Nightingales on Call (40 page)

‘No,’ Dora said. ‘You don’t. Anyway, Mum would never take you back.’

‘I wouldn’t be too sure of that. Like I say, Rose is a very forgiving lady. And she appreciates that Bea and Little Alfie need their dad.’ Alf smiled up at the waitress who came to take their order. ‘I’ll have a cup of tea and a toasted teacake, please, love.’ He turned to Dora. ‘What are you having?’

‘Nothing.’

‘Go on, I’ll treat you.’

‘I don’t want anything from you!’ she snapped.

The waitress looked taken aback, and Alf grinned appealingly at her. ‘Looks like someone’s lost their appetite,’ he said.

‘And their manners,’ the waitress murmured.

Dora fumed quietly. How did Alf manage to do that? she wondered. How did he manage to fool and charm people so much they were blind to his true nature? Or was she the only one who could see it?

‘Why did you come back?’ she hissed at him. ‘We were doing all right without you.’

He shrugged. ‘I got tired of travelling, I suppose. I missed my family. And I missed you, my girl.’ He put his hand across the table towards her. Dora stared down at his thick, coarse fingers and a shudder of revulsion went through her.

She clutched the edge of the tablecloth, not wanting him to see how much she was shaking.

‘I want you to go,’ she said. ‘Go, and never come back.’

Alf looked hurt. ‘But I want to be with my family.’

‘We don’t need you.’

‘That’s not what your mum reckons.’ He smiled at Dora across the table. ‘Between you and me, I reckon it won’t be long before she asks me to move back in. Won’t that be nice?’

The waitress returned with his order, and Dora fought to compose herself. She watched as Alf spooned sugar into his tea.

‘Look,’ he said. ‘I know you’ve got no reason to trust me, after what happened in the past. But I’ve told you, I’m a changed man. I’ve got my family back, and now I want to make a new start. Ain’t there any chance we can start again, too?’

Dora stared across the table at him. His gaze was fixed on her, full of appeal.

But she could see in his eyes he hadn’t changed. Alf Doyle was trying to charm her, just like he charmed everyone else.

‘I don’t care if you have changed,’ she said in a low voice. ‘I’ll never, ever forgive you for what you did. That’s why I want you away from here. Away from me, and away from Josie.’

‘That’s charming, that is. So you’d see me back on the streets, would you? Your own dad.’

Her mouth curled with contempt. ‘You’re not my dad. You’re nothing to me.’

‘But you mean the world to me, love. You and the other kids. I love my family. Being with them again has made me realise how much I’ve missed them all this time.’ His expression grew wistful. ‘It would take a lot for me to leave them again . . .’

Dora saw the calculation in his eyes and suddenly realised the meaning behind his words. ‘How much?’ she said.

‘What, love?’

‘How much would it cost for you to leave us and never come back?’

He didn’t even pretend to be shocked. ‘Well, let’s see.’ Alf considered it for a moment. ‘It’s going to break my heart to go, and it’s going to break the kids’ hearts, too. I dunno if I should really . . . but I suppose I could make a new start for twenty quid?’

‘Twenty? I ain’t got that sort of money, and you know it!’

‘Well, then, looks like you’re stuck with me, doesn’t it?’ Alf shrugged. ‘You and your sister,’ he added meaningfully.

Dora stared at him, hatred and revulsion building up inside her. He no longer scared her, but she couldn’t stand to think of him under the same roof as Josie, and the terror her sister would have to go through every day.

Katie O’Hara’s words came back to her.
You have to do what you can for your family, don’t you? Whatever it costs.

‘You’ll get your money,’ she said.

For someone who had spent their whole life caring for others, Sister Sutton was not a very good patient.

‘Are they ever going to allow me to go home?’ she snapped, when Jess came to visit her. ‘I’m getting rather tired of all the prodding and poking.’

‘Perhaps they think you just need a nice rest?’ Jess said.

‘A rest?’ Sister Sutton’s tiny eyes glittered feverishly. ‘Why should I need a rest? Does Matron think I’m not up to the job any more? Is that it?’

‘No, I don’t think . . .’

‘Because no one is putting me out to grass until I’m ready. Rest, indeed! I don’t need a rest. I need to be up and sorting out those lazy students. I daresay they’re causing mayhem in my absence.’

‘As a matter of fact—’ Jess was about to tell her that she and Miss Hanley were managing to run the home very well between them, but she had a feeling that wasn’t what Sister Sutton wanted to hear. ‘We do need you back,’ she said.

‘Just as I thought.’ Sister Sutton looked grimly satisfied. ‘I expect I’ll have a great deal to do when I return.’

She lay back against the pillows, exhausted by her outburst. Her face was flushed, and perspiration gleamed on her brow. She might not believe she was ill, but Jess could see it a mile off.

Dr McKay could see it, too. Whatever he’d diagnosed from the tests had worried him enough to demand that Sister should stay in bed for a few more days.

‘Well, if I’m to stay in here then I suppose I might as well make myself comfortable.’ Sister Sutton gave a martyred sigh. ‘Perhaps you could bring me a clean nightgown next time you come. And my spectacles. I can’t read my book without them.’

‘I’ll bring them tonight,’ Jess promised.

‘There’s no need to put yourself out and make a special journey.’

‘It’s no trouble,’ she said cheerfully. The fact was, she missed the Home Sister’s presence in the house. Even though she generally lived in dread of her heavy tread down the hall or her voice rapping out instructions, Jess still felt better when Sister Sutton was there.

Sparky missed her, too. He had taken to sleeping on the end of Jess’ bed, cuddling close to her for comfort in his mistress’ absence.

Jess went back to the nurses’ home and let herself straight into Sister Sutton’s flat to pick up the things she’d asked for. It felt strange, being in the Home Sister’s private quarters on her own. Sparky trotted around proprietorially, inspecting the furniture and sniffing at all the ornaments and knick-knacks to make sure everything was present and correct.

She went into Sister Sutton’s bedroom. Jess came in here every morning to bring the Home Sister’s breakfast in bed, but it still seemed odd to see it empty, the pillows perfectly plumped, sheet turned down neatly and the pink satin eiderdown spread out so it draped exactly the same amount on each side. Jess smiled to herself. Old habits must die hard when you were a nurse, she thought.

The last of the summer’s roses were blooming outside the bedroom window. Jess decided to pick some later to take to cheer up Sister Sutton’s sick room. They were her pride and joy, and she would be furious to miss a single day of their blooming period.

She found the spectacles in their case on the bedside table, and then opened the chest of drawers to find the nightgown. A smell of lily-of-the-valley talcum powder and dried lavender drifted up to greet her as she rifled through Sister Sutton’s nightgowns, all neatly folded in rows.

Jess took out the top one, and was just about to close the drawer when a glint caught her eye. Curious, she opened it again and looked inside. There was something at the bottom of the drawer, half hidden under the pile of nightgowns. Something small, shiny – and cat-shaped.

Jess recognised it immediately as the brooch Anna Padgett had complained of losing. And there were other things, too, lurking between the nightgowns. A string of pearls, a letter addressed to one of the second-year students, a single earring, a half-empty perfume bottle . . .

Jess sniffed it. Midnight In Paris.

Guiltily, she stuffed the things back into the drawer and closed it. Sister Sutton must have a very good reason for keeping them here, she told herself. Even if she couldn’t quite imagine what it was.

Sister Sutton was looking much better when Jess arrived to see her that evening.

‘I’ve seen Matron,’ she announced. ‘She’s said I can go back to my own room as long as I have sufficient rest. She quite rightly thinks I will be far more comfortable in familiar surroundings.’ She gave Jess a superior smile. ‘So I’ll be able to keep an eye on you again, young lady!’

Jess smiled back, but her mind was racing. She wanted to ask Sister Sutton about the missing items, but couldn’t bring herself to do it.

As usual, Sister Sutton didn’t miss a thing. ‘What?’ she demanded impatiently. ‘You’re positively twitching, child. Either you have a bad case of worms or you have something you want to say. Well? Spit it out.’

Jess hesitated. ‘It’s about Nurse Padgett’s brooch,’ she began uncertainly.

Sister Sutton looked blank. ‘What brooch?’

‘The one that went missing a few weeks ago. Do you remember, she searched high and low for it, but she never found it?’

‘Yes, well, the careless girl probably lost it in the street.’ Sister Sutton shrugged. ‘Either that or it disappeared up that wretched vacuum cleaner, never to be seen again. Things often go missing, it’s the way of the world.’

‘That’s just it,’ Jess started to say. ‘Don’t you think it’s odd that so many things have gone missing recently? Bottles of perfume, pearls, letters, that sort of thing?’

‘Have they gone missing? I don’t recall.’ Sister Sutton frowned. ‘No one’s told me about anything going missing. And I’m sure they would have come to me first, as I’m the Home Sister.’

Jess stared into Sister Sutton’s blank face. Either she was the best liar in the world or she genuinely had no recollection what Jess was talking about.

The porter arrived, pushing an empty wheelchair. ‘Taxi for Sister Sutton!’ he said cheerily.

She sent him a withering look. ‘I beg your pardon?’ she said. ‘May I remind you, young man, I still carry the rank of Sister within this hospital, which entitles me to a suitable show of respect from the likes of you. Kindly address me properly, or not at all.’

‘Sorry, Sister.’ The young man hung his head. ‘Begging your pardon, I’ve been sent to take you back to the nurses’ home.’

Sister Sutton eyed the wheelchair. ‘And I don’t suppose I have any choice in the matter,’ she said with a martyred sigh.

‘I’ll go and get your room ready,’ Jess said quickly, edging towards the door.

Sister Sutton eyed her suspiciously. ‘Get it ready? What do you mean?’

‘I’ll light the fire. You need it nice and warm when you’re poorly, don’t you?’

She darted away before Sister Sutton could point out it was August and the sun was blazing outside.

Jess ran back to Sister Sutton’s flat, tripping headlong over Sparky as she went. He seemed to sense her agitation, prancing at her feet and yapping his head off.

‘Shhh!’ Jess hissed. ‘I’m trying to get your mistress out of trouble, not land myself in it!’

She stuffed the stolen items into her pocket and slammed the drawer shut, moments before the porter arrived with Sister Sutton sitting like a stately Britannia in the wheelchair.

‘You’re looking very shifty again,’ she said to Jess. ‘What are you up to now?’

‘Nothing.’ Jess couldn’t meet her eye. ‘I’ve just got to fetch something from my room.’

As she hurried away, she heard Sister Sutton mutter, ‘Good gracious, Sparky, I don’t know what’s the matter with the girl today. I suspect she may have worms after all.’

Jess went into her own room and put the missing belongings under her mattress, then sat down on the bed.

At least they were safe there. Now all she had to do was work out what she was going to do with them.

IT WAS ALMOST
a week before Hugo Morgan finally showed his face on the ward. Effie watched from the milk kitchen as he slunk in through the double doors, looking this way and that before he crept down the ward towards Sister’s desk.

‘Look at him,’ Hilda Ross said. ‘Doesn’t look so cocky this morning, does he?’

‘He’s probably expecting me to pounce and crown him with a bedpan,’ Effie said.

Hilda looked sideways at her. ‘And will you?’

‘I’m not even going to talk to him if I can help it.’

‘None of us are,’ Hilda said loyally. ‘We don’t think it’s right, what he did to you and poor Mulhearn. Even Bates thinks he’s behaved like a cad.’

Just at that moment Frances emerged from behind a screen. She saw Hugo and stalked past him with a dismissive toss of her head. He watched her go with a puzzled frown on his face.

‘You see?’ Hilda nudged her. ‘We stick together, us nurses.’

‘Better late than never, I suppose,’ Effie muttered.

Hilda looked at the bottle Effie was making up. ‘Is that for Teddy Potts? Be careful how quickly you give it to him. You know how he greedy he can be if you let him.’

‘I know, all right!’ Effie had been through more clean aprons feeding Teddy than any other baby. Sometimes he was as good as gold, other times he was like an unexploded bomb. The pros sometimes took bets on when he would go off.

Effie had meant to avoid Hugo if she could, but as luck would have it he had come to write up notes on some of the babies. Effie sat on the nursing chair, giving Teddy Potts his feed, while Hugo moved stiffly around her, avoiding her gaze. At least he didn’t try to talk to her while Sister was watching.

But then Sister disappeared behind the screens with Nurse Lane to examine a bad burns case, leaving the ward unattended.

‘Alone at last!’ Hugo joked weakly. ‘I was hoping I might have a moment to talk to you, darling.’

‘Oh yes?’ Effie feigned innocence. ‘What about?’

Even from three cots away, she saw him gulp. ‘I feel simply awful about what happened at the ball.’ His words tumbled out in a rush.

‘Not awful enough to own up,’ Effie said.

He was silent for a moment. Then he tried again. ‘You were a real brick, not telling on me to Matron.’

Effie looked up at him, meeting his eyes for the first time. ‘I wanted to give you the chance to do it yourself.’

Hugo laughed, then quickly sobered when he saw her face. ‘You’re serious, aren’t you? Good God, Euphemia, do you know what this could do to my future if it came out?’