The Dover Cafe On the Front Line by Ginny Bell

Author:Ginny Bell
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Bonnier Publishing Fiction

Chapter 26

The ward was quiet as Lily sat beside one of the injured German pilots, attempting to get him to drink some water. The lamp above the bed cast a glow over the boy, emphasising his pallor. She put a hand on his forehead. It was cold and clammy, his lips cracked and dry. He shouldn’t be this cold, she thought.

‘Nurse Castle,’ Sister Mackenzie called. ‘I’m going to spend a penny. Corporal Stanmore is just outside, but I’ll be back in a jiffy.’

‘I need another blanket for the boy,’ Lily said.

‘Take one from the cupboard. I’ll check him when I’m back.’

Lily went to the cupboard at the end of the ward where extra linen was stored, then returned to the bed and tucked the blanket she’d found securely around him. She felt his pulse. It was weak. Perhaps she shouldn’t wait for the sister to return and should call the doctor now.

She stood by the bed, dithering about what to do before finally deciding to ask one of the soldiers on guard outside if they could go. Opening the door, she found only one man there, which was unusual. ‘Can you call for the doctor?’ she said. ‘One of the patients has taken a turn for the worse and I’m not sure he’ll make it.’

The man threw down his cigarette. ‘You’ll have to wait. I’m on my own at the moment.’

‘I’m not sure he can wait,’ she said. ‘I think he’s about to die.’

‘I remember you,’ the man said. ‘Last time I saw you, you sat and shared a fag with one of them. And the answer’s no. Not until I have cover.’

Lily huffed with annoyance. Although he did have a point, she supposed; he couldn’t leave the hut unguarded. As she closed the door, the sound of retching made her sigh; Felix was being sick again. He was the enemy, but even so her heart went out to him. Dr Ramsay had been administering treatment, but he had told her privately that he thought it was only a matter of time before the cancer killed the man. She grabbed a bowl from the nurses’ station and walked swiftly towards Felix’s bed. But when she got to him, instead of leaning over the bowl as she had expected, the man’s hand shot out and grabbed her wrist with surprising strength. She cried out in alarm as he pulled her arm behind her back and thrust her forward. ‘Shut up,’ he said, twisting his body and somehow managing to push her down onto the bed. Lily fell with a grunt, her heart hammering as she let out another muffled scream. He slapped a hand over her mouth. ‘Silence,’ he hissed, and Lily’s breath caught in her throat when she felt the prick of a knife at her neck. ‘You scream, I kill.’ The hoarse voice sent shivers down her spine and she nodded. His grip loosened and she managed to turn her head to look up at him and was surprised to see a thick jersey poking out under his pyjamas.

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