The Seaside Angel

by Evie Grace

  ‘Nurse Bentley … Nurse, this is the second time I’ve asked you for your report on Master Allspice …’ she heard Mr Anthony say as Charlotte gave her a dig in the ribs.

  Recovering herself, she summarised his vital signs, level of pain and appetite.

  ‘I’m glad to see you’re paying attention,’ Mr Anthony said sarcastically. ‘Perhaps you should consider getting more sleep – you look as if you’ve been burning the candle at both ends.’

  She bit her tongue as she watched the surgeon poke and pull Alan’s leg, making him grimace and cry out.

  ‘This patient will benefit from a further spell in traction,’ he said, and Alan’s face fell. He’d been confined to bed in traction before, and Mr Anthony had decided that he’d shown enough improvement for the splint to be removed, but it seemed that Alan’s condition had deteriorated since.

  ‘Doctor Clifton, you’ll arrange this for later this morning?’

  He nodded. ‘Nurse Bentley can bring him to the examination room at eleven. Mr Hunter will seek out the splint we used before, then come and assist.’

  The doctors moved on, but Mr Hunter lingered.

  ‘Nurse Finch, where do you think this splint will be?’ Hannah heard him ask.

  ‘I don’t know,’ she said. ‘We wouldn’t keep it on the ward.’

  ‘Could it be in one of the cupboards or bathing rooms? Perhaps you could help me search for it.’

  ‘I’m sorry – I have work to do. Why don’t you try the workshop?’

  ‘Ah, good idea. Thank you. I’m indebted to you …’

  ‘Mr Hunter, I have to get on, or Trimmie – I mean, Sister Trim – will be after me.’

  After he’d left the ward, Charlotte hastened over to where Hannah was helping Charlie put on the boot she’d borrowed from the infirmary’s stores. He wore it on the foot without the splint, so he could walk around.

  ‘Does that man really think I have time to look after him?’ Charlotte hissed. ‘Honestly!’

  ‘It’s so obvious,’ Hannah smiled. ‘He’s taken a fancy to you.’

  ‘No? Do you think so?’

  Hannah nodded. ‘That’s why he asked you to help him look for the splint.’

  Charlotte blushed. ‘He is very handsome, but he’s such a boor when he’s with his friends.’

  ‘Haven’t you noticed how he’s reformed recently?’

  ‘He seems to have taken a special interest in children’s orthopaedics,’ Charlotte observed.

  ‘Don’t be silly – he’s taking a special interest in you.’

  ‘As Doctor Clifton is with you, Hannah. It has been noticed … There’s no point denying it.’

  ‘He treats everyone the same – with respect and kindness. Besides, he’s still in mourning for his wife.’

  ‘Doesn’t it make a gentleman seem more attractive, knowing he has a broken heart and needs an angel to come along and heal him?’ Charlotte mused. ‘Oh no!’ She squealed and leapt away. ‘It ran over my foot …’

  ‘What is it? What’s wrong?’ Hannah exclaimed.

  Sister Trim came hurrying up to them, and a bathing assistant who had just come into the ward to collect a patient screamed.

  ‘A mouse!’ Charlotte flapped her apron. ‘Where did it go? I can’t see it.’

  ‘It’s all right, ladies,’ Charlie said from behind them. ‘I’ll get it.’ Despite his splint, he scrambled under one of the beds with a dish and storybook, then reappeared with the book over the top of the dish.

  ‘Oh well done, Master Swift.’ Hannah clapped.

  ‘What shall I do with it?’

  ‘Take it outside and let it go,’ Charlotte exclaimed.

  ‘It’ll come straight back in,’ Sister Trim said.

  ‘I wouldn’t like any harm to come to it,’ Charlotte went on. ‘It’s one of God’s creatures, after all.’

  ‘We could send it to the ’All by the Sea,’ Alan joined in. ‘They keep lots of animals there.’

  ‘Not mice,’ Sister Trim said. ‘Who would pay to see vermin?’

  ‘Why don’t we ask one of the porters to release it?’ Hannah suggested.

  The problem was solved. The mouse was carried away to its new quarters, wherever they were.

  ‘Really,’ Sister Trim said, losing her composure and allowing herself a chuckle, seeming to break her rule that a moment of laughter would lead to a lifetime of misery. ‘Never has something so small caused so much consternation. Back to your work. Immediately. And make sure you clean up thoroughly after that disgusting creature’s been in here.’

  It wasn’t long before Hannah was with Doctor Clifton and Mr Hunter in one of the examination rooms, where Alan was lying on a trolley, his eyes dark with apprehension.

  ‘It’ll soon be over,’ she reassured him.

  ‘You weren’t ’ere the last time Doctor Clifton did it,’ he said. ‘It ’urts more than anythin’, even more than when Pa used to bend me into shape when I was a littlun. ’E used to twist me up and leave me until my bones felt like they were goin’ to break apart and I’d spew up with the pain.’

  ‘That wasn’t a kind thing to do.’ The thought of it brought tears to Hannah’s eyes. ‘How old were you?’

  ‘Three or four – it ’as to be done while your bones are soft.’

  ‘Did you hear that, Doctor Clifton?’ Hannah asked.

  ‘I did. I can assure you, Master Allspice, that this will be painful, but it won’t hurt for long. The improvement you’ll obtain from a few more weeks in traction will far outweigh a few minutes of discomfort. Henry, you have found the right splint?’

  ‘It’s here.’ He held out two metal frames, one for each leg, along with a pole and a series of straps.

  Hannah held Alan’s hand as Doctor Clifton oversaw Mr Hunter applying the apparatus.

  ‘I can see that you need more practice,’ he observed as Hannah began to wilt in the heat. She wished she’d thought to open the window. ‘The straps must be secure before attaching the end of the pole and ties to the bars of the trolley.’

  ‘Yes, Doctor Clifton, I can see that,’ Mr Hunter said.

  ‘Keep talking and explaining what you’re doing. Ignorance is often the basis of a patient’s fear.’

  Mr Hunter completed setting up the splint before telling Alan that the next step was to apply the traction. Doctor Clifton would steady him while Mr Hunter turned the crank to extend the pole.

  Hannah felt Alan’s grip tighten on her fingers as Doctor Clifton took his place and Mr Hunter began to turn the crank, a quarter turn at a time. On each occasion, Doctor Clifton checked the angle of Alan’s hip before recommending another quarter turn.

  ‘That must be enough,’ Alan gasped, as his leg stretched.

  ‘You’re doing well,’ Hannah murmured. She didn’t feel so good, her fingers crushed and perspiration trickling down her back. The room began to spin.

  ‘Let’s have another one, Mr Hunter,’ Doctor Clifton said.

  With the next turn of the crank, there was a horrible crunch of grating bones. Alan screeched in agony, and Hannah swooned.

  ‘Let her have some air,’ she heard Doctor Clifton say as she recovered consciousness.

  ‘They are both in a faint,’ Mr Hunter said, surprised.

  ‘That’s a good thing in a way – it means that the patient won’t say anything when he’s back on the ward. You won’t mention this, will you, Henry? Nurse Bentley will be mortified. Wheel Master Allspice back for me. I’ll deal with this.’

  Hearing the squeak of the trolley as Mr Hunter steered it out of the examination room, Hannah tried to sit up, but she hadn’t the strength.

  ‘Stay there for a while, or you’ll be straight down on the floor again … and I’ll have to catch you for a second time.’ She looked up to where Doctor Clifton was kneeling beside her. A smile played on his mouth as he continued, ‘Not that I’d find that too much of a hardship.’

  ‘You are flirting with me?’

  ‘You could say that.’ He grinn
ed, and her heart missed a beat and another, until she felt quite faint again. She didn’t know whether to be affronted or relieved that he’d caught her – it was the first time a gentleman had laid a finger on her, apart from Mr Adamson’s fumbling attempt at a kiss.

  The room had stopped spinning, but she was shocked at her own unexpected response. She had considered the doctor quite average in appearance, but close up and having got to know him a little, she found him very handsome.

  ‘I feel such a fool,’ she said, scolding herself inwardly for her weakness. ‘I’ve never fainted before.’

  ‘It’s the heat, and you’ve been overexerting yourself. I’ve seen you. We’re both guilty of going beyond the call of duty, but you mustn’t do it to the point of exhaustion.’ He reached out as if he was going to touch her face, then changed his mind, abruptly pulling his hand away.

  ‘You won’t say anything? I don’t want to lose my place.’

  ‘I won’t breathe a word to anyone, and I’ll make sure Henry doesn’t either.

  ‘I’d be very grateful.’

  ‘Promise me that you’ll go home on time this evening.’

  ‘I’ll try.’

  ‘I’ll let you into a secret – I fainted when I was training to be a physician. As well as studying in Greek and Latin, we were obliged to observe various operations. The first one I attended, an osteotomy, was so brutal and bloody that I blacked out.’

  ‘I don’t believe you,’ she said. ‘This is but a feeble attempt to make me feel better.’

  ‘It’s true. I went to my supervisor and told him I’d have to leave. He persuaded me that I would become hardened to it, and the rest is history. Let me find you some ale and a sweet biscuit before you return to the ward.’

  ‘Don’t worry – Sister will be wondering where I’ve got to.’

  ‘I must insist that you follow my orders – I’m the doctor here.’ Chuckling, he stood up and left the room. Hannah picked up her skirts and took a seat on the chair in the corner. She touched her cheeks – they were on fire. Minutes later, her saviour was back. She sipped the cool ale and nibbled at the biscuit as he hovered beside her, his eyes filled with concern.

  ‘There’s no harm in letting somebody look after you now and again.’

  ‘I have to confess it is rather pleasant,’ she said, revelling in the attention. ‘Thank you. I feel much better, but I’m so sorry for putting you to the trouble—’

  ‘It’s been no trouble, Nurse Bentley. No trouble at all.’

  She stood up and brushed the crumbs from her apron.

  ‘Allow me to hold the door for you,’ he said, hastening towards it at the same time as her so they bumped arms.

  ‘I’m sorry …’ they both said, making Hannah giggle as he opened the door with a flourish.

  ‘After you.’

  ‘Thank you, Doctor Clifton,’ she said, sweeping past.

  The sensation that she was walking on air soon turned to a sense of confusion. Every time she saw him or thought of him, which was much more often than could be considered reasonable, she had palpitations. Falling in love with a doctor wasn’t part of her plan, and she was determined not to let it go any further.

  Chapter Seven

  The Parade of the Animals

  Hannah sat at the dressing table and gazed at her reflection in the mirror. A week had passed since the embarrassing incident with Doctor Clifton and Mr Hunter, and she’d taken advantage of her afternoon off to go shopping and attend the early evening service at the chapel. She’d also checked the price of tickets and the times of the trains from Canterbury and started to look at how to go about acquiring lodgings in Margate, in case Ruby came to join her sooner rather than later. She shouldn’t keep worrying about her, she told herself. Even though Pa had treated Stepmother cruelly, there was no way she’d let Ruby come to harm. As for the incident with the butcher’s boy, whatever that was, she couldn’t imagine that it was anything so serious that it wouldn’t soon blow over.

  For now, she had other, more pressing concerns.

  ‘I’m home,’ Charlotte called. She came into the room and saw Hannah’s face in the mirror. ‘Oh, what have you done?’

  Hannah felt like a little girl who’d been caught out by her nanny doing something naughty.

  ‘You’re bright red!’

  Hannah touched the tip of her nose where the skin had blistered.

  ‘Have you been out in the sun all afternoon?’

  ‘I thought I’d try to bleach some of these freckles away,’ she confessed.

  ‘Why?’ Charlotte stopped behind her and rested her hands on the back of the chair. ‘Does it have anything to do with your dalliance with Doctor Clifton? Everyone’s talking about it, how he spends an awful lot of time on the Lettsom, and addresses you in preference to anyone else, even Trimmie.’

  ‘This has nothing to do with him,’ Hannah retorted.

  ‘If you say so, but seriously, though, what on earth possessed you?’

  ‘It was just that I heard somebody mention that carbolic can get rid of facial blemishes …’

  ‘I’ve heard that too, but one of the side effects is that it causes wrinkles.’

  ‘Then I will look as if I’ve aged twenty years overnight.’ Hannah railed in silence at her stupidity. It had been a moment of weakness, a surrender to vanity. ‘What am I going to do?’

  ‘We’ll tell anyone who asks that you fell asleep in the sun, and when you woke up, you were burnt to a cinder.’

  ‘I’ve been trying to tell myself that it isn’t that bad.’

  ‘It is pretty dreadful. You look as if you have a high fever.’ Charlotte grinned. ‘Maybe the good doctor will offer to mop your brow.’

  Hannah stood up. ‘This is terrible – he’ll think I’m a flibbertigibbet like his sisters. What will Trimmie say? And Matron?’

  ‘It’ll be all right in a couple of days,’ Charlotte said soothingly. ‘Tell you what – let me go and beg some lard from the kitchens. That’s supposed to be good for the skin, wrinkles especially.’

  ‘You won’t tell them what it’s for?’

  ‘I’ll say it’s for you …’ Charlotte’s eyes twinkled with humour. ‘Of course I won’t! I’ll be back soon.’

  The next morning, Hannah went in to work.

  ‘Nurse, there’s something different about you,’ Sister Trim pounced on her straight away. ‘Are you wearing the devil’s fakery?’

  ‘I stayed out in the sun too long,’ Hannah lied.

  ‘A nurse should be more careful with her health if she’s to set an example to her patients.’

  ‘I know. I’m sorry,’ she said, blushing. She felt like a freak, her face red and shiny, and smelling of lard which had gone rancid overnight.

  The rest of the staff were polite, behaving as though there was nothing untoward in her appearance, but her patients were perfectly blunt.

  ‘What ’ave you done to yer face?’ Charlie asked.

  ‘Someone’s bin in the sun too long,’ Alan said.

  ‘Does it ’urt?’ Charlie went on softly.

  ‘A little,’ she replied.

  ‘My ma swears by cold cream,’ Alan said.

  ‘Or you can eat them wafers like the ladies who come to read to us,’ Charlie added. ‘Mrs Phillips told us about ’em.’

  ‘Did she?’ Hannah said, surprised.

  ‘I asked ’er why she looked like a ghost, and she said – what was it?’ He looked up at the ceiling, thinking. ‘I remember now. She’s “fashionably pale”.’

  ‘That one looks like she should be in ’ospital ’erself for lack of blood,’ Alan said.

  ‘Well, thank you for your contributions, but you really shouldn’t be talking about the ladies who volunteer their time to entertain you,’ Hannah scolded before attending to her duties, hoping that she wouldn’t run into Doctor Clifton.

  At visiting time, she kept her head down as she had done all day, trying not to be noticed while the mothers and fathers sat with their respectiv
e children on the balcony or in the ward. The sound of coarse laughter echoed through from the balcony. Charlie remained in his bed, looking mournful.

  ‘Why don’t you go outside for a while?’ she suggested. ‘The sunshine will make you feel better.’

  ‘It didn’t do you any good, did it?’ he said, looking at her with a cheeky smile.

  She had to smile back, despite his impudence.

  ‘Is there something wrong?’ she asked.

  ‘I miss my ma,’ he confided.

  ‘I see.’ It had to be hard for him to see his fellow patients surrounded by the love of their families while he had no one. ‘I’m sure she’s thinking of you even though she can’t be here.’

  ‘I dunno,’ he said, folding his arms.

  Hannah reached out and squeezed his shoulder. ‘Keep your chin up, young man. It won’t be long before Doctor Clifton sends you back to London.’

  ‘Yeah,’ he sighed. ‘If only this knee would get movin’ like it should, then I could go back to Ma and make sure she’s all right.’

  Hannah could have cried for him. All she could offer was reassurance.

  When the visitors had gone, and the ward was settling back to normal, Sister Trim turned up to inspect Hannah’s work.

  ‘You haven’t done your corners properly. Do them again.’

  Hannah’s heart sank. There was nothing wrong with her corners – she could make a bed just as well as any of them. Either Sister had a higher set of standards especially for her, or she was giving her extra work, seeing how far she could push her before she broke.

  ‘Yes, Sister.’ She returned to the bed she had just changed and started again, pulling off the freshly laundered sheets which smelled sweetly of soap and the outdoors. As she redid the corners, smoothing and folding them neatly so they enveloped the mattress, Charlotte sidled up with the trolley of clean laundry.

  ‘Did you have the pleasure – I say that with irony – of meeting the dreadful Allspices?’

  ‘I think I heard Mr Allspice laughing out on the balcony, loud enough to wake the dead,’ Hannah said.