were just having a bit of a laugh with the new nurse, that’s all.’
‘Really, Mr Hubbard, that is hardly a gentlemanly thing to do to a young student on her first day!’ Sister Blake eyed him sternly. ‘Doyle is very shaken, as you can see.’
‘Sorry, Nurse.’ Mr Hubbard didn’t look at all sorry. It was all he could do to stop himself smiling. ‘It was just a joke. No harm done.’
Sister Blake turned to Dora. ‘Are you all right, Nurse?’ Dora nodded, still shaken. ‘Go and get a cloth and get this mess cleaned up. Really, Mr Hubbard, anyone would think we had nothing better to do!’
Dora rushed off to the sluice, a chorus of laughter still ringing in her ears.
She stood at the sink, trying to calm herself down. It was a joke, she told herself over and over again. Just a joke.
‘Have you got that cloth yet?’ Staff Nurse O’Hara appeared in the doorway. ‘For heaven’s sake, Doyle, don’t look so terrified. They were only having a laugh. And they’ll probably do it again, too, if they get a reaction like that out of you. You’ve got to toughen up, or you won’t last five minutes on this ward.’
Only having a laugh? Dora thought as she wrung out a cloth. Maybe it was just a bit of fun for anyone else. But for her, it brought back too many horrible memories ever to be funny.
Chapter Twenty-Five
‘I HAVE A very important job for you to do and I want you to listen carefully while I explain it.’
Millie was surprised. Her first three days on Wren hadn’t been a spectacular success. As far as Sister Wren was concerned, she seemed to make a mess of everything.
‘Why are you taking so long?’ she’d demanded that morning, as Millie returned from collecting up the breakfast dishes. ‘You’re here to work, not gossip with the patients.’
But Millie couldn’t help it. The women were so much fun, and terribly keen to stop her for a chat. It seemed rude to hurry by, and Millie did feel for them, being stuck in bed away from their families. It must be so terribly boring, she thought, seeing the same faces day after day.
Sister Wren didn’t see it like that, unfortunately. Millie had only been working with her for a few days, but she had already realised that Sister had little time or sympathy for most of her patients.
Given their dismal relationship so far, it was very surprising she should be entrusting Millie with an important task now.
‘Yes, Sister.’ She stood to attention.
‘The consultant, Mr Cooper, is doing his round later this morning,’ Sister Wren explained. It might not have been her real name, but she lived up to it perfectly. She looked exactly like a bird, with her tiny frame, beaky nose and dark, darting eyes. The thin hair under her cap was a dusty brown colour, like a sparrow’s wing. ‘It’s very important that when he arrives everything is in order. Mr Cooper is very particular, and I do not want any complaints from him.’ She eyed Millie severely. ‘When he arrives on the ward he likes to wash his hands straight away. So I will need you to have a basin of water ready for him.’
‘Yes, Sister.’
‘It must be waiting by the door, with a towel over it. The water must be neither too hot nor too cold. Is that understood?’
‘Yes, Sister. Not too hot and not too cold.’
‘Good. See that it’s done correctly, please.’
She started to walk away. ‘Sister?’ Millie called after her, puzzled.
Sister Wren turned slowly back to face her. Too late Millie remembered that humble pros were not supposed to speak unless spoken to.
‘Yes?’ she said icily.
‘What is the important job?’
Sister Wren stared at her. ‘I’ve just explained it to you. Don’t tell me you need telling again?’
‘No, I just—’ Millie had had visions of being called on to give her opinion on some medical matter, or at least being allowed to pass the consultant some notes. ‘I just didn’t think fetching a basin of water was that important, that’s all.’
Sister narrowed her eyes. ‘You get it wrong and you’ll see how important it is,’ she said.
After the bedpan round it was time to clean the ward. As Millie and Lucy Lane swept, polished and buffed every inch of floor space, Millie kept her eyes fixed on the doors.
‘Why do you keep staring like that?’ Lucy asked.
‘I don’t want to miss the consultant when he arrives.’
‘Don’t worry, you won’t. I heard