cousin stay here sometimes, then?'

He nodded. 'She came for a visit recently with my uncle and aunt. We all get on well together and they decided to stay for a few days because they wanted to do a bit of shopping over the weekend. There are enough rooms here for me to accommodate them easily enough. After they had gone home I noticed that Carol had left a few odds and ends behind. I phoned her about them, but she said not to worry. I know that she won't mind if you borrow them.'

He glanced at her searchingly. 'You know, you're welcome to stay, if you'd like. It's very late, and you must be worn out by now.'

She shook her head. 'I don't think I'd better do that.'

He frowned. 'Are you sure? You don't have to be at work in the morning, do you?'

'No, but Jamie will wake up and wonder where I am. I don't want to change his routine any more than necessary. He's been through more than enough changes lately.'

'That's true, I suppose.' He waved her to an armchair. 'Why don't you sit down for a while and try to get warm, while I go and organise things?'

She did as he had suggested, enjoying the heat from the fire, and he was back within a couple of minutes, bearing a steaming cup of hot chocolate. 'Drink that,' he said, 'then I can show you the bathroom, and you can get changed if you'd like.'

'Thanks.' She nodded, sipping gratefully at the drink. 'You're soaked through yourself,' she said. 'The same applies to you—you ought to get into something dry.'

He nodded. 'I will in a while. Let's just get you sorted out first.'

He showed her to the bathroom a few minutes later. 'Take your time,' he said. 'You can shower or take a bath, if you'd like. There are fresh towels in the cupboard.'

'Thanks, I think I'll do that.' She looked down at herself. 'I'll be glad to wash away some of the grime.'

He nodded and gave a quick smile. 'Help yourself to whatever you need, and come downstairs when you're ready. There's no need to rush. I'm going to take a shower in the other bathroom along the hall.'

Sarah took her time bathing. It was good to lie back in the warm water and feel the heat seep back into her body. She looked around the room as she lay there. It was a sumptuous bathroom, the height of luxury, beautifully tiled, with glass shelving and fittings that gleamed. Everything about Mark's home was perfect.

When she had finished bathing, she dried herself and began to dress. There was a fresh pack of underwear, still in the Cellophane wrapper, and she guessed his cousin must have left this behind, too, after her shopping spree. She would buy replacements for her.

Mark was in the kitchen when she went back downstairs. It was a large, square room, with every modern appliance you could wish for and an array of fitted cupboards and work surfaces. It was all smooth lines and tiled surfaces, with lovely touches in the decorative corner units and ornately carved shelving nooks.

He looked at her and smiled. 'Do you feel better for that?' He checked her over. 'The jeans aren't a bad fit, are they? My shirt might be a bit oversized, but it looks great on you.'

She made a wry face. 'I feel much more human now, thanks.' He didn't look bad himself. He had changed into chinos and a casual shirt, and he looked fresh and clean and full of energy once more. How did he manage it when these were the early hours of the morning? She was a wreck. She might look all right on the outside, but her nerves had been shattered after what she had gone through.