Secrets of the Frontline Nurses

by Holly Green

  ‘Oh, love! I didn’t know. I’m sorry.’

  ‘How could you know? I had to work out the dates myself. It was all so confused. But I’m sure it’s right. My baby is one year old today.’

  Victoria squeezed her shoulders. ‘Soon the snow will begin to melt and we’ll be able to get through to Bitola and who knows, to Lavci too. When we find her we’ll have the best birthday party we can possibly arrange.’

  Later that day Leo went to call on General Bojovic and receive his thanks for her efforts.

  ‘What is the chance of a new campaign this summer?’ she asked.

  ‘Undoubtedly there will be another attempt to break out,’ he assured her. ‘And this time we shall succeed. My intelligence suggests that the Bulgarians have had enough of the fighting. It is only the backing of the Austrians and the Germans that keeps them in the field. By the end of the summer we shall be back in Belgrade.’

  Leo smiled and thanked him, but inwardly she was remembering how the same sentiments had been expressed two years earlier.

  ‘I have a little surprise for you,’ the General said. ‘Come with me.’

  He led her down to the courtyard of the house he was occupying and shouted an order. A soldier appeared leading a small chestnut horse.

  ‘It’s Star!’ Leo exclaimed. ‘How did she get here?’

  ‘She was sent back from Bitola at the same time as you, and I have made sure she was looked after. I knew you would return some day.’

  Leo was tempted to throw her arms round the general but checked the impulse in case it was seen as bad for discipline. So she ran down the steps from the door and embraced the horse instead. Star nuzzled her pocket and whickered softly and Leo allowed herself to believe that the little mare remembered her.

  ‘Thank you, General!’ she said. ‘Thank you so much. I can’t tell you how much this means to me.’

  Over the following days Leo renewed her acquaintanceship with a number of old friends. They all expressed their delight at seeing her back, looking fit and well, and tactfully sympathised over Sasha’s death. Victoria and Luke had already made arrangements to borrow mounts from the French cavalry regiment stationed in the city and the three of them rode out every morning. In the evening they were often invited to dine with various officers and their families, or with local residents. It was not unlike the happy days Leo had spent there before, but she could take very little pleasure in it. Each morning she looked out of her window at the distant mountains and hoped to see signs of the snow melting, but winter seemed reluctant to relax its grip.

  At long last a messenger arrived from Bitola. The road was open again and the town was desperately in need of supplies. Leo and Victoria and Luke left in the first convoy, in a car loaned by the general himself, escorted by a detachment of Serbian troops. It was a long, hard drive, over roads flooded by the melting snow and when they came in sight of the town Leo had to suppress a cry of distress. Bitola had been battered when she was there the previous winter, but now there was hardly a building standing. It seemed hard to imagine how the garrison had held out so long.

  They found Dr Pierre Leseaux still at work in what remained of the hospital. He was thin and worn and looked ten years older, but he greeted Leo with his usual warmth.

  ‘Bienvenue, ma chere! I am so glad to see you well again. Really, the transformation is amazing. When I sent you off back to Salonika I was not sure that you would survive the journey.’

  ‘I wouldn’t have survived at all if you hadn’t found me and pulled me out of that snow drift,’ Leo said. ‘Patty told me how you saved my life.’

  ‘Ah, Patty! Do you hear from her? How is she?’

  ‘She’s nursing in France. She writes when she can and when I last heard she was well.’ She turned to introduce her two companions and Leseaux shook their hands warmly.

  ‘I am afraid I can offer you very little in the way of hospitality, but now that the supplies have arrived perhaps we can manage a good dinner.’

  ‘Please don’t worry about us,’ Victoria said. ‘We’ve both worked at the front in various places, so we’re used to roughing it. And we’re not here as guests. We’ll work for our keep. I’ve been driving ambulances and Luke has worked as a, so we can both make ourselves useful.’

  ‘And of course I’ll help out, too,’ Leo said. ‘I’m sure you can do with extra hands.’

  ‘Always!’ the doctor agreed. ‘The bombardment of the city seems to have stopped, for the time being at least. But we still have casualties to care for, and there are many cases of frostbite and general sickness of one kind and another. But you did not come here for that, I know. Leo, can you forgive me for what I did? I had to find someone to care for your baby, or she would have died. I hope you understand that.’

  ‘I do, now,’ Leo said slowly. ‘But did you have to send me away?’

  ‘I sent you to Salonika because I felt we could not care for you properly here. It was not my decision to put you on that hospital ship for England. But perhaps it was for the best. You would not have regained your health so quickly here. Now, you have come back to search for your child, but alas, I have to tell you that Lavci is still in Bulgarian hands.’

  This was a blow, but not unexpected. ‘Has there been any communication?’ Leo asked. ‘Is there any chance of getting a message to the family?’

  ‘I fear not. The area has changed hands several times over the last year but at the moment all the approaches are guarded by Bulgarian troops.’

  ‘General Bojovic assures me that there will be a new attempt to break through this summer,’ Leo said. ‘I suppose I must just try to be patient.’

  They had brought the best that Salonika could offer in the way of wine and provisions with them and that evening they sat down with Leseaux and what remained of his staff to a better meal than the beleaguered medical team had seen for months. There was taramosalata and artichokes, and roast sucking pig and the first fresh green vegetables of the year, and pastries rich with almonds and honey. As the wine bottles emptied there was a general air of celebration, but Leo could only think of the village a few miles away up the mountain road and wonder how long it would be before she could reach it.

  Next day, they presented the comforts they had brought from England to the Serbian troops in the garrison and saw their pinched, half-starved faces light up.

  ‘It’s so little,’ Leo said with a sigh. ‘But it means a lot to them.’

  After that, it was back to the familiar routine of work in the hospital and the apparently endless wait for something to happen.

  Then one day they heard that there had been renewed fighting along the River Vardar and in the Struma area. It seemed the summer offensive had started at last. A week later a messenger rode into town and the commandant of the garrison sent word that he would like to see Leo as soon as she was free.

  ‘I have good news for you! According to the men I have posted on the heights above Lavci, the Bulgarians are pulling out.’

  ‘Pulling out!’ Leo felt she could hardly breathe. ‘Why?’

  ‘Perhaps to reinforce their lines elsewhere. I hear they are being pushed back by our troops.’

  ‘Are you sure? Are they all going?’

  ‘It’s too soon to tell. But I will keep you informed.’

  For three days Leo existed in what felt to her like suspended animation. Then word came that the last Bulgarians had left the village and the road was clear. A small force was sent out to investigate and Leo, with Victoria and Luke beside her, mounted on borrowed horses, went with them. The snow had melted from the lower slopes now and the mountainsides were green with new grass. Acacia blossoms overhung the road and the alpine pastures were starred with tiny pink orchids, but the evidence of the recent conflict was everywhere in the craters left by shells and the debris of broken gun carriages and spent cartridges.

  Victoria looked around her. ‘This place must have been lovely in peacetime.’

  Leo lifted her face to the hills and took in
the view for the first time. ‘Yes, it must. But how long will it take to restore it to the way it used to be?’ She rode in silence for a moment. Then she said, ‘Am I doing the right thing, Vita? She’s been with this other family for over a year. She will think of that other woman as her mother. Do I have the right to drag her away?’

  ‘She’s only a baby,’ Victoria said. ‘She will soon forget. Just think of how much better her life will be with you. Think of all the advantages you can give her.’

  As they rounded the last bend in the road Leo had to put her hand to her mouth to suppress a cry of horror. The village lay ahead of them, but all that remained of it were ruins. Not one single building stood higher than a few courses of the once-sturdy stone walls. As they rode into what had once been the main square there seemed to be no sign of human habitation and Leo gazed around her with a sense of disbelief. All the way up the road she had been preparing herself for meeting her daughter, trying to envisage the scene, wondering how the child would react, what she would look like. And now there was nothing except emptiness.

  The captain in charge of their escort shouted, ‘Is there anyone here? Come out and show yourselves.’

  Somewhere a dog barked, but otherwise the silence was unbroken. Then Leo saw a movement out of the corner of her eye. An old man appeared at the top of some steps leading down to a cellar.

  ‘You! Come here,’ the captain called. ‘Are you the only one left here?’

  The old man spat on the ground. ‘What do you want? Soldiers! You’re all the same.’

  The captain urged his horse forward and it looked as if he might strike the old man but Leo put her own mount between them. ‘Please, I’m looking for someone. Do you know the Popovic family?’

  ‘Popovic?’ He squinted up at her. ‘The ones who took in the English lady’s baby – the one who died?’

  Leo felt a hand tighten round her throat. ‘The baby died?’

  ‘No, not the baby. The woman. Came here for some reason, gave birth and died.’

  ‘No!’ Leo said. ‘No, she didn’t die! I’m that woman. I’ve come to find my baby. Please, do you know where the Popovices are?’

  He jerked his head towards a heap of rubble that had once been a house.

  ‘That was their place.’

  ‘And what happened to them?’

  He shrugged. ‘Direct hit. No chance.’

  Leo drooped over the neck of her horse. For a moment she thought she was going to faint. Then she heard a woman’s voice.

  ‘What is it? What do they want, Janachko?’

  An old woman had joined the man.

  ‘Looking for the Popovices.’ He jerked his head towards Leo. ‘She’s the mother of the child they took in. I’ve told her the whole family bought it when that shell hit their house.’

  ‘No they didn’t! You silly old fool.’ She hobbled to the side of Leo’s horse. ‘He doesn’t know what he’s talking about. They left weeks before that shell hit. They went north to get away from the fighting.’

  ‘Are you sure?’ Leo could feel the blood pulsing in her head. ‘Where did they go?’

  ‘They were here!’ The old man insisted. ‘It was that other lot from next door who left.’

  ‘No it wasn’t! Don’t pay any attention to him, my lady. They went north and took your baby with them.’

  Others had appeared from various cellars and hiding places and gathered round, drawn by the sound of voices, and the old man appealed to them. Immediately a vociferous argument began, some maintaining that he was correct, others supporting the old woman. One thing emerged clearly: if the family had left, no one knew where they had intended going.

  The captain raised his voice above the hubbub. ‘We won’t get any sense out of these people. If you ask me the shelling has driven them all mad.’ He rode closer to Leo. ‘The old girl will tell you anything she thinks will please you. She’s hoping for a reward.’

  Leo looked down at the old lady, who was clutching her stirrup and insisting on the truth of her assertion. ‘Please! Are you telling the truth? Don’t give me false hope.’

  ‘I’m a mother and a grandmother,’ she said. ‘I know how it feels to lose a child. Your baby’s safe somewhere. I wouldn’t lie to you.’

  ‘Thank you!’ Leo felt in her pocket and took out some coins. ‘I don’t know if there is anything left to spend money on, but take these anyway. And thank you again.’

  The captain gave a brief, contemptuous laugh and called his men to order. As they rode away Leo could see the old couple still arguing. She rode in silence, struggling to reconcile the chaos in her emotions, until she felt Victoria’s hand on her arm.

  ‘I’m so sorry, my dear. It’s a cruel disappointment.’

  Leo voiced the thoughts that were uppermost in her mind. ‘If the family went north, then they are still in occupied territory. So there’s no hope of finding them until the army pushes further forward. Perhaps not until the country has been liberated completely.’

  ‘How could you trace them, even then?’ Luke said. ‘Needles and haystacks don’t come close.’

  ‘There must be ways,’ Leo said. ‘There must be refugee camps. Someone must be keeping some kind of records. Or maybe when the country is at peace they will come home to Lavci.’

  Neither of her friends replied and they rode on in silence. By the time they reached Bitola Leo had come to a decision. She waited until they were back in the hospital, in the small draughty room that served as a dining and sitting room for the staff. Then she said, ‘Listen. There’s obviously no chance of finding Alexandra until the war is over – or at least until the Allies are in charge of most of the country. That could be this summer, but it might take longer. We’ve had so many false hopes raised about how long it will be before peace comes that I’m not going to rely on anything. I haven’t decided whether to stay here, or go home and wait; but I’m quite clear about one thing. I can’t expect you two to hang around indefinitely. You have your own lives to lead, and Luke needs to get home to his children. I want you to go, as soon as you can find a ship to take you. And when I’ve found Alexandra – or when I’m sure that there is no point in going on looking – I’ll come and visit you. That’s my promise, and that’s as far ahead as I can see. So please don’t argue, or feel you can’t leave me. I’m among friends here, if I decide to stay on. If not, I shall go home to Tom. I’ll miss you, of course I will. But it won’t make life any easier for me if I am feeling guilty about you two. Do you understand?’

  Luke and Victoria looked at each other. Then Luke took both Leo’s hands in his. ‘You are the bravest girl I know and I admire you more than I can say. But you are right. I need to get home and I want Victoria with me. Thank you.’

  They left with a convoy the next morning and Leo travelled with them to Salonika. Before she set off she spent a few minutes alone with Pierre Leseaux.

  ‘I will be back, Pierre. But I don’t know when. I’m going to see Luke and Victoria off and than I’m going to see General Bojovic and try to find out how he thinks the war is going. After that, I’ll make a decision about whether to go back to England and wait, or to come back here and help you. If there seems to be a chance of a quick victory, I’ll stay here. If not …’

  ‘If not you should go home,’ he said. ‘This uncertainty is taking its toll on you, I can see that. You should go home and find a life for yourself there. Then, if you find your little girl, you will have a home to take her back to. And if not …’

  He left the sentence unfinished and Leo nodded. ‘I understand. And you are right. Goodbye, Pierre. And thank you.’

  ‘You should not be thanking me. It is the other way about. Au revoir, ma petite, et bonne chance.’

  Chapter 17

  As soon as the three friends reached Salonika, Luke went down to the docks to investigate the possibility of finding a ship that would take him and Victoria at least part of the way towards New Zealand. He returned with the news that a cargo vessel was leaving for Alexandria i
n two days’ time and he had arranged with the captain to take them on board.

  ‘Once we get to Alex,’ he said, ‘there shouldn’t be a problem finding a ship to take us through the Suez Canal, maybe as far as Singapore. We might even manage to wangle our way onto a troop ship heading for Australia, or better still for Wellington.’

  ‘The day after tomorrow!’ Victoria turned to Leo. ‘Now it’s so close I don’t know if I can bear to leave you here on your own.’

  ‘Don’t be silly!’ Leo said. She could have wept at the prospect of losing her friends but she had made up her mind to do nothing to delay them. ‘There’s no point in you hanging around. Who knows when you might find another ship to take you?’

  ‘I wish we knew for sure what you plan to do,’ Luke said. ‘I think we should both feel easier in our minds if we knew you were going home too.’

  ‘It would be best, surely,’ Victoria urged her. ‘There’s nothing you can do here and what about Tom? He must be longing to have you back.’

  Leo nodded. ‘Yes, you’re probably right. He needs me, and there’s not much point in my searching for the Popvices in the middle of the fighting. The sensible thing is for me to go home and wait.’

  As she spoke she knew that it was the sensible decision, but the thought of leaving Salonika again dragged at her heart. She had arrived with such high hopes and she had a terrible premonition that if she went back to England she might never return. A small, treacherous voice somewhere in her head was telling her to go home, marry Tom and abandon the fruitless search for her daughter.

  ‘Do that!’ Victoria said. ‘It’s much the best idea. Why doesn’t Luke go back to the docks and see if there’s a ship that will take you to Italy or Marseilles?’

  ‘There’s no need,’ she protested. ‘I’m quite capable of doing it for myself.’

  In the event, all three of them went, only to discover that the only ships leaving for either destination in the immediate future were tramp steamers with no accommodation for a passenger.