A Nightingale Christmas Wish by Donna Douglas

Author:Donna Douglas [Douglas, Donna]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781448165032
Publisher: Random House
Published: 2015-01-05T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter Twenty-Eight

WAR WAS COMING. On 15 March Hitler’s tanks rolled into Prague, and now even the government who had insisted there would be no war had to admit that Chamberlain’s scrap of paper meant nothing. Factories began producing guns, bombs, battleships and aircraft, and people began to volunteer as air-raid wardens, ambulance drivers and auxiliary firemen – ‘just in case’.

On the Saturday morning when the Picture Post called for women to volunteer, Helen was at Dora’s house, helping her to knit a matinee jacket for the baby.

‘I’m going to sign up as a volunteer nurse,’ Dora announced as they sat side by side on the sofa, their needles clicking. Helen’s clicked a lot faster than Dora’s. As she’d already told Helen, she was a lost cause when it came to knitting. She had to stop every couple of minutes to sort out a dropped stitch or a tangled piece of wool. ‘They’re bound to have me, don’t you think, with my training?’

Helen laughed, eyeing her distended belly. ‘In your condition? You’d never get a uniform to fit!’

‘I won’t be pregnant for ever. At least, I hope not.’ Dora grimaced, stroking her bump. ‘I can hardly walk, I’m so big. And the kicking! Drives me mad all night, it does. Nick reckons this little one’s going to play for West Ham!’

Helen caught the light in Dora’s eyes. For all she pretended to complain, she was the happiest and most content Helen had ever known her. ‘It’s not due for another couple of months yet, is it?’

‘Early June, so the doctor reckons. You never know, I might have finished this ruddy jacket by then!’ She pulled a comical, cross-eyed face at her knitting.

‘Here, let me sort it out for you.’ Helen put down her own needles and took Dora’s from her.

‘Anyway, what do you reckon? About me signing up as a volunteer nurse?’

‘I think it’s a very good idea. I daresay we’ll have need of extra help, once the bombs start coming down. Especially if there are gas attacks. Dr McKay reckons there could be hundreds of casualties every night.’

‘Don’t!’ Dora shuddered, her face milky pale under its scattering of freckles. ‘I don’t want to think about it.’

‘I don’t either, but Dr McKay says we have to. He plans to ask the Board of Trustees to extend the Casualty department and carry out emergency training.’

She handed Dora back her knitting. Dora stared down at it glumly. ‘It’s a horrible thought, isn’t it? Let’s hope we won’t need it.’

‘Let’s hope not,’ Helen agreed.

They went on knitting, but the thought had taken hold of Helen and wouldn’t let go. She kept thinking of the Casualty hall, extended to the size of a football pitch, with bodies stretched out as far as the eye could see. She imagined herself rushing here and there, not knowing who to help first, deafened by the screams of agony.

The thought must have taken hold of Dora, too, because she suddenly said, ‘I can’t imagine what it would be like, can you?’

‘No,’ Helen said, but the truth was she could, only too well.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.