Reporting for Duty, page 15
The sister who Minnie had thought was a bit bad-tempered had proved the opposite. She had arranged for Eileen to have a comfortable camp bed, a pillow and blankets so she could sleep beside Danny and not remain upright on the hard visitors’ chair.
She smoothed the blankets over Danny and clambered into her own bed. Strange that Ben had ended up in the same ward with more or less the same problem. She smiled – he had more and Danny had less where legs were concerned, but they were both lucky to be alive. She was finding it hard to accept that for the rest of her life she was going to be little more than an unpaid nurse for someone she didn’t love and wasn’t sure she even liked. Danny felt like a stranger to her now, she scarcely recognised him, but even before he’d left, they’d not been that close.
When no baby had arrived in the first year of their marriage, intimacy had all but stopped. Occasionally when he’d had a few too many beers he demanded his marital rights but, thankfully, that hadn’t happened often.
Until she’d talked to Ben about how her future was going to be, it hadn’t seemed real. She’d still clung onto the faint possibility that she could continue in the ATS but that was obviously no longer an option.
There was no point in her leaving to train as a PT instructor, but she hoped they’d let her stay and help with the new recruits as they went through their training. It would be some solace to spend time with Minnie as she’d turned out to be the best friend Eileen had ever had.
The doctor had said Danny would probably stay at Chelmsford for a few weeks, until he could walk about with crutches, then he’d be transferred somewhere for rehabilitation and the fitting of his new leg.
There was no necessity for her to stay overnight any more and tomorrow she’d explain this and return to Great Baddow. She supposed that she’d be expected to visit him twice a week but wished she didn’t have to. Danny had no one else, so it was her Christian duty to follow the rules and do what a good wife would do.
Of course, she was thankful to God for sparing her husband but was going to have to draw on her deep faith and belief that marriage vows were sacred to get through the rest of her life with a man she didn’t know.
To be honest, it had been a relief when he’d shipped overseas with the British Expeditionary Force. She’d enjoyed being independent, living in her own house, doing a job she enjoyed at the Co-op.
How was she going to be able to spend possibly decades living with him? What made things more difficult was that he had begged her not to leave him now he was a cripple, and she’d given her promise that she wouldn’t.
The next morning, Eileen was up, washed and her bag packed, ready to leave after the morning round of the doctor and his entourage. There was no visiting until two o’clock, but she thought she’d risk a peek into the ward where Ben was. There were no lurking nurses and he saw her, had been watching the door as if he was expecting her to come. She took one of the chairs stacked neatly against the end wall and carried it over so she could sit next to him. The curtains were drawn around two of the beds and the other patient was still either unconscious or deeply asleep. This gave them the illusion of privacy.
‘Good morning, Eileen, how’s your husband today?’
‘He’s wide awake and eaten more breakfast than I did. I’ve told him I’m going back to Great Baddow but will visit him when I can.’ She hesitated but then decided to tell Ben how Danny had changed. ‘He’s refusing to discuss our future, is pretending that he’s fine, it’s really hard. He was always a taciturn man and now I’m finding it impossible to relate to him.’
‘Give him time, it’s traumatic losing your leg. I should know as I’ve almost lost mine twice. Were you close before?’
What a strange conversation to be having with the man she was having very inappropriate thoughts about. She could talk to Ben in a way she’d never been able to with Danny.
‘I’ve asked myself that exact question and the answer is I don’t think so. He singled me out when I was still at school, the year before I took my school certificate. I was always a plain girl and he was quite good looking and I was flattered by his attention.’
‘Fishing for compliments, Eileen? He was lucky to have you – you’re not only lovely but also intelligent and kind,’ Ben said.
‘Good heavens, I think the anaesthetic must have damaged your eyesight. However, I accept the intelligent and kind compliment gratefully.’
‘How long have you been married?’
‘As soon I left school at nineteen. I stayed onto take my highers. I’m twenty-three now. Do you know, I’ve had the most uncharitable thoughts about my marriage. I’m beginning to wonder if Danny only married me because he knew I had an annuity. It’s only £100 a year but because I couldn’t claim it until either I was twenty-one years of age or got married, it had been building up and was over £1,600 by then.’
Ben’s smile was charming. ‘A woman of substance as well as beauty. I’m sure if you’d been given the opportunity that you’d have had dozens of offers.’ He stared at her in a way that made her heart skip a beat. ‘Why do you think that you’re not attractive? Did somebody ever tell you that?’
‘My mother was slim, several inches shorter than me and with lovely dark brown hair. She told me I was fat and ugly and insisted that I covered my hair with a hideous bonnet when I was a child and an even worse hat as I got older.’
‘Your wonderful russet tresses are literally your crowning glory. Is your mother still around?’
Eileen shook her head. ‘No, she died three years ago. My father died from injuries he received in the first war several years ago. He was a sergeant major, I believe, and worshipped my mother, but sadly agreed with every word she said.’
‘Then the pair of them destroyed your confidence, which was unforgivable. Let me assure you, and I’m an expert on the subject, that you’re a very attractive young woman. I can’t tell you how sorry I am about the situation with your husband.’
‘Thank you, but I’d never leave Danny. I spoke my wedding vows in the sight of God and believe that they’re sacred.’
Ben leaned back and his smile was no longer charming but dangerous, wicked even, and for some reason her pulse skipped a beat.
‘I wish you weren’t married. There’s a connection between us, don’t you think?’ He spoke sincerely, meant every word. This time he wasn’t flirting but speaking from his heart.
‘I do like you, Ben, but we mustn’t even think about that.’
She went to stand up but he reached out and took her hand. The touch was like a fizz of electricity running up her arm. She knew she should pull away, but something held her captive.
His long, strong fingers gently stroked her wrist and she caught her breath. Then he pulled her closer and she couldn’t resist. His other arm stroked her face and then their lips were touching. Scarcely a kiss, but it was enough to tell her she had feelings for him and they were forbidden.
Shocked by her actions, she stepped back. ‘No, Ben, this is wrong. It doesn’t matter what we feel, what we want, I’m a married woman and we can never be together.’
His eyes glittered and his unshed tears were too much. With a gulp, she fled from the ward and, as she was entering Danny’s room, a staff nurse came up to her.
‘Private Ruffel, your husband will be moved into one of the main wards to continue his recovery. I’m not exactly sure which one it will be, but it will definitely be on this side of the hospital with the other service men.’
‘Thank you, that’s very good news. He’ll do better if he has someone to talk to when I’m not there. I have to go as the bus is due in ten minutes and there’s not another one for an hour. Would you be kind enough to tell him that I’ll come and see him as soon as I get permission to do so?’
As she clambered onto the bus few minutes later, Eileen knew it wouldn’t be Danny she wanted to see, but Ben, and she daren’t risk seeing him again.
16
Minnie was still glowing with satisfaction after she and her squad had beaten all the other contenders at the drill contest. She wished that Eileen had been there as she’d have enjoyed it as much as everybody else.
‘I say, well done, Lance Corporal, we’re very proud of you and your girls. As a thank you, you have the remainder of the day and evening to yourselves to celebrate. I’ve arranged for special refreshments to be served to you all in the NAAFI.’ The major, the barracks CO, patted her on the arm.
‘Thank you, sir, we enjoyed the experience.’
He then strode off to congratulate the men who had also done well – but they’d come second this year, not first, so had provided no silverware to go on his shelf.
Endean had stepped back a week ago and left the training to Minnie so wasn’t there to be congratulated.
‘Well done, ladies. We showed them blokes how to do it,’ Minnie said. ‘Off to the NAAFI. We’ve got something special laid on for us and then we can do what we blooming well want after. I’m going to nip into Chelmsford and see how Eileen’s getting on.’
‘Do we have time to go to the pictures? What time do we have to be back on the base?’ Grace asked.
‘By lights out, so ten o’clock. Plenty of time to see a flick.’
‘Are you going to come with Clara and me?’
‘No, ta, I’ll stop with Eileen.’
The NAAFI had done them proud. Several tables had been pushed together at one end of the large room and were ready for the triumphant squad. The girls who’d been substituted were obviously included in this rare treat. The food was tasty, sausage rolls, sandwiches with real cheese and pickle, decent ham with mustard as well as a selection of cakes and lashings of tea. Considering civilians only got an ounce of cheese each a week, Minnie was amazed that the NAAFI had used so much of their precious ration for their tea.
‘That bread was a bit of all right, weren’t it, Clara?’ Minnie said as she polished off the last of her sandwiches. ‘Better than the usual grey National bread we get most days.’
‘It certainly was,’ Clara replied. ‘I won’t need any supper so Grace and I can watch the entire programme. I don’t care what films are showing, it will just be a pleasure to be away from here for a few hours.’
‘You’ll be away from here permanently from the end of next week, don’t forget. Everybody’s going to find out where they’re going in a couple of days and will be posted for further training or their actual trade.’
‘That’s very true,’ Grace said. ‘I hope Clara and I stay together at least for our training.’
‘Eileen won’t be going nowhere now as she’s going to have to leave the ATS to look after her husband. Junior Commander Davies said Eileen can stop here and help with the new recruits until he’s out of hospital and I don’t reckon that’ll be for weeks, if not months.’
Grace turned away without comment and spoke to Clara. ‘We ought to leave soon if we’re going to catch the bus. We’ve got to collect our gas masks and so on first, so we’d better hurry.’
Minnie was able to catch the same bus as everybody else and thought it a bit off that Clara and Grace hadn’t waited for her. They also appeared to make a point of sitting as far away as they could, but maybe she was imagining they were ignoring her.
Grace was sometimes a bit sniffy, but Minnie put it aside as Grace and Clara would both be gone at the end of next week. She and Eileen would be the only ones left from their intake.
On arrival at the hospital later that day, Minnie made her way to the ward where she expected to find Eileen. Today she’d come at visiting time so there were dozens of people wandering about looking for their loved ones.
She wasn’t exactly sure where Corporal Ruffel was but she thought he’d been in a small side room, but when she entered she found this was empty and there was no sign of her friend. She peered into the adjacent ward with four beds and immediately saw Lieutenant Sawyer.
‘You look better than I expected, sir, considering you were carted off in an ambulance a few days ago at death’s door according to several witnesses.’
Ben had been reading the paper and immediately folded it carefully, put it on his locker and then beamed. ‘I’m sure you haven’t actually come to visit me, Lance Corporal, but if I can prevail upon you to remain for a few minutes, I’ll give you the information you want about your friend Eileen.’
Minnie hesitated but he pointed to a chair sitting to attention next to his bed.
‘See, this is ready and waiting, so how can you refuse a poor lonely officer?’
She sat down and raised an eyebrow – not something she did very often but the occasion called for it. He appreciated the gesture and his eyes danced.
‘Right, point made and taken. Corporal Ruffel has been moved to another ward and Eileen left a couple of hours ago. You must have missed each other somehow.’
‘Bloody hell, what a waste of time.’
Now he laughed. ‘Hit a man when he’s down, why don’t you? I’ve never been called a waste of time before, which is very humbling for a man like me.’
‘Don’t be daft, you know what I mean. Any road up, I’m visiting you now, ain’t I?’
‘Indeed you are and very much appreciated it is too. I’m going to make the most of it as I don’t suppose I’ll get many visitors whilst I’m here.’
Minnie didn’t contradict him but had a sneaking feeling she might find an excuse to come into Chelmsford again in a few days if she got the opportunity. Strange that she didn’t fancy him but did enjoy spending time with him. She told him about winning the drill competition and he was suitably impressed.
‘I wouldn’t be surprised if you get another promotion after this. As far as I can see, you did a damn sight better job than Corporal Endean and without her experience or training.’
‘I’ve been reading up on that and I have to go away for a special course or something before they can make me up to corporal. I’ve only been here five minutes…’
Lieutenant Sawyer looked very obviously at his expensive wristwatch. ‘Actually, you’ve been here seven minutes.’
It was her turn to laugh. He was really very easy to talk to. ‘You know what I meant. Endean told me if I get sent on this cadre thing then I’d be one of the first to be made up so quickly at Great Baddow.’
‘It would be unusual but then you’re an exceptional young woman. If you made an effort to improve your speech, I honestly think you could be sent to train to be an officer in a few months.’
‘I’m proud to be from the East End and have no intention of improving anything apart from me knowledge of the army.’
He raised a hand as if an apology. ‘I’m sorry, crass of me. I don’t care how you speak, I just like to listen to what you say, but I’m afraid there are more idiots made up to officers than there are sensible people. It’s still who you are rather than what you are that gets you promoted.’
‘I forgive you. I reckon that you ain’t like any other officer on the base. If you was, I wouldn’t be talking to you like this.’ Minnie grinned. ‘I’m aiming to be a staff sergeant – that’ll be six steps up and more than enough for me.’
‘And I’m quite certain that you’ll get there and far quicker than any other candidate. You’re right, you’ll have to attend a course to become a corporal. It’s only three weeks and then you’ll be back to train the new recruits.’
‘How long will you be in here, sir?’
‘A week at least, possibly longer and then I’m hoping to return to barracks and do desk work. I really don’t want to go home – I don’t get on with my mother.’
‘Fair enough. I better get going as I want to catch the next bus back and find Eileen.’
‘If you must. My name’s Ben, by the way, and I know that yours is Minnie. If you use it next time you visit, I won’t report you for insubordination.’
‘What makes you think I’m going to come again?’ She ignored his invitation, as to use his first name would be breaking all the rules.
‘I’m sure you’ll take pity on a lonely, extremely handsome young officer and visit him on his bed of sickness.’
She waved to him as she left and was still smiling as she joined the queue of housewives with bulging shopping bags at the bus stop. She didn’t fancy him but did enjoy his company.
Ben wasn’t surprised when Freddie yanked his curtain back and winked at him. ‘Good God, old boy, two popsies at the same time. Hats off to you, chum. I thought it was the boys in blue who were successful with the ladies.’
‘I’m just amusing myself. The two girls involved are unavailable, so a little harmless flirtation doesn’t hurt any of us. I’m sure that in the RAF officers can’t fraternise with other ranks, male or female.’ He hoped his casual explanation fooled Freddie, it sounded lame to him. He flopped back on the pillows, trying to gather his thoughts. How could he have fallen in love with Eileen after spending so short a time in her company? Love at first sight? He’d not believed that was possible but now he knew it was true. What a bloody, damnable mess this was.
‘And quite right too. I was jesting, old bean, and like your style. I have a delightful fiancée in the WAAF but as she’s posted on the other side of the country, we rarely see each other now.’ Freddie grimaced and settled back more comfortably on his pillow. ‘I enjoy the company of young ladies but am absolutely faithful to my Jenny.’
The soldier with a burst appendix appeared to be recovering well from his surgery, but the other chap was still comatose and Ben didn’t like to ask any of the medical staff exactly what was wrong with the poor sod.
Not long after Minnie had departed, Major Bentley arrived and spent the first ten minutes extolling the virtues of the ATS team, which had done the barracks proud that morning.
‘Rotten luck, my boy, having those screws, or whatever they were, in your leg fail. When do you expect to be fit for duty?’
