The Mersey Angels

by Sheila Riley

  ‘Ned!’ Anna could not stop herself from letting out a squeal of delight. Running into his arms, she felt his lips on hers. Probing. Urgent. If she could have climbed inside his skin, she would. Eventually they reluctantly parted as a point of decency. Their eyes, now adjusted to the matte black of the night in the silvery moonlight, were only for each other.

  ‘You stink to high heaven,’ Anna said adoringly, as Ned’s right hand spanned her slim waist, while the other, she noticed held a walking stick. Gone now was the sweet scent of hay that used to follow him round when he worked in the stables, instead he carried the scent of the sea that clung to his navy-blue great coat.

  ‘You say the nicest things, Anna.’ Ned had heard the army truck was coming to Ashland Hall when he got off the troop ship and had begged a ride from Liverpool docks. He had waited over a year to see Anna and did not want to waste another moment and hold her in his arms. The soldiers, some only half-conscious, were in dire need of a bath.

  However, such luxuries were far from their minds when they held back the enemy line. After a gruelling battle where many men died, their offensive was called off, while smaller skirmishes continued. Their attempt to capture the village of Hooge resulted in many wounded. Since then, they had battled on relentlessly, only now, many months later, seeing their homeland for the first time. During the most horrific battle of the war so far, the Bosch headed their attack with the introduction of poison gas. French and Canadian forces had suffered heavy casualties, but Ned was not going to worry Anna with the news.

  He may skirt over the sinking of his own ship, off the Dardanelles after the second battle of Ypres, sure Ruby and Anna would not want to hear about such things.

  ‘I could do with a tidy up,’ Ned said in the marbled lobby where stretchers were being installed into wards and the walking wounded hobbled towards an anteroom where they would give their particulars if they were able.

  ‘I will show you where the bathroom is,’ Anna said. ‘We have plenty of soap and hot water.’

  ‘Sounds like heaven,’ Ned answered, keeping his tone upbeat even though the pain screaming through his thigh was almost unbearable. But he was not going to give his darling Anna cause to worry on his first night back.

  ‘Aunt Ruby will lay an egg if she sees the state of these men.’ Then, as if the sound of her name made her appear, Ruby was moving forth like a ship in full sail.

  ‘Ned! My darling boy,’ Ruby said in a voice only a smidgeon calmer than Anna’s, ‘there is so much we have to catch up on – after your bath.’

  ‘I want the doctor to have a look at this leg, too, if that’s possible.’

  ‘Doctor Bea is a treasure,’ said Anna, encouraging a raised eyebrow from Ned. ‘And even managed to acquire an X-ray machine.’

  ‘An X-ray machine?’ Ned asked, noting how fetching Anna looked in her nurse’s uniform.

  Anna drew her gaze from Ned, knowing she must concentrate on why she was here. There were a lot of soldiers ready to be admitted and she had to pull her weight.

  Anna smoothed a strand of pale honey-coloured hair that had escaped her white headscarf tied at the back. Her face growing hot, she patted the stiff collar, wishing she could remove it. Anna took a deep, heart-slowing breath, glad that Ned was home at last.

  As the demand for auxiliary hospital beds increased, Anna knew these boys would not be here for long. VAD nurses and other Red Cross volunteers were on hand to deal with the incoming patients. Ashland Hall, which had become Ashland Auxiliary Convalescent Hospital, was now under military control and a fully functioning hospital establishment, for recovering soldiers. Anna understood they were to expect more admissions, but looking at the beleaguered bunch of men, she knew it was going to be a busy night. Thank goodness she was still in her pale blue uniform. All she needed to do was put on a clean white apron. Some of the men were in bandages, several in splints and a few were unconscious, lying on stretchers.

  ‘I thought you were chosen to escort the casualties, but I can see you weren’t chosen,’ Anna said to Ned, leading the way to the large anteroom where the soldiers would be assessed for the amount of care they needed, before being admitted to the most suitable wards.

  ‘It’s nothing,’ Ned said, dismissing his obvious wound. ‘A slight graze with a piece of shrapnel in the thigh,’ Ned replied and began to undo his buttons, ‘here, I’ll show you.’

  ‘Not here!’ Anna said, cutting off any view from prying eyes, and she saw that mischievous smile she had fallen in love with all those years ago back in Queen Street where they grew up together. ‘So, you’re not on leave. You’re here to recuperate?’

  When the formalities had been gone through, and the huge front door of the hospital closed for the night, Anna found Ned sitting quietly in the private sitting room, used only for family gatherings. When they were alone, he lit the gas mantle.

  ‘Why didn’t you tell me you had been injured?’ Anna could feel her throat tighten when she noticed the black circles under his eyes, which told their own tale. He was thinner now too and his once vibrant eyes had a haunted, tired look. Although there was still a ghost of misbehaviour when he took her in his arms and Anna’s heartbeat raced. ‘Ned!’ Anna said reluctantly as he pulled her closer, ‘someone might come.’

  ‘Good old English reserve.’ Ned laughed, letting her go, although, his laugh was not as hearty as it used to be, she noticed. ‘We picked up some navy lads from the military hospital in Fazakerley,’ Ned told her, filling in the heavy silence that ensued.

  ‘The First Western?’ Anna asked, feeling unusually shy in his presence, and he nodded. They were just making small talk. Both knowing what they wanted. Each could see it in their hungry eyes. If only they could be alone, thought Anna…

  ‘I couldn’t wait another moment, I had to see you.’ Ned’s words tumbled from his ever-so-kissable lips, and Anna imagined herself melting, just sliding onto the carpet in a puddle of lust as her cheeks grew hotter.

  The feeling made her vulnerable, just thinking about their entwining limbs gave her sharp palpitations that, in any other situation, would need the attention of Doctor Bea. As every hair on her scalp stood to attention and every skin cell tingled when his finger brushed her cheek, Anna knew if he took her now, she would not object.

  ‘I have missed you so much it hurt,’ Ned told her. Standing up and reaching out, he caught her waist and drew her to him, caressing the arc of her hip bones with his thumbs, his lips melding with hers, and Anna felt as if she had a runaway horse thundering inside her. Or maybe that was Ned’s heartbeat she could feel. Then suddenly he pulled away, holding her at arm’s length. ‘Let’s get me fixed up,’ he said, his voice raspy with desire, his rapid breathing told Anna he had far more willpower than she did, because she knew, if he had lingered a moment longer, she would have… she would…

  Quickly coming to her senses, Anna knew what could have happened and the thought terrified her. What if…? What if…? No. She could not think that way. Ned was away at sea for long months. The sea was his life. He always said he wanted to see the world. And she could not jeopardise his ambition. She had a career in nursing and even though her vocation was hard and sometimes heartbreakingly sad, she loved her work and knew she was not ready to give it up, as she would have to do if…

  But Ned was her life. He was the air that she breathed, the light that led her way forward, and if he asked her to walk into the fires of hell to be with him, she would do so. Willingly.

  ‘We have a fully equipped operating theatre,’ Anna said, slipping into her usual nursing style as she had been trained to do in awkward situations, while she led him along the corridor towards Doctor Bea’s examination room, desperately trying to stop the scandalous thoughts that were running through her head. ‘Ashland Hall is complete with trained nurses, as well as volunteer nurses and we also have the wonderful Doctor Bea who will have you on the mend in no time at all.’ Anna knew that treating him like a patient was the only way she could cope. ‘And w
e have wonderful amenities to help in your recuperation…’

  ‘Wonderful,’ Ned repeated, his dancing eyes causing her cheeks to fire up once more. ‘I’ll take it.’

  ‘Pardon?’ Anna asked, stopping to make sure she had heard him properly.

  ‘Your sales pitch was spot on, I’ll put down a deposit on the house forthwith.’ Ned threw back his head and laughed when he saw her forehead crease in confusion and, when she realised he was joking with her, Anna cuffed his arm with the notes she was holding. ‘Nevertheless, I am your man if you need your vegetable gardens sorting or your stables mucking out.’

  ‘There aren’t many horses left since the military requisitioned them,’ Anna said, ‘and you will not be tending any patches until we’ve had a look at that hip.’ His limp was obvious now. She continued to chatter inanely, avoiding any kind of intimacy. If Ned looked at her in that special way he had, she would give herself body and soul. So, help her, she would.

  ‘I suppose this Doctor Bea is ninety-nine and suffering from dementia,’ Ned offered, as they reached Doctor Bea’s door.

  ‘She is nothing of the sort,’ Anna said, amused, when he raised his eyebrows in disbelief.

  ‘A woman?’ Ned questioned his hearing and when Anna nodded, he said: ‘This is only a flesh wound, nothing serious. I don’t need any fuss or bother.’

  ‘Are you sure?’ she asked, looking pointedly at his walking stick.

  ‘I doubt I even need it,’ he said with bravado, ‘but I must admit, it does encourage lots of sympathy from pretty nurses.’ When he saw Anna’s wry expression, he laughed out loud. ‘Well now I’ve heard everything, a woman doctor. Is she beautiful, like you?’

  ‘Wait and see,’ Anna added mysteriously before knocking on the consulting room door, and she was amused to see Ned’s surprised reaction when he realised that Doctor Bea was not the meek and mild woman he had in mind.

  ‘Drop your trousers and get on the bed,’ Doctor Bea instructed, and Anna stifled a giggle as she left the room, knowing that being brusque was the good lady doctor’s way of putting some servicemen firmly in their place.

  Her examination completed, Doctor Bea ordered a wheelchair and told Ned he may take a bath before getting into bed, which he was looking forward to doing. Having travelled from Plymouth in the early hours of God-knows-when, his head could not hit the pillow fast enough.

  ‘I’ll be in the bathroom if you need me,’ Ned told Anna, bashing the wheelchair into the door frame. ‘This thing is not as easy to manoeuvre as a horse – or a ship,’ he grinned.

  ‘Here, let me help you,’ Anna said, expertly directing the wheelchair. Looking at the back of Ned’s strong neck as she pushed him towards the bathroom, Anna recoiled in horror. ‘You have a louse crawling down your neck!’ No matter how much she loved him she was not going to share him with headlice, ‘Your hair is walking with them.’

  ‘They’ll have come off the PBI,’ Ned said. ‘They say the trenches are riddled with them.’

  ‘I don’t care if you got them off the Poor Bloody Infantry or the King of Timbuktu, you are not getting into a nice clean bed without getting rid of every last one,’ Anna said, hanging the ‘in use’ sign on the handle outside the bathroom door. She then locked it behind them and quickly unbuttoned Ned’s shirt. Dragging his singlet over his head, she began filling the bath with hot water. ‘Remove your trousers,’ she ordered, and Ned thought all his birthdays had come at once. However, his hopes were dashed when she said, ‘I am having no lodgers on my ward, not even the six-legged kind!’ She turned quickly when she heard Ned roar with laughter.

  ‘I am capable of undressing if I take it slowly, Anna, but if you insist.’ He began to unbutton his navy-blue uniform trousers, and Anna realised what she had done. In her haste to delouse him, she forgot the implications of being alone while he removed all his clothing!

  ‘Oh, my goodness!’ Anna exclaimed. What was she doing? Her actions could have led to… could have led to… Her pulse was like a runaway train. ‘I could get a severe reprimand for this!’ she said quickly, trying to cover her embarrassment. Even though the thought of making love to Ned here in the bathroom was tempting beyond words, Matron would have her shot by a dawn firing squad, she was sure!

  Quickly she opened the cupboard, took out a bottle of Sassafras oil, and a block of carbolic soap. Then, placing them on the side of the bath, her face hotter than the running water, she said, ‘Of course you can manage!’ Whatever was I thinking? ‘I’ll leave you this. Use as much as you like. We have plenty! And there’s more if you need it.’ Mortified, Anna knew that if he had been an ordinary patient, she would not have batted an eyelid at the cheeky insinuation in his smile, but Ned was anything but ordinary. He was her Ned.

  ‘Put your dirty uniform in the sack provided and I’ll arrange for clean clothes to be sent straight away!’ Anna did not look back as she hurried from the bathroom. Even when she was halfway down the corridor, she could still hear Ned laughing.

  ‘Aunt Ruby, stop fussing, we will sort everything out. Wear a nice frock. We’re going to have a surprise birthday dinner for Ned,’ Ellie said. ‘Standing on ceremony has become so outdated since war began, but I know some of the older generation cannot ignore the social etiquette.’

  ‘Older generation!’ Ruby’s eyes widened. ‘If I didn’t love you, Ellie, dear, I would have you banished to the barn.’ They all laughed and the happy atmosphere in the lodge was music to Ruby’s ears. This was something she had dreamed of for years. Her whole family around her.

  ‘It may be September, but the evening is lovely, shall we take the celebration out to the garden?’

  ‘Oh let’s,’ cried Ruby. ‘I am so excited to see Ned’s face when he sees what we have done.’

  Anna was thrilled when she wheeled Ned into the garden and saw the table, set for six, with all the silver and crystal proudly displayed. ‘This is nice.’ She had exchanged her stiff collar and cuffs and looked exquisite in a dress of pale lemon lace. The high collar made her look demure.

  Ned looked so handsome in his navel uniform as he regaled them all with funny tales, while keeping the more gruesome details from the women. ‘The nurses at the Front are doing a sterling job. We picked up so many casualties to take to the hospital ships,’ he said. ‘The conditions are not ideal, up to their knees in mud that clings better than any glue, but they never complain.’

  Anna, rapt, listened with a hint of envy. It had never crossed her mind that Ned would be around other women. Other nurses… Looking at him now, she was not so sure she was being silly. However, she did know a green-eyed monster was lurking somewhere inside her. No matter, she thought, he was home now. He was all hers.

  ‘The Red Cross set up a hospital in a deserted school, and soldiers were arriving before the staff even had time to unpack equipment,’ said Ned.

  His tales were thrilling, exciting Anna, who wondered what it would be like to see battle first-hand. She had planned to go and try to find her brother. And Ned’s exciting stories did not diminish her ambitions.

  ‘Did you know,’ Ruby exclaimed, ‘income tax has doubled to pay for this awful, bloody war! So much for it being over by Christmas,’ she continued, ‘but the authorities failed to tell us which Christmas they were talking about!’

  ‘Have a word with the Lord High Admiral when you get back, Ned,’ said Archie, his eyes twinkling.

  ‘Oh don’t.’ Anna did not want to think of him going back to sea, especially now. She knew so much more about the battles. ‘You must be so worried.’

  ‘I don’t mind,’ Ned lied, ‘but I’ll try not to get in the way of U-boats, next time.’ He did not tell Anna that the superstructure that fractured his hip had killed the young sailor fighting beside him. Half an inch to the left and he would not see this birthday.

  ‘We don’t want such talk today,’ said Aunt Ruby. ‘It must be present-giving time, surely.’

  ‘Oh, yes!’ Anna pushed back her chair and took out a long, brown leather
box from her bag and handed it to Ned with a kiss. ‘Happy birthday, my love.’ Her eyes shone as she handed him the beautifully wrapped box.

  ‘You shouldn’t have,’ Ned said, rubbing his hands together excitedly. ‘But I’m glad you did.’ All smiles, he carefully unwrapped the paper, savouring Anna’s anticipation, an impish smile making his lips twitch as all eyes wanted to see what his gift was, as did he, but he was enjoying their curiosity just as much.

  ‘Come on, slowcoach,’ Anna said, ‘it’ll be dark soon.’ And when he opened the brown leather box his eyes widened in surprise.

  ‘It’s one of those new wristwatches!’ Ned said and Anna nodded.

  ‘Waterproof for many fathoms, the jeweller told me.’

  ‘How clever!’ Ned exclaimed, turning the wristwatch this way and that, admiring the white-faced dial encased in a dark brown leather strap.

  ‘Look at the back.’ Anna could not hide her excitement. ‘There’s an inscription.’

  Ned read the dedication on the back of the watch, and his face split in a wide, appreciative smile. ‘There is not a chance of me getting lost now that my name and date of birth is inscribed in such fancy letters. I love it,’ he said, proudly strapping it to his wrist, ‘but you shouldn’t have spent so much money on me, these watches are expensive.’

  Anna knew it was worth every penny just to see the look of pleasure on his handsome face.

  ‘Do you think they’ll catch on after the war?’ asked Archie, admiring the watch.

  ‘I’m sure they will.’ Ruby sniffed and Anna gave Ned a little reminding nod.

  ‘And these handkerchiefs are absolutely the best ever, Aunt Ruby, thank you.’ He wheeled his chair across the lawn and warmly kissed her upturned cheek.

  Ruby smiled indulgently. ‘Think nothing of it,’ she waved away the acknowledgement, relaxing visibly.