Daughters of the Mersey by Anne Baker

Author:Anne Baker [Baker, Anne]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9780755391509
Publisher: Headline
Published: 2012-12-20T00:00:00+00:00

At eight o’clock every evening, the ward sisters and the day staff went off duty to be replaced by the night sister in charge of the hospital, and a nurse in her third year of training in charge of each ward. The formality of hospital life relaxed a little.

That evening, shortly after eight, June was delighted to see Ralph creep into her side ward and close the door quietly behind him.

When he turned to look at her, he said, ‘Darling! What have I done to you? You’re all grazes and bandages. I am sorry, love. How d’you feel?’

‘Awful. In despair that we’ve been found out like this. Pa came in and gave me a very hard time.’

‘He brought you grapes though.’ The last few were on a plate on her locker.

‘No he didn’t. They were a gift from Elaine.’

‘She didn’t bring me any grapes.’ He kissed her cheek and pulled up a chair near her bed.

‘You’ve come off worse than me, you’re all cuts and bruises.’

‘They’ll heal.’

‘They won’t leave scars I hope.’

‘I have no cuts on my face, thank goodness. The worst thing is they’ve shaved half my head and put seventeen stitches in my scalp. I’m going to look awful for months until it grows. It could be years before my hair is all this length again.’

‘You’ll always look beautiful to me. Does your head hurt?’

‘Yes, I can’t rest it on the pillow on that side. The stitches are like wire and dig in to me. How are you?’

‘I was lucky, only a dislocated shoulder which they put right straight away, and apart from that I’ve got a few cracked ribs that hurt when I laugh or yawn, and a sprained ankle. But I’ve got some bad news. I had a visit this morning from a friend who has rooms upstairs in the same house. He brought in my post. I’ve got my call-up papers. They want to put me in uniform in ten days’ time.’

‘Oh no!’ June sank back against her pillows; this was the news she’d been dreading. ‘I hate the thought of you leaving me. On top of all this trouble too. What are we going to do?’

Ralph was biting his lip. ‘I spent this afternoon composing a letter to the War Office. I’ve told them that at the moment I’m in hospital recovering from a car crash and I made out my injuries were worse than they are. I understand it’s likely they’ll change the date on which I’m expected to report in.’

‘Yes, but only to give you time to recover. In a week or so you’ll still have to go. What good will that do?’

‘It will give us time.’ He felt for her hand. ‘I’m as brassed off about this as you are. Now it’s all out in the open, why don’t we try to get married? It’s what we always planned, isn’t it? And you’d feel better about me going if you were my next of kin – my wife – wouldn’t you?’

‘Of course I would, but my family are dead against it.

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