Under a Siena Sun (Escape to Tuscany Book 1) Read online

  Under a Siena Sun

  Cover

  Title Page

  Dedication

  Prologue

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Chapter 29

  Chapter 30

  Copyright

  Cover

  Table of Contents

  Start of Content

  I finished writing this book one month before Covid-19 made an appearance in our lives. In the light of what has happened since then, I am immensely pleased that I chose to make my main character a doctor. This book is dedicated to all those selfless front-line health workers who have been devoting themselves to keeping us safe. Thank you.

  Prologue

  Lucy knew it was time to leave when a burst of machine-gun fire smashed the windows and tore through the tin roof of the clinic. They had been hearing sporadic gunfire for hours now, gradually approaching, but this was the closest by far. As pieces of molten metal and glass showered down into the room, she took refuge under the operating table and clenched her teeth to stifle the scream that had been building inside her. She was bathed in sweat, partly because of the high temperature here in the tropics and partly, she knew full well, out of sheer unadulterated terror. She glanced across at Nicole and Geneviève, both huddled together under the worktop, between the steriliser and the drug cabinet. They looked as frightened as she felt.

  ‘You okay?’ She was surprised to hear her voice sounding, not normal, but not nearly as raucous as she had feared. She saw Nicole nod and did her best to offer them both some reassurance. ‘The helicopter should be here any minute now.’

  ‘As long as it doesn’t get shot down.’ Geneviève had always been a glass half-empty sort of girl.

  Lucy managed to produce a little smile. ‘Don’t worry, Geneviève, it’ll come. I’m sure.’

  ‘And if it doesn’t?’

  And if it doesn’t? For a few seconds, Lucy’s resolve faltered and she allowed herself to consider the fate that might await them if help didn’t come in time. She had seen enough of the horrific results of violence perpetrated upon women in this war-torn part of Africa by both sides in the conflict to have no illusions as to what to expect. The red cross on her T-shirt would cut no ice with the men with the guns and machetes, many of them hopped up on drugs. It took a massive effort of self-control to relegate these thoughts to the back of her mind – for now.

  The radio crackled into life and she crawled across the floor towards it, doing her best to avoid the broken glass and jagged pieces of metal littering the floorboards. She picked up the microphone and pressed Transmit.

  ‘Hello, Kisangani, this is Mabenta Clinic, Mabenta Clinic. Come in, Kisangani. Can you hear me? Over.’

  ‘Reading you loud and clear, Mabenta.’ She recognised the voice coming out of the loudspeaker. She and Sergeant Chaudhary of the UN Peacekeeping Force had never met, but they had spoken so often she already thought of him as an old friend. ‘Helicopter will be with you imminently. Be ready to leave as soon as you see it. Over.’

  Lucy shot a glance across the room towards the two nurses to check that they had registered the message and pressed Transmit once again. ‘Message received, Kisangani and thank you. Tell your men there’s a machine gun not far away. We’re under fire. Over.’

  ‘Message received, Mabenta. Appropriate action will be taken.’ His voice became a bit less formal. ‘Not much longer, Lucy. Hang in there, you’ll be okay. Out.’

  As she dropped the receiver back on the floor, Lucy thought she could hear something. Still on her hands and knees, she made her way to the door and very cautiously pulled it open. As she did so, there was sudden deafening roar and an attack helicopter came past fast and low, its rotor blades almost skimming the rooftops. As she clasped her hands to her ears, its cannons opened up on targets in the trees barely a few hundred yards away and the whole building reverberated with the noise.

  As it disappeared from sight, another helicopter appeared in its wake, this time the more utilitarian type they had come to recognise over the months they had been here. The side door was open and she could see a soldier wearing a light blue UN helmet standing there, gripping a machine gun mounted on a bracket. The MONUSCO logo of the United Nations was clear to see on the side of the helicopter and she heaved a heartfelt sigh of relief. She waved and received a wave in return. The pilot was clearly in a hurry as he jerked the nose up to reduce speed and then dropped like a stone towards the open courtyard.

  Lucy turned back towards her two companions.

  ‘Come on you two. We need to get out of here right now.’

  Nicole and Geneviève needed no prompting. As the dust cloud thrown up by the rotors came swirling towards them, reducing visibility to a few feet, they rushed out and ran madly in the direction of the noise. Lucy swung her little bag onto her shoulder, took one final look at what had been her home and place of work for two years now, and followed. As she ran across the courtyard she felt terribly vulnerable but nobody fired at her. She almost bumped into the side of the helicopter, her eyes and her throat filled with dust. Strong arms caught hold of her and pulled her in. The Indian peacekeeper in the blue helmet bent over and put his mouth close to her ear.

  ‘Hello, Doctor Young. Are you the last?’

  Lucy saw Nicole and Geneviève already in there and nodded. ‘Yes, I’m the last. There’s nobody left there now.’ The remaining local staff and patients had disappeared into the forest several hours previously. Lucy had hugged each and every one of them and wished them well before they left. Miriam, the clinic manager, who had become her closest friend, had opted to go with the group in the hope of helping them. When Lucy had offered to go too, she had been told firmly to wait for the helicopter with the two French nurses. Miriam and the others knew only too well that three foreign women would stick out a mile in the bush – and would make valuable hostages… if they were lucky. If not, their fate would have been too terrible to contemplate. Repressing a shiver, Lucy once more spared them all a compassionate thought and hoped they would be able to stay hidden, and survive.

  The dust cloud swirled in through the door and as she erupted into a fit of coughing, she heard the soldier shout something and return to the machine gun. The engine note increased as the helicopter took off again, rising painfully slowly, or so it felt. Lucy crouched with her arms round her knees, head down, braced for incoming fire but, mercifully, none came. Hugging the treetops, the pilot speeded up and they gradually escaped the combat zone, the vegetation below them flashing past ever faster as the helicopter accelerated away.

  ‘Here, doctor, put this on.’

  A crewman handed her a headset and she did as instructed. The earphones cut out much of the noise of the engines and she gradually allowed herself to begin to relax. Her heart was beating frantically and she was glad of the support of the utilitarian seat beneath her. She looked across and saw the other man pull the weapon back inside and slide the side door closed. This, plus the h
eadphones, reduced the noise level to something approaching normality. Lucy roused herself.

  ‘Thank you so much, guys.’ She had to cough a few times before she managed to speak properly and she could feel the dust sticking to her eyelids. The microphone in front of her mouth was evidently working well as she saw both men turn towards her and smile.

  ‘You’re very welcome, doctor.’ The taller of the two crouched down in front of her, steadying himself as the pilot swerved to avoid something. ‘That was a close call you had back there.’

  Lucy nodded. ‘Far too close for comfort.’ She surprised herself by managing a little smile. ‘I used to be scared of helicopters, but at least this little escapade has resolved that. I love helicopters now. Thanks again, guys and, captain, if you can hear me at the controls, thank you and all your colleagues for risking your lives to get us out.’

  The pilot’s voice came back clearly in her headphones.

  ‘You’re very welcome, doctor. It’s the least we could do. You MSF medics are amazing.’

  The two crewmen helped Lucy and the two nurses strap themselves in and then sat down opposite them. Lucy turned towards her two companions and did her best to sound reassuring.

  ‘I’m glad that’s over. How’re you doing, girls?’

  Nicole answered for both of them, an unsteady smile of relief on her face. Beside her, even Geneviève was smiling now. ‘Fine… now. I was scared stiff back there. We only just got away in time, didn’t we?’

  Lucy managed to smile back at them, but she was in no doubt that she would relive the past twenty-four hours in her dreams – or more probably nightmares – for a long time to come. ‘But we got away, and that’s what counts. I just hope Miriam and the others managed to get far enough away as well.’

  The helicopter made another sudden change of direction and she caught hold of the side of the seat for support. Determined to do her best to keep her companions – and herself – feeling positive, she decided to move the conversation on.

  ‘What are your plans now? A holiday?’

  Geneviève shook her head. ‘I’m getting out. I’m afraid I’ve had enough. I’ve been thinking about it for months now, but this was the last straw.’

  ‘What? Giving up MSF?’

  ‘Afraid so. I’ve served my time. You’ve been at it even longer than me, haven’t you? Don’t you want to get out?’

  Lucy hadn’t had much time to consider her future recently. For the past couple of fraught days it had been the present that had fully occupied her mind. She leant back and thought about it. Médecins Sans Frontières had been her life for the past four years. It was almost two years since she had been back to the UK and since then she had been here in Mabenta. She knew she needed a break. Even before this latest offensive, she had been feeling very run-down and she had no doubt that any doctor would have diagnosed her as suffering from acute mental and physical strain and probably the onset of exhaustion. She had self-diagnosed extreme stress, but had chosen to tell nobody and had resisted the temptation to raid the medicine cabinet for tranquillisers. One thing was for sure: she needed to take it easy for a bit. Whether the time had come to follow Geneviève’s example and pack it in completely was something she would have to think about. Seriously.

  ‘I’m not sure how long I want to go on, but I certainly think it might be a good idea to take a break. Maybe I’ll take a holiday.’

  ‘That sounds good. Where’ll you go?’

  That wasn’t so easy. Her mum and dad had sold their little house and moved to the seaside town of Budleigh Salterton in Devon a couple of years ago and Lucy had only been there once for a week. Their new flat was very comfortable and it had lovely views of the English Channel, but it didn’t feel like home and Lucy had been bored out of her skull within days. Of course she would go and see them, but then she knew she would need a real holiday somewhere where the average age wasn’t in the late sixties. She only had a few friends back in London, none especially close, so she could pretty much choose to go wherever she wanted. One thing was for sure – it wasn’t going to be Africa, at least not for a while.

  ‘I’m not sure.’ Then it came to her. ‘Wait a minute. What am I talking about? Of course I know where I’m going. I’ve got a really close friend in Italy who’s getting married next month. I told her I wasn’t going to be able to go to the wedding, but maybe I can now if I’m out of a job for a while. I’ll have to talk to the powers-that-be in Kinshasa.’

  ‘Whereabouts in Italy?’ Nicole was from southern France, not far from Avignon. ‘I’ve never been to Italy, but our town’s full of Roman remains and I know I’d love to visit Rome.’

  ‘A bit further north. My friend Daniela lives in Tuscany. Ever heard of Siena?’

  ‘Yes, of course, and I’ve seen photos. Isn’t that where they have the crazy horse race around the main square?’

  The engine note suddenly changed as the helicopter banked sharply to the left and they clung onto each other for physical and moral support. Maybe, Lucy thought to herself, she had been a bit hasty in telling the pilot how much she now loved this form of transport. Trying hard to sound resolute, she did her best to carry on the conversation as if nothing had happened.

  ‘The Palio, yes. That takes place every summer. I’ve only ever seen it once, but it was exciting and historically fascinating.’

  ‘You’ve always had a thing for history, haven’t you?’

  ‘If I hadn’t done medicine, I’d have loved to do a degree in history. Yes, I find it riveting and Tuscany’s got so much history connected to it. Anyway, Daniela, my friend, lives in a little village in the hills outside Siena, and that’s where the wedding’s going to be.’

  The more she thought about it, the more the idea of a trip to Tuscany to see one of her oldest friends appealed. A lot. She felt her spirits begin to rise.

  ‘I can go to the wedding and then maybe find somewhere over there to take a real holiday. That part of the world’s very lovely. It’s quiet, safe, and nobody’s likely to be shooting at me for a change. Yes, I think that’s what I’ll do. What about you, Nic?’

  ‘I’m going home. François’s been on at me to come back for months now. I’m pretty sure he’s going to propose, and if he doesn’t I probably will.’

  Lucy was delighted Nicole was sounding brighter and looking more relaxed as they put distance between themselves and the fighting.

  ‘Lucky you.’

  ‘And really no boyfriend waiting for you, Lucy?’

  In fact, Nicole and Geneviève already knew the answer to that one. When you live in such close proximity for two years, effectively cut off from the outside world by hundreds of kilometres of dirt roads, scrub, forest and jungle, there are very few secrets. Lucy shook her head.

  ‘Nope. Nobody, not now.’

  The sudden demise of her relationship with Charles four years earlier had been one of the main stimuli in her decision to leave Europe. Since then her itinerant lifestyle had made any meaningful relationships almost impossible and, if she was honest, Charles’s infidelity had left her emotionally scarred, with little desire to launch herself once again into a relationship with any man.

  She felt a tap on her shoulder. It was the Flight Engineer and he brought very welcome refreshment in the shape of three bottles of ice-cold water.

  ‘The captain thought you might like a celebratory drink. Sorry we don’t have any champagne on board.’ He gave them a big smile. ‘I’m sure you all deserve a celebration and a good holiday. I envy you your trip to Tuscany, doctor. I’m sure it’ll be a wonderful place for you to escape to.’

  Escape to Tuscany – that sounded good. And the cold drink sounded even better. Lucy gave him a weary smile, sat back and tried to relax.

  Chapter 1

  The sun was remarkably hot for early May and even the locals were complaining, but to Lucy it felt wonderful. Compared to the humidity of Africa, she loved the dry heat that was doing a magnificent job of soothing her nerves, recharging her batte
ries, and helping her to get the rest and recuperation she knew she needed. R&R was what her boss in Kinshasa had called it, but he had always liked acronyms and abbreviations.

  ‘Get yourself some R&R for now. There’ll be plenty of time to talk about your future with us in a month or two. You’ve been hard at it for almost four years now and you’ve recently been through a very tough experience; you need to rest and recuperate. Leave the DRC and go get some R&R – that’s what you need.’

  She hadn’t disagreed with him.

  She stretched in the hammock and turned slightly so that the gentle breeze blew across her cheek. It felt good. She had arrived at Daniela’s house a week earlier, after six days in Budleigh Salterton with her parents, deliberately playing down her hasty exit from the latest flare-up of hostilities in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. To her irritation, her airlift to safety in the nick of time had been picked up by the mainstream media back in London. There had even been reporters and a TV crew waiting for her as she emerged bleary-eyed into the Arrivals hall at Heathrow airport. She had muttered a few comments about her good luck, her concern for the fate of her patients and colleagues left behind, and her desire to take a break, and then had had to suffer sitting next to her parents that evening as she saw her face on the six o’clock news. Was she really that skinny and did her hair really look that unkempt?

  Inevitably her mother had homed in on the fact that she had lost a lot of weight in Africa, but Lucy had been able to reassure her that she had every intention of remedying that during her visit to Italy.

  And she had been true to her word since arriving here in Poggio San Marco.

  Daniela’s mother had insisted that Lucy stay with them in their rambling old farmhouse and had reacted in exactly the same way as Lucy’s own mother had at the sight of her, throwing up her hands in horror at her emaciated appearance and insisting on force-feeding her mountains of home-made pasta, local ham, cheese from their own goats and enough steak to keep an American football team happy. In fact, Lucy didn’t need to be force-fed. The food was excellent, especially when accompanied by home-made ice cream and Daniela’s uncle’s red wine, and she had let herself be spoilt rotten. In return, she had been helping with getting everything ready for the wedding that was coming up in just four days’ time and doing her best to stop Daniela from freaking out.