Amelia, Marcel, Caleb and I each took a corner of the stretcher. I could not bring myself to look back at Patience as we left, and I hated myself for it. The weight of Xander split four ways wasn’t too bad at first, but the awkwardness of manhandling a stretcher through the forest meant that the going was slow. Every time one of us missed our footing or had to adjust quickly, jerking the stretcher, Xander flinched with fear and pain. The thought of dropping him made me concentrate very hard indeed. Everyone else did too: other than Marcel murmuring to Xander every now and then in French (I’ve no idea what he was saying but his tone was soothing) we barely spoke. During one of our many pauses Marcel cut some stems from a nearby tree and suggested Xander bite down on one against the pain. He told me afterwards that the wood tasted of aniseed and – whether it was just the distraction or some chemical property of the particular tree – that the chewing worked better than the pills we’d given him.

We fought our way back to a discernible path, but although the going got easier underfoot, by the time we reached it, Xander seemed to have trebled in weight. Amelia couldn’t stop herself groaning with the effort every few steps, and I was forced to call a halt more than once to gather my strength. Caleb, stony-faced, wouldn’t – or couldn’t – stoop to admit such weakness, but he shut his eyes and shook out his arms in relief every time we put the stretcher down. Only Marcel seemed to take the ordeal in his stride. In fact, noticing Amelia groaning, he offered to take her handle as well as his. She refused.

‘Might as well,’ said Caleb. Turning to me, he added, ‘If Marcel carries one end, I can take the other – give you a rest?’

‘Guys, I’m so sorry about this,’ muttered Xander.

‘You should be. Your leg may be broken, but my arms are about to fall off.’

Xander’s quick grin didn’t show in his eyes.

‘Wasn’t your fault,’ Caleb said, without looking at him.

‘It wasn’t anybody’s fault,’ said Amelia. ‘Not even Spenser’s. Especially not his, in fact. Let’s make sure the rangers know that. It was a freak accident.’

Caleb looked at her and sighed. His shoulders fell. When he spoke it was gently. ‘Come on, Jack. We’re both tired. Let’s try taking it in turns. I’ll start.’

With this Marcel lifted up both handles at the head end of the stretcher, and Caleb moved to pick up those at the feet. Since something about him in that moment seemed less about proving a point and more about actual kindness, I let him do it.