The Nightingale Girls - By Donna Douglas Page 0,82

down, put your cuffs on and come over here.’

With a quick, guilty glance at Lucy, Millie hastily put the bowl on the stand at the far end of the ward, covered it with a towel and hurried back to join Sister Wren and the other nurses, who were busy patting their hair and smoothing down their aprons. All she could hope now was that Mr Cooper didn’t mind too much that the water in the bowl was stone cold.

She was still fastening the studs on her cuffs when the doors swung open and the Great One himself entered, followed by his firm, a procession of two registrars, a pair of senior housemen and several medical students. Millie could immediately see why Blanche had put on lipstick and Sister had teased her hair. Mr Cooper looked like Errol Flynn in a white coat.

‘Sister Wren,’ he greeted her with a nod.

‘Mr Cooper,’ she simpered. Her voice was high and fluttery, and nothing like the sharp tone she took with her nurses. ‘Your water is ready, if you would care to step this way?’

‘Thank you.’ Millie and Lucy exchanged panicked looks as he strode over to the basin, his retinue following behind. Millie crossed her fingers behind her back. The whole ward seemed utterly, deathly silent, although she guessed that was because they had been struck dumb by their ill-fitting teeth.

Mr Cooper hitched up the sleeves of his white coat, flicked the towel aside and plunged his hands into the water. Millie closed her eyes and prayed.

Please don’t let it be too cold, please . . .

For a moment nothing happened. Then Mr Cooper said in his deep voice, ‘Sister, would you mind explaining why there is a set of false teeth in the bottom of this bowl?’

Sister Wren opened her mouth to speak, but before she could utter a word, a voice rang out from the far end of the ward.

‘Oh, they’ll be mine, Doctor. The nurse forgot to give me back my set.’ They all turned to see Blanche grinning toothlessly at them all. Her bright red lips only emphasised the gaping cavern of her mouth.

The silence seemed to go on forever. Millie could feel everyone staring at her, but she couldn’t look up from the shiny floor. She’d done a good job of polishing it, she thought. But it would take more than a spot of cleaning to save her now.

‘Nurse . . . my office . . . immediately.’ Sister Wren turned on her heel and stalked out of the ward. Millie trailed after her.

She braced herself as best she might, but couldn’t have prepared herself for the full force of Sister Wren’s wrath. ‘Never . . . in my whole career . . . utterly humiliated.’ Cords of suppressed rage stood out on her thin neck. ‘Dumbfounded . . . disgrace to nursing . . .’ Millie let the words wash over her, until finally the storm blew itself out.

‘Well? What have you to say for yourself?’ Sister demanded when she finally paused for breath.

‘It was an accident, Sister.’

Sister Wren closed her eyes, mentally composing herself. ‘You,’ she said, enunciating slowly and carefully, ‘are one big accident waiting to happen. I would send you to Matron but I’m sure she’s already seen more than enough of you. Now please get out of my sight. And be sure I will be mentioning this in my ward report. How we are going to survive the next three months with you on my ward, I have no idea.’

Lucy was waiting for her in the sluice when she returned. ‘What happened?’

‘I don’t want to talk about it.’ Millie’s hands shook as she washed them under the tap. ‘Has Mr Cooper gone?’

Lucy nodded. ‘He said he’d come back and continue his round when Sister had finished dealing with you. He didn’t look too pleased.’

‘Oh dear.’ He would probably go straight to Matron too. Millie had a sudden, horrible vision of being packed off unceremoniously back to Billinghurst. Her grandmother would be delighted. ‘What do you think I should do?’ she pleaded.

‘I’d stay out of everyone’s way, if I were you.’ Lucy could barely hide her glee.

But first Millie had to sort out the puzzle of the teeth. She was so miserable she could barely speak as she trailed up and down the ward with her bowl. But the women did their best to cheer her up.

‘Don’t worry about it, love, worse things happen at sea,’ Blanche said. ‘Besides, it gave us all a