Somewhere in France: A Novel of the Great War by Robson Jennifer

Author:Robson, Jennifer [Robson, Jennifer]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Publisher: HarperCollins
Published: 2013-12-31T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 27

Robbie could scarcely believe he was standing in the reception marquee. Normally it was such a grim place, crowded with stretchers, its floors dirtied by discarded dressings and drifts of blood-sodden sawdust. All that was gone, if only for one night. Benches had been brought in from the mess tent and were arranged neatly around the perimeter of the marquee, although hardly anyone sat on them. A small group of musicians was playing “A Soldier’s Joy” from an improvised stage at the far end of the marquee, while a knot of kilt-clad soldiers performed an energetic hornpipe.

The arrival of the WAACs at the ceilidh coincided with the end of the dance, and within seconds the women were hemmed in by a crowd of potential dance partners, each man keen to capture a spare female for the next reel.

Predictably, Lilly looked enchanting. Like the other WAACs, she was in uniform, which did little to flatter her or any of the other women’s figures. But her lovely hazel eyes were sparkling, her face was aglow with excitement, and her hair, normally pinned tight and hidden beneath her driver’s cap, had begun to curl enchantingly at her temples and nape.

Before Robbie had even taken a step in Lilly’s direction, her arm was seized by Andrew Harrison, one of the surgeons. Though Robbie considered him a friend, he could cheerfully have throttled him at that moment. The man had lived his entire life in the south of England, and it showed, for he hadn’t the faintest idea of what he was doing. Lilly didn’t seem to mind, though, and gamely led him through the reel, laughing gaily whenever Harrison led her in the wrong direction.

At the end of the dance, Harrison was elbowed aside by one of the orderlies, a Glaswegian named Murray. The musician calling the changes, a fiddle player, ordered the dancers to line up in two rows for Strip the Willow.

If he didn’t act soon, Robbie realized, he’d never come within a yard of her. He saw Matron standing by the entrance to the marquee; she would do. He advanced on her, took her hand without so much as a by-your-leave, and escorted her to the dance floor. He’d beg her pardon later.

Robbie and Matron were near the beginning of the row, so it wasn’t long before it was their turn to twirl from dancer to dancer, the faces that surrounded them a mere blur.

The touch of Lilly’s hand ought not to have shocked him so much. At least he had some warning, for a heartbeat before he reached her, reached out to grasp her hand, he chanced to look up, and there she was. Laughing, clapping to the music, one foot stomping time as she waited her turn.

Then she was before him, their hands were joined, and he was pulling her into a spin. Before he had a chance to recover from the thrill of her touch, they were done. Time to return to Matron, continue down the line, and put himself back together.

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.