She wanted to walk away and vomit herself; she’d never had to deal with anything like this and she’d never felt so physically sick before either, but they’d opened their home to these men, and that meant they were as good as responsible for them. If she had to go for help, it would mean involving someone else, and she couldn’t risk it.

“Am I right that you need help?” Harry asked.

She fixed him with her stare, not liking his tone. “The last thing I need is you collapsing in a heap, so you just stay put.”

He nodded. “Fair point. But can I ask you something?”

Elise waited. “Of course.”

“Do you have any alcohol?”

She hesitated, seeing the anguish on Peter’s face and the pain in Harry’s as he tried to get comfortable on the small, upright wooden chair she’d sat him on. “Yes, of course,” she eventually said, before calling out to Addy. “Bring Father’s whisky.”

“How many glasses?” Addy called back.

“Just the bottle,” Harry replied for her.

Elise turned back to Peter, knowing she couldn’t put it off for much longer. She stared at the bone, wondering if he even knew that his lower leg was as good as snapped in half.

“Peter, can you hear me?” she asked, placing a hand on his forearm and giving him a little shake. He was tipped back, his shoulders slumped and his head to the side, his body still trembling. What was she thinking? She should have wrapped them both in blankets straight away, stopped them from becoming hypothermic, and started to give them small sips of something, anything, hot as well.

Addy was standing by her side now and she held out the bottle of whisky. Elise took it from her, passing it to Harry. He took a few big gulps that made her cringe just watching, but when he passed it back to her she decided to take a sip herself for courage.

The burn in her throat was instant but she stifled her cough, inhaling through her nose and wondering if it would, in fact, help her. The only thing she knew for sure was that it had landed in her stomach like a pool of liquid fire.

“So what can I do?” Addy asked.

Her sister was as white as a sheet and Elise took one look at her and knew she wasn’t going to be the best hands-on assistant. “I need you to get blankets to wrap both men in, and boil more water. I need them sipping something hot to warm them up from the inside, so you could make coffee.” She doubted they had enough ingredients to make more soup.

“Anything else?” Addy asked, already backing away.

“A broomstick,” Harry added. “To splint the leg.”