The Lake Palace by Bennett Ann

Author:Bennett, Ann
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Andaman Press
Published: 2021-11-29T00:00:00+00:00

14

Nagabhari, India, 1944

Iris was dimly aware that she’d been asleep for a long, long time. Every time she opened her eyes, exhaustion quickly overcame her, and she was forced to close them and sink back into that voracious sleep that enveloped her whole being. She was also aware that when she did manage to keep her eyes open for more than a couple of seconds, she was staring up at a high, white ceiling, from which were suspended an army of fans whirring round impossibly quickly. The ceiling was familiar, though she’d never seen it from that angle before, but she just couldn’t put her finger on where she was.

From time-to-time, faces loomed over her. Anxious eyes peered into hers. Someone put a finger on her eyelid and pulled it back. She blinked the finger away and turned her head to the side. Someone else put a long glass stick in her mouth, then took it out again a while later. Someone else pressed a cold metal object onto her chest. There always seemed to be whispering, panicky voices around her. She could never catch their words, but that didn’t bother her. She just wanted to rest, to relax, to sleep for ever.

Then one day she opened her eyes and they stayed open a little longer than before. The drowsiness was wearing off. She looked around and tried to sit up. A searing pain in her shoulder made her gasp and sink back on the pillows.

‘Iris, darling! Doctor… doctor, she’s awake,’ she recognised her mother’s voice and looking up there was her mother’s white face leaning over her, two blue eyes round with surprise.

‘Where am I?’ Iris muttered, but her mouth couldn’t form the words properly. Her mother seemed to understand.

‘You’re in the hospital. The city hospital. You were very badly injured. Here’s the doctor now.’

There were hurried footsteps, then the swishing of metal curtain rings and Dr Jefford leaned over her. She felt his fingers around her wrist. She tried to snatch it away.

‘I’m just taking your pulse, Iris, no need to worry. You’ve had a dreadful shock.’

Dreadful shock? Whatever could he mean?

She caught sight of Sister standing behind him, an anxious frown on her face.

‘How long have I been asleep?’

‘On and off for a couple of weeks. We had to operate to remove the bullet,’ the doctor replied gently.

‘Bullet?’ she asked, confused, and then it came back to her gradually, like pieces of a jigsaw. The Japanese plane bursting into view, the ack-ack of the machine gun, Nigel throwing himself on top of her, then darkness.

‘Where’s Nigel?’ she asked. Her mother and Dr Jefford exchanged worried looks.

‘He’s not too good,’ Dr Jefford said. ‘We’ll talk about him later. You just need to focus on yourself and on getting better.’

‘I need to get up. Doc Bourne needs me up in the camp.’ She tried to sit up but the stab of pain in her shoulder made her gasp and fall back instantly.

‘Doctor Bourne is managing just fine,’ said Dr Jefford in a soothing tone.

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