Page 27 of The Armor of Light
Will, sawing at the reins, looked back over his shoulder and yelled: ‘Get out of the damned way, you stupid boy!’
Kit turned, took two steps, and slipped in a pile of horse manure, dropping the straps. He fell to the ground. He saw Roger running to him, but Steel’s hind legs were closer. Will was yelling incoherently and deploying his crop, and Nobby was trying to catch hold of the bridle, but the horse kept coming.
With Steel almost on top of him, Kit got to his hands and knees. Then he saw Steel’s leg fly out. The iron horseshoe hit Kit on the head.
There was a terrible pain, then he blacked out.
*
The next thing Kit knew was an agonizing headache. Nothing in his short life had hurt this much. At the same time he heard a man’s voice say: ‘The boy’s lucky to be alive.’
He began to whimper because of the pain, and the voice said: ‘He’s coming round.’
Kit opened his eyes and saw Alec Pollock, the surgeon, in his well-worn black tail coat. ‘My head hurts,’ Kit sobbed.
‘Sit up and drink this,’ Alec said. ‘It’s Godfrey’s Cordial. There’s laudanum in it to ease the pain.’
Another man approached the bed, and Kit recognized the blond hair and pink face of Roger, who put an arm under his shoulders and gently lifted him into a sitting position. The movement made the headache worse.
Alec held a cup to Kit’s mouth, saying: ‘Careful, don’t spill any – laudanum is costly.’
Kit drank. He did not know what laudanum was but the drink seemed to be warm milk. Perhaps Alec had put something in it, like sugar in tea.
‘Lie back, now, and keep as still as you can.’
Kit did as he was told. His head still hurt but he felt calmer and stopped crying.
Alec said: ‘Do you know what happened to you?’
‘I dropped all the straps! I didn’t mean to. I’m sorry.’
‘And what happened then?’
‘I think Steel kicked me.’
‘It’s good that you remember. How does your head feel now?’
Kit was surprised to realize that the pain was less. ‘Not as bad as it was.’
‘That’s the effect of the drink I gave you.’
‘Am I in trouble for dropping the straps?’
Roger said: ‘No, Kit, you aren’t in trouble. It wasn’t your fault.’
‘Oh, good.’
Alec said: ‘Now listen to me while I explain something.’
‘Yes, sir.’
‘The bone in your head is called your skull. I think Steel’s kick probably caused a small crack in it. It will heal if you can keep really still for the next six weeks.’
Six weeks was such a long time that Kit could hardly imagine lying still that long.
‘Fan will bring you food, and when you need to shit and piss she’ll bring a special bowl that you can use without getting out of bed.’
Kit looked around him for the first time. This was not the drab attic bedroom where he normally shared a bed with Platts and Cecil. There the sheets were grey and the walls were painted green. This room had flower-patterned wallpaper, and the sheets were white. ‘Where am I?’ he said.
