Elise glared at her sister, her nostrils flaring out as anger pulsed within her. “She’s a stranger to us, who’s turned up on our doorstep at nightfall in the rain, so no, I will not just be nice. I want to know who she is and why she’s here.”

Adelaide glared back at her, but she didn’t argue. Cate stepped forward, though, slowly opening the blanket she’d been keeping so tightly clutched around her body.

Elise automatically reached for the rifle, but the sadness in Cate’s eyes, the way she dropped the blanket, made her stop. This woman didn’t have a weapon; she was trying to show them who she was.

“You’re—” Elise started.

“A nurse, with the British army,” Cate interrupted. “Everyone else was taken, except for me. I’m no threat to you, I promise.”

Elise was lost for words, studying the woman’s filthy uniform and then her face, trying to tell if she was lying, but she instinctively knew it had to be the truth. The British army had abandoned her? Her heart danced all the way to her stomach and back as reality struck her: there would be no easy defeat of the German forces by the French and British. It was surely as good as over if this were the case.

“Go on,” she urged, trying to quell the rising unease within her.

Cate’s lips parted, but they were dry and still chattering. There was fear shining in her eyes, and Elise immediately regretted how cold she’d been toward her.

“Adelaide, get her some water,” Elise said, not taking her eyes from Cate’s face. “And something to eat.”

“I can’t stay, I have to get back to Jack,” Cate said, sounding panicked. “I left him, but he’ll die if I don’t—”

“Who’s Jack?”

Cate looked like she was about to faint, and Elise stepped forward to take her elbow, walking her across the room and forcibly pushing her down into a chair by the fire. She crouched beside her, wondering if the nurse was about to go into complete shock. Elise kept hold of her hand, warming it between her two palms.

“You need to tell me everything so I can help you,” she said quietly. “Who’s Jack?”

Cate looked back at her as if she suddenly didn’t want to tell, as if she were suddenly unsure who she could trust. But when Adelaide returned with the water, holding the cup for her as she greedily gulped it down, she seemed to calm. As they waited, Adelaide standing worriedly by the fire and Elise still crouching, the color slowly returned to Cate’s cheeks.