For a terrible moment she thought he was dead and her breath hitched in her throat, but as she struggled to free him she heard a faint moan, and she used all her strength to drag the thick branch away.

‘Rob.’ She bent over him, putting her lips close to his ear. ‘Can you hear me?’

Another faint groan made her heart beat even faster as she attempted to lift him from the muddy bank, but he was too heavy and reluctantly she abandoned her effort. There was another and more urgent call on her energies and that was the terrified horse. He was thrashing about as he tried to free himself from the remaining shaft, and Judy raised herself to her feet. She made her way with difficulty over the debris, and despite the pain in her ankle she managed at last to calm the frightened animal. It took a while to free him from the tangled harness, but eventually her numbed fingers managed to undo the straps that held the traces in place and the horse bolted into the darkness, leaving her alone with an injured man.

She threw back her head and screamed with frustration. If she had managed better she might have ridden off to find help, but now they were marooned in a remote country lane, surrounded on all sides by darkness. She limped back to where Rob lay and she dragged the rug from the chaise. Even though it was sodden it made a pillow for his head, and she huddled beside him, attempting to use the warmth from her own chilled body to protect him from the bitter cold. A further examination in the flickering light of the carriage lamp did not reveal any obvious injuries and the only blood she could see was on a gash on his forehead.

‘It’s all my fault, Rob,’ she whispered, chafing his cold hands. ‘If I hadn’t panicked and made you drive out into the storm this wouldn’t have happened.’

He groaned again and this time his eyelids flickered and opened. She touched his cheek gently. ‘Rob, speak to me.’

He muttered something unintelligible and closed his eyes again. Judy gave him a shake.

‘Don’t do this. You can’t go to sleep here. You’ll die of cold.’ She was suddenly desperate. It was happening all over again – he would be crippled for life, as it had seemed to be with Jack – and it was all her fault. She shook him harder this time. ‘Open your eyes, Rob. Talk to me, please.’

‘Stop nagging me.’

The words were faint but clear, and tears of sheer relief rolled down Judy’s cheeks.

‘You’ll be all right. Can you move at all?’

He opened his eyes, frowning up at her. ‘What happened?’

‘I don’t know exactly, it was all so sudden. I think the fallen tree must have crashed onto your side of the chaise and toppled it over. You ended up on the ground, and I freed the horse but the wretched animal bolted. I’m afraid we’re stuck here until a passer-by finds us.’