“We need to get him to a proper hospital,” she said, looking up at the two men. “I can probably bind this enough to stabilize the fracture but he’ll need to be seen in the emergency department as soon as he gets to Edinburgh.”
Magnus and Oskar exchanged a look. “Just do what ye can, lass.”
“Then I’m going to need your help,” Lily said, straightening. “No matter how drunk he is, he’s going to wake up as soon as I start working on him. You’re going to have to hold him down.”
They nodded and moved to either side of the bed. Lily rummaged through her bag, pulling out supplies. Then she moved down to the man’s leg and placed her hands on it.
Sure enough, as she began to manipulate the bones, Alfred Brewer came awake with a howl. Oskar and Magnus grabbed him, pinning him down while Eberwyn hovered nearby, ready to help if needed.
“Get yer hands off me!” the man screamed. “Ah! Ye are killing me! Killing me!”
“I’m sorry, Mr Brewer,” Lily said in the calmest voice she could manage. “I know it hurts but I don’t have any anesthetic. It will be over in just a moment. I just need to....” There was a swift crunch as the bones snapped back into place and Alfred Brewer howled. “There, you see. All done. I’ll just bind it up and these men will have you to the hospital in no time.”
Alfred Brewer flopped back onto the bed. Sweat poured down his face and he’d gone as pale as milk. Lily wasn’t faring much better. She wiped her forehead with the back of her hand and tried her best to calm her racing heart. She was not a paramedic and although she’d trained in basic first aid, it was a long time since she’d been asked to practise it. This was a world away from working with elderly hip replacement patients like Bettie.
Her eyes skipped nervously over Oskar and Magnus. They were soldiers? If so, they weren’t dressed like any soldiers Lily had ever heard of. And why were soldiers escorting a criminal to trial anyway? Surely that was a job for the police? Unless they were military police?
She swallowed thickly. She just wanted to get home and back to some normality.
“That’s it?” Oskar asked brusquely. “He can travel?”
“I just need to bind it with clean bandages,” Lily replied, turning to rummage in her pack once more.
Oskar threw up his hands. “God give me strength! Why dinna we wipe his arse for him while we are at it? And maybe burp him like a bairn?”
Lily straightened and turned to glare at Oskar. “Have you ever heard of the word ‘patience’? Or manners? I’m trying to help this man and my job would be made a lot easier if you would keep your smart remarks to yourself! By all means transport him before I’ve bandaged his leg if you want his fracture to move, tear the skin, and for him to go into shock before you’ve gone more than a mile!”
“Shock?” Alfred said from where he lay half-comatose on the bed. “What does that mean? I dinna want to go into shock!”
Oskar glared right back at her, his blue eyes flashing and his jaw clenched. Then he looked away.
“My apologies,” he muttered.
Lily put a hand to her ear. “I’m sorry? What was that? I didn’t quite hear you.”
Oskar looked at her. “I said, I apologize. I should show better manners. Please, do what ye must.” He glanced at Magnus who seemed to be trying not to smile. “We are grateful for yer help.” The words sounded like they were being dragged out of him.
Lily went back to work. Taking clean bandages from her bag, she tightly splinted and bound Alfred’s leg so that the fracture was stabilized. Magnus and Oskar held him tightly while she did so. When she was done, Eberwyn whistled under his breath.
“My, my, lass,” he said. “Ye have quite some skill. Where did ye train?”
“At university in Edinburgh,” she replied. “Although most of my time was spent on placement. I did a stint with the ambulance service and the trauma unit at the hospital. That’s how I know how to treat wounds like this.”
The three men shared a look as though not entirely sure what she was talking about. She cleared her throat. “Anyway. He should be fit to travel but as soon as you get to Edinburgh he’ll need to see a doctor.”
Oskar and Magnus took Alfred Brewer by the shoulders and hauled him up. He was still half-drunk and his head lolled on his neck as they lifted him upright and set him on his good leg.
“Where are ye taking me?”
They didn’t answer. They supported him one on either side and half-carried him to the door. Lily grabbed her bag and followed, anxiously keeping a close eye on her patient. The splint and bandages seemed to be holding and Afred seemed in less pain than previously. That was good.
“Do you have a phone I could borrow?” Lily asked the two men. “I don’t have any signal on my cell.”
They exchanged another one of those blank-looking glances. She wished they’d stop doing that.
“A what? Er...we dinna have one of those,” Magnus said carefully.
Lily turned to Eberwyn. “Or perhaps a landline? I’d like to call a cab.”
