The Nightingale Girls - By Donna Douglas Page 0,93

stop taunting her. But no such luck. It was as if she had pushed the whole incident to the back of her mind, pretending it had never happened.

‘We can’t all be top of the class like you, can we?’ replied Dora. ‘You’ll have to give me some tips. I’ve heard you’re a dab hand in the kitchen?’

Lucy’s cheeks coloured, and Dora knew her barb had hit home. Lucy left her alone for the rest of the meal, although Dora had to listen to her bragging to the other girls about how Sister Wren had praised her bed-making skills.

‘Sorry,’ Katie O’Hara caught up with Dora as they left the dining room. ‘I didn’t mean to make fun of you, honest to God. I was only telling the girls what had happened.’

‘It’s all right.’ Dora shrugged. ‘I know what Lane’s like. She never misses a chance to have a go at me.’

‘She’s got a mouth on her, right enough,’ Katie said. ‘Listen, are you coming to sit with us tonight? We all finish at six so we’re going to do a bit of studying in Brennan’s room. Lane won’t be there,’ she reassured Dora hastily. ‘She reckons she doesn’t need to revise as much as us slowcoaches.’

‘She wants to revise some manners,’ Dora said. For all her airs and graces, Lucy Lane knew nothing about being a lady.

‘True enough. So are you coming or not?’

‘Later,’ Dora said. ‘I want to go to the porters’ lodge first.’

‘Oh, yes?’ Katie wiggled her eyebrows. ‘You’ve been paying a few visits there lately. Got your eye on someone, have you?’

‘Hardly. I owe someone a favour, and it’s about time I paid him back.’

‘Aye aye, Mr H. Here comes your mate!’

Edwin Hopkins looked up from tuning his radio, irritated at the interruption. He’d been looking forward to hearing Marjorie Westbury and the BBC Orchestra.

He was even more irritated to see that wretched ginger-haired nurse stomping across the courtyard towards the lodge again. Now he’d miss Marjorie completely.

‘What does she want this time?’ he sighed.

‘Same as she wanted all the other times, I expect.’ Percy Carson grinned. ‘Our Nick.’

‘No prizes for guessing why, I suppose,’ Edwin Hopkins muttered to himself. Nick Riley was a hard enough worker, but he had trouble written all over him.

‘How many times has she been round here? Must be at least once a week. You’d think she’d take the hint by now, wouldn’t you?’ Davey Johnson said.

‘Maybe she’s in trouble?’ Percy suggested.

‘Wouldn’t be the first time a nurse has found herself in bother,’ Davey agreed.

‘No wonder Nick runs a mile, then!’

‘Now, I won’t have that kind of talk in here,’ Edwin Hopkins warned them. He didn’t hold with bad-mouthing young ladies. Even if some of them were no better than they ought to be.

He glanced at the ginger girl. He almost felt sorry for young Nick if she got hold of him. She struck him as a bit of a firecracker.

He met her at the door to the lodge. ‘Before you ask, he’s gone. And you needn’t think about barging your way in to look for him the way you did before, because he’s not here, see?’ Hopkins sidestepped to block Dora’s way as she craned her neck to look over his shoulder.

‘I don’t believe you,’ she said bluntly.

‘I’ll have you know, I’ve never told a lie in my life, young lady.’ Edwin Hopkins’ moustache bristled with indignation. ‘If I say he isn’t here, then he isn’t.’

The girl frowned. She didn’t look like Nick’s type, thought Hopkins. He usually went for the pretty ones, the ones who fluffed and primped and giggled. Not ones with sturdy legs, frizzy hair and an expression that looked as if they were wondering who to hit next.

‘Did he get my letters?’ she asked.

Edwin Hopkins nodded. ‘Of course he did. I handed them over right away.’ He didn’t like to tell her Nick had stuffed them straight in his pocket without even looking at them. He didn’t reckon Nick Riley was much of a reader.

The wind whipped the girl’s red curls across her face and she pushed them back, tucking them behind one ear. She stood there, looking around her, at a loss for what to do next.

Edwin felt a lurch of pity for her. For all her front, she was only young. He hoped she wasn’t in trouble, poor girl. If she was, she wouldn’t get much help from Nick Riley.

‘Look, Miss, if you’ve got any sense, you’ll stop coming around here looking for him,’ he said