by Carol Rivers
The long walk to wherever it was they were going, was accompanied by the sounds of the Luftwaffe’s attack and the slightly raspy breath of her bearer. Daisy buried her head in his chest and wondered if she was being flown to heaven. Had she died? Could this be a real angel?
When her bearer laid her down on a bed and covered her gently with a blanket, she reached out to grasp his wrist. ‘Am I in heaven?’
The face, like Mr Cook’s in the ambulance, bobbed and weaved from side to side. ‘You won’t die, Daisy. I’ll make sure of that.’
Daisy smiled. ‘I know who you are. You’re my guardian angel.’
A quiet, yet husky breath came as her answer. Strangely, amidst the howls and snarls of the planes above and the pounding that shivered its way through the hospital’s foundations, she felt safe. Now she was certain she was being watched over by her very own angel who on this day, had taken her into his care.
An angel, she fancied, whose deep, dark eyes and cloud of raven black hair haloed his gentle face.
Chapter 52
‘Well, my girl.’ Dr Deacon adjusted the stethoscope around his neck, his examination complete. ’I’m relieved to say, you are on the mend.’
Daisy couldn’t remember being asleep for that long. ‘What happened to me?’
’You ran a high temperature and fell into a delirium.’
‘What does delirium mean?’
‘It’s a condition that may last for a few days, weeks or even months. A person can have vivid thoughts or sometimes see things that aren’t there.’
‘I did have a dream,’ Daisy agreed. ‘But it was real.’
Dr Deacon looked amused. ‘That’s very interesting. What was your dream about?’
‘An angel who’s going to look after me.’
‘Well then, I’m sure you’re in good hands.’
Even though the doctor was smiling, she suspected he didn’t believe her.
‘It’s quite understandable that you’re a little confused,’ he added, confirming Daisy’s suspicions. ‘You’ve had a shock and suffered a serious wound. Your dreams are a result of this experience. Now, do you think you’re up to having your stitches removed tomorrow?’
Daisy didn’t like the idea at all, but thought it wise not to complain.
‘That’s settled, then,’ said Dr Deacon without waiting for her reply. ‘I shall see you in the morning.’
When Nurse Gwen appeared at her bedside, Daisy wanted to hug her. ‘I missed you,’ she croaked.
‘And I missed you, Daisy dear. But my shifts were changed.’
‘The doctor said I’ve been asleep for three days.’
‘That’s true.’
‘Are you going to be on duty tonight?’
‘Yes, so don’t worry.’ Nurse Gwen arranged the sheet gently around her. ’I shall be with you. Now, what about something nice to eat? After all, three days without food is a very long time.’
Daisy smiled. She was beginning to feel hungry. ‘How long will it be before I’m better?’
‘One step at a time, Daisy, dear,’ Nurse Gwen advised. ‘Once Dr Deacon is satisfied with your progress, we’ll have you home in no time at all.’
Daisy knew Nurse Gwen was trying not to alarm her. Just as Bobby once explained that it was what all grown-ups did when they wanted to hide the truth.
As the days passed, Nurse Gwen did her best to be with Daisy when the warning siren went. But her shifts often changed or there would be some emergency and Daisy would try to walk a few paces on her own, but then, exhausted and dizzy, she’d flop down in her chair. What was wrong with her? After having her stitches removed she thought she would be back to normal again. But instead she had gained an unsightly scar and lost all her energy.
‘Patience,’ the doctor had told her.
‘You’re doing very well,’ Aunt Betty had said.
But Daisy was beginning to think she would never get her “sea legs” back.
So when the bombs dropped and the dust rained down from the ceiling, she thought of her angel and prayed he would stay close.
Each day she hoped that Mother and Bobby would visit, but it was Aunt Betty who called by on Wednesdays and Saturdays, keeping Daisy informed of all that had happened in the outside world.
One day, Aunt Betty was late and Daisy felt the old fear return. What if her aunt had been caught in an air raid? Had she been blown off her bike? Was something wrong with Mother and Bobby that no one had told her about?
At visiting hour, in poured the smiling faces and eager footsteps of friends and family, but there was no Aunt Betty. Daisy knew time was limited before the raids began.
Some brought gifts for their children, in particular, small paper bags with twisted corners and mouth-watering shapes inside.
Daisy felt her wound throb. Like a miniature railway track, the scar ran down from her hairline. She touched the tender bumps and her palms grew damp with fear.
A pounding began in her head. Was this another spasm?
‘Daisy?’ someone said. ‘Daisy, it’s me.’
A tall figure hovered over her. The man removed his hat and out fell a bunch of untidy curls. Below the unruly blond mop were two very blue eyes.
Strong arms tightened round her, along with a smell she would never forget. Inhaling the damp gabardine and cigarettes of the coat, Daisy shed tears of joy.
Chapter 53
’Pops, is it really you?’ she whispered as he hugged her. She hung on so fiercely that he had to prize her away.
‘Hey, what’s all this, treasure?’ His deep, calm voice made her feel as though they had never spent a day apart.
She grasped his fingers with all the strength she had. ‘Have you come to take me home?’
‘Oh, Daisy, where has my brave girl gone?’ He sat on the chair beside the bed and looked into her eyes.
‘I’m not brave, Pops,’ Daisy insisted, still terrified by the thought he would leave her again. ‘I just pretended to be. Instead, I’m frightened all the time.’
‘You’ve come back from a very dark place; it’s quite normal to be frightened. If a bomb had exploded close to me, I would be frightened too.’
‘I missed you,’ she mumbled. ‘But I know you had something important to do.’
‘Ah, how hearing you say that hurts even more,’ he sighed and Daisy saw the pain in his face. A face which was, now she studied him, much thinner and paler than before.
‘You are the bravest girl in the world,’ he continued, returning the pressure of her fingers. ‘I’m proud of you. You’ve been in your very own war. If it doesn’t upset you, tell me what happened.’
It was as if a dam had burst as the words gushed out; how she and Mother and Bobby had slept every night in the shelter and tried to keep the house and themselves clean and how she hated to return to the dark and cramped space that they had tried to make homely for their nightly vigils. And how on that day in October, they had left the shelter one morning and returned to the house where in the kitchen, a terrible event awaited them.
‘If only I’d been with you,’ Pops groaned. ‘Can you imagine how badly I feel, not being there to protect my family?’
‘What you do is important.’
‘But not nearly as important as you.’
‘I had stitches in my head,’ Daisy elaborated, ‘and then I went to sleep.’
‘So the nurse told me. But like Sleeping Beauty, you woke, thank heavens. Now let me see, what’s this?’ Pops dug into his pocket and brought out a paper bag.
Daisy gasped ‘Saturday Assortment!’
‘I know how much you like them.’
Daisy put the bag on her locker. She didn’t want sweets. She only wanted to hold tightly to Pops.
‘I saw Mother and Bobby this morning at Aunt Minnie’s,’ he told her. ‘They have been discharged from hospital and are missing you dreadfully. Here is a letter from Mother.’
‘I’ll read it after you’ve gone.’ She placed the envelope by her sweets. ‘When ca
n we go home to Poplar Park Row?’
‘That, Daisy, is a question I can’t answer. I’ve not been back to see our house, but I understand Mr Cook thinks the damage is extensive.’
‘Like our old house in Wattcombe, you mean?’
He frowned. ‘Why do you ask that?’
‘Bobby and me went there. Oh, Pops, will we never have a home of our own?’
He touched her cheek. ‘Of course we will. But this is wartime and we must all do the best we can.’ He saw the disappointment in her eyes and said mysteriously, ‘Can you keep a secret?’
Daisy wanted to say that she had kept many secrets but decided against it.
’You see … ’ he hesitated and lowered his voice. ‘You remember our happy days in the laboratory?’
Daisy nodded, this time smiling at the memory.
‘Well, Uncle Ed and I invented something there that will help us to fight and win this war.’
Daisy’s eyes flew wide. ‘What is it?’
‘You won’t understand exactly, but the country’s secret weapon is to be powered by valves, to be precise, thermionic valves of the type we created in our lab at the factory.’ He placed a finger to his lips. ‘Uncle Ed and I are using our highly accurate electrical apparatus to aid something - well, something very special.’
‘Pops, you’re so clever.’
‘No, treasure. There are lots of people much cleverer.’
‘Are these people in Milton Keynes, too?’
Pops sat upright. ‘What makes you ask that?’
‘Aunt Betty discovered it,’ Daisy whispered. ‘There was a code in Uncle Ed’s letter.’
Pops looked astonished. ’You must never tell anyone, not a soul. Do you understand now why I have to work away?’
Daisy nodded and would have nodded harder but her head hurt with every move.
‘We all have to do our part in keeping our country safe.’ He tenderly traced his fingertips over the bumpy scar on her forehead. ‘This wound is your badge of honour, Daisy. Be proud to wear it.’
Once again she was in his arms until Nurse Gwen appeared and told them it was time to part.
That evening, Daisy walked unaided to the underground ward. Although she trembled and stumbled several times, she wore her badge of honour proudly. When she was given a place to rest, she opened Mother’s letter. Though it was short, her words of love and affection filled Daisy with hope. Bobby had signed with kisses too and Will had scrawled his initials, hidden under a large blob of ink. Although Daisy missed her family dearly, she remembered Pops’s words. From now on, she would be brave, and, even when the planes flew over.
Chapter 54
Several days later, a letter from Matt arrived. A few lines to tell her how sorry he was to hear of her injuries. He explained he had earned his wings and that he’d visited Amelia who had evacuated with her family to Swansea in Wales. After scrawling numerous kisses, he added a post script.
“I’ve put in for special leave for early next year, so that Amelia and I can travel to London to be with you. Keep it under your hat, but there’s a surprise in store! Now get well and chin up, little sister!”
‘You’re very lucky,’ said Nurse Gwen when Daisy showed her the letter. ‘I haven’t got a brother, but if I did, I would want one just like yours.’
‘I wonder if the surprise is they’re getting married?’ wondered Daisy. ‘I’d like to be a bridesmaid.’
‘What a romantic occasion,’ sighed Nurse Gwen wistfully.
‘I hope the blitz is over by then.’
Nurse Gwen’s expression saddened. ’Our boys in the air are brave but it’s just as hard for those left at home. Still, Matt has a special reason to stay safe - to visit his little sister.’
‘I can hardly wait,’ Daisy said from where she sat on her chair beside the bed. ‘How long will I be in hospital?’
‘Patience is a virtue they say,’ smiled the young woman. ‘After a serious injury like yours, your recuperation may take time.’
‘What does rec - recop - ‘
‘Recuperation means getting better. Even if your body is almost back to being its old self, your mind may be slower in catching up. When patients fall into delirium, we have to monitor them closely for some time afterwards.’
‘Will I have a delirium again?’
‘There’s no reason why you should.’ Nurse Gwen squeezed her hand. ‘We’re going to see to it that you’re as fit as a flea when you leave us. Though I’m not certain whether fleas are fit at all. But they certainly jump about.’
Daisy giggled. If there was one person she would miss from hospital, it was her dear friend Nurse Gwen who always brought a smile to her lips.
To while away the long hours, Daisy escaped to the rest room where she joined several others who sat quietly in the comfortable chairs. From this vantage point she could see through the glass door to the window of her ward opposite. Some patients read newspapers or books piled on the table and some discussed the nightly raids and the worry they had for their families. Daisy too worried about Mother and Bobby. Pops was probably the safest of them all, hidden away in a very secret place. She tried to remember the name of his invention which sounded a bit like thermometer. But if she concentrated too hard, her head began to hurt. It was difficult even, to read a book. Her concentration wandered and it was easier just to sit and listen to the hum of conversation.
Just then, in burst a mischievous looking little boy of about six or seven, a newcomer to the children’s ward. He had a cheeky smile and a mop of untidy black hair. His legs were extremely bowed and one of them was bandaged up. Daisy recognized him as a recent addition to the children’s ward.
The selection of newspapers on the small table caught his eye and very soon, despite the adults’ protests, they were strewn over the floor in complete disarray. One by one the patients departed and Daisy was left alone with the troublemaker.
‘See how strong I am?’ he said to Daisy as he trampled on a newspaper.
Daisy couldn’t resist a giggle. ‘Yes, you are strong. And what a mess!’
‘I ain’t gonna pick ‘em up either.’
‘Nor am I,’ replied Daisy with a shrug. ‘I think they look better on the floor.’
He came and sat beside her. ‘Ain’t you gonna bash me?’
‘Why should I?’
‘Me brover does.’
‘How old is your brother?’
‘Dunno. But he’s bigger than you.’
‘I’m not very big.’
The little boy laughed. ‘Girls are daft.’
Daisy laughed too. ‘They are sometimes.’
‘You’ve got a bash on the ‘ead, ain’t you?’
Daisy nodded. ‘Yes, but the doctors and nurses are making it better. Just like they’ll make your leg better too.’
‘Me mum says I might die.’
‘I’m sure you won’t.’ Daisy felt very sorry for the child. If what he said was to be believed, he had a very unsympathetic family.
‘She says lots of people die in the ‘ospital. But you ain’t died yet, have you?’
Daisy tried to keep a straight face. ‘No, I’m still quite alive.’
‘You talk funny too.’
Before Daisy could reply the door flew open. ‘Tommy, what are you doing in here?’ a nurse demanded. ‘You’ve been told to stay in your bed.’
‘We were just talking,’ Daisy said and began to pick up the newspapers. ‘Tommy was helping me to tidy up.’
The nurse looked doubtfully at Daisy, then marched Tommy off. Daisy restored order to the room, folding the newspapers into a neat pile on the table. Eventually she returned to the ward, where Tommy was sitting in his bed, sulking, as the nurse hovered close by.
The following afternoon, Daisy saw Tommy wriggle from his bed and try to escape once more. Some of the other children called a warning and one of the nurses sped after him. Daisy smiled, expecting Tommy to be captured as he had been the previous day.
Unexpectedly, a l
oud bellow echoed from the corridor. Very soon Tommy appeared, weeping and scarlet-cheeked. A tall, sturdily-built woman grasped him by his ear and dragged him along.
Daisy gasped when she recognised Tommy’s mother. Mrs Brady - Peter Brady’s mother - hoisted her young son on his bed and slapped his bottom.
The agonized cry brought Sister hurrying along, but Tommy’s mother was in no mood to listen. Daisy recalled a similar scene at school when Mrs Brady had sent Mr Potter flying and how Mr Gulliver had ordered the class into the assembly hall for the rest of the lesson.
‘Mrs Brady!’ barked Dr Deacon as he strode into the ward. ‘Please come to my office.’
Moments later, the screen was drawn around a distraught Tommy and the ward returned to a peaceful calm once more.
When Nurse Gwen came on duty, Daisy asked how her little friend was.
‘I shouldn’t say but Tommy needs an operation,’ Nurse Gwen told her confidentially. ’Malnourishment has caused his bone disease, leaving him with a deformed leg.’
‘Will his leg get better?’
‘Yes, if he has his operation. But there’s very little we can do without the parents’ cooperation. They seem to think he’s just seeking attention.’
Though Daisy didn’t reveal what she knew of the Bradys, her heart went out to poor little Tommy. She knew how difficult life must be for him.
Chapter 55
Aunt Betty breathlessly adjusted her WVS beret and sighed. ‘I’m sorry I’m late. There’s no buses today because of last night’s raid. So I rode my bike but Aldgate was strewn with debris and I‘ve managed to get a puncture … ‘
Daisy felt guilty for putting her aunt to so much trouble. ‘I have some good news,’ Aunt Betty continued. ‘Your mother has written to Aunt Pat and arranged for you to stay at Grandma’s when you’re discharged. Wattcombe will be much safer than here in the East End.’
