“And you,” he murmured, coughing again, “are wearing a British nursing uniform. You need to wrap yourself in this blanket so no one recognizes you for who you are.”

Cate stared down at her clothes, then at him, knowing he was right. She reluctantly took it from him, hating that he was forced to wrap his arms around himself, his shoulders bare and exposed. Part of her thought he’d be dead by the time she returned, which made her think she’d rather give up than be alone in the midst of enemy territory. But she owed it to him, and to herself, to at least try to find help.

“I’ll see you soon,” she said, gritting her teeth to stop herself crying.

She turned away from him, unable to bear another glimpse of his pained face or shivering, half-naked body. Cate clambered out of the ditch, nails digging into the dirt as she dragged herself up and back into the field. It wouldn’t be completely dark for a while longer, but dusk had fallen and it seemed deceptively safer.

Cate focused on putting one foot in front of another, her ears pricked, jumping at every sound, eyes darting back and forth, certain she was about to walk into some sort of ambush or straight-out warfare.

Home, she told herself. Think of home. And she did. With every tentative step, she imagined her mother’s arms around her, imagined her eldest brother sitting in the coveted chair closest to the fire, smoking his pipe. She remembered hot cups of tea and laughing as she did the washing, chasing her brothers, them shooing her away when she tried to climb trees after them and keep up with their friends as they adventured around the neighborhood as kids. All of it, from childhood to becoming a young woman ready to leave home, came crashing back to her, wave after wave, and the memories settled around her like a warm embrace. And as the long minutes passed, so did the worst of her fears, and she started to relax just a little.

The only thing she still hadn’t figured out was what she was going to say if she was stopped. Why would a woman be out on a wet evening on her own, with only a blanket for protection? What reason would she give for being in the countryside as a war raged on nearby?

She was mulling her options over when something rustled. Cate started to walk faster, hoping to leave the noise behind. It could easily be an animal, she reasoned, ears straining now for any noise at all.

The rustle was louder this time, and she wished the moon would rise bright in the sky to illuminate the path ahead better. And then she heard the fall of boots, heavy footfalls, and as she spun to see which way she could run, she froze.

“Halt!”