Nightingales on Call (28 page)

They had reached the hospital gates when she heard someone calling out her name.

‘Euphemia! Wait!’

Effie turned around to see Hugo running down the drive towards her. Before she could react, he grabbed her and lifted her off her feet, swinging her round in the air.

‘I’ve just heard the news. You clever girl!’

Effie laughed with delight. ‘Put me down, you fool! You’re making a show of me. Whatever will Mr Hopkins say?’

Hugo lowered her back to the ground. ‘I must take you out to celebrate. Let’s go dancing.’

‘I’d love to. When?’

‘There’s a dance on at the Palais tonight. Why don’t we go?’

Effie felt a moment’s excitement, then remembered Jess standing beside her. ‘I can’t,’ she said. ‘I’ve already made plans to go out with my friend.’

‘I’m sure she won’t mind?’ Hugo said, not looking at Jess. ‘This is a special occasion, after all. It’s not every day my girl passes an exam!’

My girl. The words rang in Effie’s ears. It was official then. She and Hugo were courting.

He turned to Jess. ‘You don’t mind, do you?’

‘’Course not,’ Jess mumbled.

‘You see?’ Hugo said. ‘She doesn’t mind at all.’

Effie glanced at Jess whose expression was unreadable. ‘Are you sure?’

‘I said so, didn’t I?’ There was an edge to her voice. ‘Besides, I’d rather stay at home and read a book anyway.’

‘We’ll go out another night,’ Effie promised.

Jess didn’t reply. Effie had a feeling of unease as she watched her friend walk away, back up the drive towards the hospital. But then Hugo seized her hand and pulled her into his arms, and she was so happy she told herself she was imagining Jess’ frostiness.

But she started to regret abandoning her friend even more when she found out a group of Hugo’s medical student friends were going dancing with them. There were some other student nurses, too, senior to Effie. They looked down their noses at her when she and Hugo met them outside the dance hall.

‘You’ve found a date, then?’ one of the young men called out. ‘Didn’t think you’d be able to get one at such short notice.’

Effie pulled Hugo to one side as they lined up to buy their tickets. ‘I thought we were going dancing on our own?’

‘What difference does it make?’ He stroked her chin with the tip of his finger. ‘Don’t look so cross, pet. It will be fun. You know what they say – the more the merrier!’

Effie glanced at the frosty faces of the student nurses. They didn’t seem very merry to her. ‘I suppose so,’ she sighed. Although it was hardly the romantic evening she had been expecting.

The dance hall was lively, much busier than the village dances she’d been to in Killarney. The band was more sophisticated, too, with their evening jackets and slicked-back hair. The low-lit floor was already filled with couples swaying to the music. Effie watched them, wondering if she would ever be able to follow all their steps. She didn’t want Hugo to have to drag her round the floor like a sack of potatoes.

She wasn’t sure whether she was relieved or disappointed when he ushered her over to sit at a corner table with his friends.

‘Aren’t we going to dance?’ she asked.

‘Plenty of time for that later, angel.’ Hugo winked at her. ‘What can I get you to drink? I’m afraid it may have to be port and lemon and not champagne since I’m rather low on funds.’

But the promised dance never came. Effie sat beside Hugo, listening to him laughing with his student friends. On her other side the nurses were talking among themselves. Effie cradled her drink and thought about the fun she and Jess could have been having.

She had a sudden image of her friend standing there at the hospital gates, all forlorn in her best pink coat.

‘Everything all right, my love?’ Hugo reached out and squeezed Effie’s hand. She smiled back. She didn’t want to complain and ruin everyone’s evening. Hugo would think she was a bore, and she didn’t want that.

Besides, she thought, it should be enough that she was here, in a dance hall, with the most handsome man in the room. It was the kind of thing she’d always dreamed of in Killarney, and now her dreams had come true. The least she could do was try to enjoy them.

She decided to make more of an effort and turned to talk to the girl next to her. ‘How do you do?’ she said. ‘I’m Effie.’

‘Frances Bates,’ the other girl replied in a chilly voice.

It wasn’t the warmest introduction she’d ever had, but Effie was determined not to be put off. ‘I’ve seen you in the students’ home, haven’t I? Which ward have you been assigned to?’

‘Parry.’

‘I’m on Parry, too!’ Effie smiled. ‘I’m so nervous about it. It will be nice to have a friendly face there.’

Frances gave her a look that was anything but friendly. ‘I don’t know about that,’ she said. ‘I’m senior to you, you can’t just chatter away to me.’

‘Oh, for heaven’s sake!’ Effie laughed. ‘You’re only in the set above mine. That doesn’t make you a senior!’

‘Yes, it does,’ Frances snapped. ‘Senior to you, anyway.’

Fortunately, one of the students claimed her for a dance then.

‘You’ll have to forgive Bates,’ said another of the girls, leaning across the table towards Effie. ‘She’s just spent three months scrubbing bedpans in the sluice. She’s looking forward to having someone junior to her that she can pass the dirtiest jobs on to.’ She smiled. ‘I’m Hilda Ross, by the way. I’m in the same set as Bates, and I’m going to be on Parry too.’

‘Pleased to meet you. Although I don’t know if we’re allowed to speak, after what your friend said.’

‘Take no notice of her.’ Hilda waved her comment aside. She was a big girl, as tall as Effie but more solidly built. She might have looked mannish but for her artfully teased brown curls. ‘Between you and me, she’s in a sour mood because she used to be sweet on Hugo herself.’

‘Oh!’ Effie looked towards the dance floor, where Frances Bates was twirling in the arms of a lanky, fair-haired student. ‘I didn’t know.’

‘How could you?’ Hilda shrugged. ‘Anyway, it didn’t last long. And now she’s with Andrew, so it doesn’t matter. But I’m afraid you may have to get used to the other girls resenting you, now you’re with Hugo,’ she said. ‘He’s quite a catch.’

Effie stared at her, not sure how to reply. She hadn’t imagined anyone being jealous of her.

The song ended, Frances and her partner returned to the table and Hilda started gossiping with the girl on her other side. Effie turned her attention back to Hugo. He was guffawing with his friends over the latest prank they’d pulled, when they’d telephoned one of the student nurses on night duty to tell her there was an emergency admission on the way.

‘We only did it to wake her up a bit,’ he said. ‘How were we to know she would go into a complete panic and summon the Night Sister?’

‘Or that Miss Tanner would wake up the Senior Registrar?’ put in his friend Andrew.

‘By the time we telephoned back to let her know it was a joke, the whole place was in uproar!’ Hugo laughed.

‘What happened then?’ Effie asked.

He shrugged. ‘Miss Tanner was completely furious, of course. The poor little night nurse was sent to Matron, who tore a huge strip off her for wasting everyone’s time.’

‘What about you? Didn’t you get punished for it too?’

Hugo and his friends exchanged knowing looks. ‘The nurse was a good sport. She didn’t give the game away.’

‘So you got away with it?’

‘We lived to fight another day!’ Hugo and his friends clashed glasses in mutual salute. Effie watched them, frowning. That poor girl must have been frightened out of her wits. And she’d got into trouble on their account. It all seemed rather cruel to Effie.

Hugo glanced at her. ‘Cheer up, angel.’ He nudged her. ‘It was only a harmless prank. You’ll have to get used to them if you’re with me.’

‘Hugo’s the joker of the pack!’ another of the young men announced, and they all laughed.

Hugo squeezed her hand, and this time Effie made herself laugh with them.

THE BRAND NEW
pros arrived on the ward promptly at seven o’clock, the pair of them huddled together in the doorway as if for protection.

Dora recognised Katie’s sister Effie straight away. She had the same dark curls and blue eyes as her sister, but while Katie was all plump curves, Effie was as slender and leggy as a young gazelle.

She looked as terrified as one, too, her wide eyes gazing about apprehensively. Her pale skin had a distinctly greenish tinge.

‘Look at those two. Little do they know what’s in store for them!’ Dora heard one of the new juniors, Hilda Ross, commenting to her friend.

‘I bet they think they know it all, just because they’ve got through PTS,’ the other junior, Frances Bates, agreed. ‘Let’s see how they feel when they’ve spent three hours scrubbing toilets to Sister’s satisfaction!’

‘Have a heart, you two,’ Dora said. ‘You were in their position yourselves once.’

‘Not any more, thank God!’ Frances Bates muttered with feeling.

Dora approached the pros, who shrank back towards the doors. ‘Sister doesn’t come on duty for another half an hour, so you might as well make yourselves useful and get the bedpans ready,’ she said. ‘And make sure that cap is on straight,’ she added to Effie. ‘Sister Parry inspects everyone first thing.’

They rushed off to the sluice, giggling nervously together. Dora smiled as she watched them go. Frances Bates had a point, she thought. She wondered how long it would take for the novelty of the bedpan round to wear off.

Sister Parry came on duty at precisely seven-thirty, and took the night report. Lucy Lane was at her side as usual. Then Sister summoned the nurses around the table in the centre of the ward and handed out the worklists.

‘You have arrived on a most auspicious day,’ she told the pros. ‘It’s ward-cleaning day today. It will be a chance to put all those cleaning skills you’ve learned in PTS to good use. I hope you will make Sister Parker very proud.’

But it wasn’t just the pros who had to help. Everyone was involved in ward-cleaning. Once a week, the beds were pulled into the middle of the ward, and the floors behind were thoroughly swept, mopped and polished. The lampshades were taken down and washed, and the bedframes cleaned and dusted. The children took it all in their stride. In fact, they seemed to enjoy the novelty of having the nurses bustling around them with mops and brooms.

‘Please, Nurse, Sister has told me to use a pad when I’m scrubbing the floors,’ Dora heard Effie approach Lucy, her voice barely above a whisper.

Lucy frowned. ‘Yes? And what do you expect me to do about it?’

‘I – I don’t know where they are. I can’t find any pads in the cleaning cupboard.’

‘Oh, for heaven’s sake!’ Lucy rolled her eyes. ‘Use your common sense, girl. Or are you completely stupid?’

Effie flinched. ‘I – I—’

‘It’s all right, O’Hara, I’ll help you.’ Dora stepped in. ‘You have to make a pad for yourself. Come with me, I’ll show you.’

As they walked away, Effie whispered, ‘I’m sorry I’m being dense, Nurse.’

‘You’re not being dense at all. You’re here to learn, and we’re supposed to help you.’ Dora shot a sideways look at Lucy. ‘Here, you fetch a towel from the linen cupboard and put it in a pillowcase. Use that as a pad when you scrub.’

‘Thank you, Nurse.’

‘And if you need to know anything else, you’d best come to me,’ Dora added.

‘Oh, I will,’ Effie replied with feeling.

For once Dora was excused ward-cleaning. Daphne Anderson was off duty until twelve, so Dora had to look after Ernest.

She was surprised to find he wasn’t alone in his room. Archie was sitting at Ernest’s bedside. He looked up when Dora walked in.

‘’S’all right, it’s only old Doily,’ he said with relief.

‘What have I told you about calling me that?’ Dora scolded. ‘And what are you doing in here, Archie Duggins? You know you’re not supposed to be out of bed.’

‘I got bored,’ he said. ‘And I thought Ernest might like to play with his train.’

‘It’s your train now,’ Ernest reminded him.

‘We can share it,’ Archie said magnanimously. He turned to Dora. ‘We weren’t doing any harm, honest.’

‘All the same, I don’t think Sister would like it.’

‘Sister doesn’t have to sit in bed until her bum gets numb, does she?’ Archie said. ‘Go on, Doily – I mean, Nurse Doyle,’ he amended. ‘Just another five minutes, please? Me and Ernie are mates.’

‘So I see.’

Dora looked at Ernest, his plump face turned to her in silent appeal. He had almost recovered from his rheumatic fever, he would be going home in a couple of weeks. And Archie was making a good recovery from his bout of pleurisy, too. What harm could it possibly do to let them have some fun together?

‘Five minutes,’ she said firmly. ‘But by the time ward-cleaning is over I want you back in your beds. Promise?’

‘Scout’s honour, Doily!’

Dora sighed. Archie was far too naughty ever to be a boy scout. ‘I have to check Ernest’s temperature first, then I’ll leave you to your game.’

Archie sat beside Ernest, making faces as Dora did his TPRs. Ernest was trying so hard not to laugh that he could barely keep the thermometer between his clenched lips.

‘You’re really not helping, you know!’ Dora scolded Archie. But deep down she knew he was. Ernest had lost his pale, miserable appearance. She had never seen him looking so healthy, or so happy.

She came out of the side room later to hear the sound of girls giggling. Frances Bates and Hilda Ross were hanging around the sluice-room door, laughing together.

‘What’s so funny?’ asked Dora.

Hilda fell guiltily silent, but Frances smirked. ‘Look what the new pro’s doing!’

Dora peered around the corner. Effie was on her hands and knees, kneeling on the pad in the middle of the ward, scrubbing for all she was worth.

‘Oh, dear.’ Dora looked around. Lucy was at the far end of the ward, but thankfully there was no sign of Sister. ‘You could have told her,’ she said.

‘And spoil our fun?’ Frances muttered.

Dora tiptoed up the ward to stand behind Effie. ‘Nurse O’Hara?’

Effie jumped so suddenly at the sound of her name, she nearly sent the bucket of soapy water flying. She caught it just in time and scrambled to her feet, tucking her stray dark curls inside her cap. ‘Yes, Nurse?’