Frontline Nurses

by Holly Green

  ‘What are you going to wear now? You really can’t go around in breeches and that linen dress isn’t practical for outdoors in this weather.’

  ‘I’ve got an ordinary skirt in the trunk in the boot of the car,’ Leo pointed out. They had both packed some non-uniform clothes before leaving London but there had been no occasion to wear them and they had never been unpacked. ‘I can put that on when we get near civilisation, but I think I’ll stick to my breeches and boots until then. It will only get covered in mud and ruined if I wear it to travel in.’

  With time on her hands at last, Leo begged the use of a mirror from one of the other women and inspected her impromptu haircut. The hair had started to grow again and the result was an untidy bird’s nest that first horrified her and then sent her into a paroxysm of laughter. She collected a bucket of warm water from the kitchen and washed it as thoroughly as she could. Then she sought out the barber who often came in to shave the patients and cut their hair. He was scandalised at the prospect of cutting a lady’s hair, but Leo told him to cut it just as he would a young man’s. She left his little shop with a sleek crop that fitted her head like a bronze helmet.

  Mabel Stobart shook their hands when they were ready to leave. ‘You have both done sterling service and I thank you for it. I am sure that if it had not been for your efforts at Chataldzha, Leonora, and your indefatigable journeying too and fro, Victoria, many more men would have died. You have both shown great courage and determination. If there ever should be a national emergency requiring our services, such as a war, I feel sure that we have proved ourselves more than capable of playing a useful part and I should be very glad to have you two as part of my team. Do come and see me when you get back to London.’

  They promised that they would and climbed aboard Sparky, with Luke sitting beside Victoria, and set off for the last time down the road to the south. It had snowed heavily since they travelled in the opposite direction and then frozen hard, so that the ruts made by the ox-carts had filled up and the surface of the road was like an ice-rink. It took all Victoria’s skill to prevent the car from skidding into the ditch, but at least the snow had covered the worst horrors of battle. It also meant that they did not have to stop to push the car out of the mud, and they reached Adrianople in one day.

  In spite of the armistice, the siege had not been lifted. The guns were silent but the armed camp was still there and the trenches made dark gashes in the covering of snow, which gleamed red around them. Leo thought at first that it was the reflection of the setting sun; but drawing closer she saw that the snow was stained with blood.

  They left the car on the road and climbed up to the general’s tent on the hill. General Dimitriev broke off a conversation with a junior officer to greet them.

  ‘My dear young ladies! What a pleasure to see you both safe and well! But I thought you were in Lozengrad.’

  ‘The hospital has closed,’ Victoria explained. ‘We are on our way home. When do you expect the next train from Salonika?’

  Dimitriev spread his hands. ‘I am sorry. There is no knowing when a train will come. We have been waiting now for days for new supplies, but it seems that now the armistice has been signed the authorities have other priorities. But it must come soon, and until then you will be very welcome to stay here.’

  He did not offer them his own tent this time. Instead, they were given the use of one which had been occupied until recently by two junior officers, who had both been wounded. Luke had to share with two of the others.

  As they left the general, Leo said, ‘We’d better get our bags from the car.’

  Victoria groaned. ‘Oh no! It means slipping and sliding down the hill and then struggling up again, and I’m absolutely whacked!’

  ‘It’s all right,’ Leo said. ‘I’ll get them. You’ve done all the driving. You go and have a lie down.’

  She had almost reached the bottom of the hill when a voice hailed her. ‘You, boy! Come here!’

  Leo stood transfixed, her heart beginning to pound. So he was here! But now, surely, he would see through her deception and be furious with her. She turned, glad that the low winter sun was behind her and saw Sasha Malkovic sitting his grey horse some twenty yards away. She stood still and after a moment he walked the horse forwards and drew rein beside her.

  ‘So, what are you doing here?’ Something in his eyes told her that he was surprised but not displeased to see her.

  ‘I’m on my way home,’ she responded, as coolly as she could manage.

  ‘I see.’ She saw the familiar ironic curl of his lips. ‘You have decided that you have discharged your duty to your grandparents’ heritage, then?’

  ‘The fighting is finished. There is nothing more for me to do.’

  He jerked his head towards the hospital tent. ‘I should have thought there was plenty of work there for you.’

  ‘Perhaps. But it will get less now there are no more casualties.’

  ‘You think so? What makes you think the fighting is over?’

  ‘There is an armistice, and a peace conference, I have been told.’

  ‘A conference that will go on for months without finding an agreement. This is a truce, no more. And meanwhile, the Turks are reinforcing their positions and men will continue to die here, on both sides of the line.’

  ‘But surely the siege will be lifted now?’

  He shook his head with a grim smile at her naivety ‘Adrianople is too precious a bargaining counter to be yielded up until agreement is reached. The siege will last a long time yet.’ He gathered up his reins. ‘But if you feel you have done your duty then by all means go home. I am sure your grandparents are eager to welcome you back. I wish you a safe journey.’

  He touched the horse with his heels and would have ridden away but Leo suddenly remembered something that had occurred to her on their first encounter at Chataldzha. With a rush of reckless daring she called after him.

  ‘Colonel Malkovic!’ He stopped and looked back and she caught up with him. ‘May I give you a small piece of advice?’

  His eyebrows shot up at her temerity. ‘Advice?’

  ‘Find yourself a different horse, one that is less noticeable. Greys always stand out from the rest and only an officer would ride such a magnificent animal. It makes you a target for snipers.’

  He looked amused. ‘So what are you suggesting? That I buy myself a pony and lead my men from behind, like others I could mention?’

  She smiled in spite of herself. ‘No, I can’t imagine you doing that. But a different mount perhaps? A bay, like that one there.’ She pointed to the horse lines where a number of the cavalry mounts were tethered. ‘The second from the right.’

  He looked where she indicated and nodded. ‘I see you have an eye for horseflesh. But you are English, of course. I should expect that.’ He smiled down at her. ‘Well, I will consider what you said. But you see—’ he stroked the arched grey neck ‘—I am very fond of Cloud and I believe he is of me. He would pine if I abandoned him.’

  ‘He would pine longer if you were killed,’ she said.

  He pursed his lips and shrugged, as if accepting the inevitability of that. Then he smiled again. ‘Thank you for your advice. Now I must be on my way. Goodbye.’

  She watched him walk out of sight and then turned back to fetch the baggage from the car.

  They were invited to dine with the general and his officers, and were treated with the same courtesy as before, though the signs of strain were apparent on the faces of their hosts and the food was inferior and served in smaller portions. Leo was relieved to discover that Sasha Malkovic was not among the diners. If he had seen her in the company of the Bulgarian officers, who knew her as a woman, her deception would have been at an end. It seemed the Serbs now had their own mess and she was reminded of the strained relations between the two so-called allies.

  Next morning Leo suggested to Victoria that, as they were going to have to stay for a few days, they should go and see how Sophie and the others
were getting on in the hospital tent.

  ‘Must we?’ Victoria groaned. ‘I’ve seen enough of hospitals to last me a lifetime. Do we have to wait for the train? Why don’t we drive to Salonika?’

  ‘Because we haven’t got enough petrol, for one thing,’ Leo said. She was beginning to realise that her friend found the reality of nursing hard to face, but she was disturbed by the change in her normally cheerful manner. Over the last weeks she had become increasingly short-tempered and withdrawn. ‘Come on,’ she said, trying to sound encouraging. ‘We can’t sit around doing nothing all day. Let’s at least see how Sophie and the others are getting on.’

  When they entered the tent, with Luke behind them, Sophie left what she was doing and came hurrying over.

  ‘Victoria! I am so pleased to see you again! How are you? And this is …?’ She broke off and covered her mouth to stifle a giggle. ‘It’s you, Leonora! I thought it was a young man. But what has happened to your hair?’

  ‘It’s more practical like this,’ Leo explained. ‘And so are the breeches.’

  Sophie caught her breath. ‘You are so brave! I would not dare …’ Then she saw Luke. ‘But this is a young man, and I don’t know him.’

  Victoria made the introductions and when Luke greeted her in Macedonian she exclaimed, ‘You speak our language. How wonderful!’

  Luke began to explain his antecedents but Sophie had already turned to the two women and caught a hand of each. ‘I am so glad to see you both. We are so desperately short-handed here. Some of the staff are down with a fever and everyday there are more patients to deal with. You have come back to help, haven’t you?’

  Victoria began to explain that they were only passing through on their way home but Leo was looking at Sophie. When they had first met, her face had been as smooth and rounded as a doll’s but now her cheeks were hollow and there were dark shadows under her eyes. It was obvious that she was not exaggerating the need for extra help. Besides, Sasha Malkovic was in camp and she wanted an excuse to stay. ‘Vita, I really think we should help out, if we can. Just for a day or two.’

  ‘I don’t understand why you are so hard pressed, Sophie,’ Victoria said. ‘Now the firing has stopped there are fewer casualties, surely.’

  ‘It’s the typhus,’ Sophie explained. ‘We have new cases every day.’

  ‘Typhus!’ Victoria clapped her hand over her mouth and took a step back. ‘You want us to nurse typhus cases?’

  ‘They need care, just as much as the wounded do,’ Sophie said.

  Victoria was shaking her head. ‘No, I’m sorry. I volunteered to collect wounded men from the battlefield and give First Aid, not to nurse plague victims. I can’t do it. I just can’t …’ She turned and hurried out of the tent.

  Luke called after her, ‘Vicky!’

  Leo knew that Victoria hated that diminutive, but she had heard him use it before and she seemed to tolerate it from him. However, this time she turned back and snapped, ‘Don’t call me Vicky!’ Then she was gone. ‘I’d better go after her,’ Leo said, but Luke put a hand on her arm. ‘I’ll go. Leave her to me.’

  He went out and Leo was left with Sophie, who fixed a pleading gaze upon her. With a chill at the pit of her stomach, Leo said, ‘What do you want me to do?’

  Sophie handed her a bottle. ‘It’s paraffin. The disease is carried by lice. We’re not sure that paraffin actually kills lice but it certainly deters them. Go and smear it all over your body. Then come back to me and I will give you an overall and gloves. Leave them here at the end of each shift and when you undress check your body and the seams of your clothing very carefully for lice. Do you understand?’

  Leo shuddered. ‘Yes, I understand.’

  She went back to the tent she shared with Victoria and was glad to find it empty. Luke and Victoria had apparently gone off somewhere together. She stripped off her clothes, shivering, and smeared the paraffin over herself. Then she dressed again and made her way back to where Sophie was waiting. As soon as she was ready, Sophie took her on a tour of the ward, explaining what was wrong with each man. Some had wounds from bullets or shrapnel, but far more were suffering from frostbite incurred through long hours on watch in the trenches, up to their knees in icy water. Several had already had their feet amputated. At the far end of the tent a section had been divided off with a canvas curtain. Behind this were the typhus patients.

  Sophie described the symptoms in dispassionate tones. ‘The first indications are headache and inability to sleep. Then comes a high fever with intense thirst. The body is covered with mud-coloured spots and the tongue is coated with brown fur. Next the patient goes into a coma, which closely resembles death. Around the fourteenth day the crisis occurs. Temperatures fall to below normal and death usually follows.’

  ‘Do none of them survive?’ Leo asked.

  ‘Yes, a few, the strongest. But not many.’

  ‘So what can we do for them?’

  ‘Very little. Give them drink, bathe them to reduce the temperature, try to get them to take some nourishment. That is about all.’

  Leo looked at her. ‘How can you bear it – to see them like that and not be able to do anything?’

  Sophie gave her a grim little smile. ‘We bear it because we must – because we are alive and their need is so great.’

  Leo braced her shoulders. ‘Tell me what you want me to do.’

  When they congregated in the mess tent for the midday meal, Sophie came over to where Leo was standing, bringing with her a small, lean man with very bright eyes.

  ‘This is Dr Iannis Nikolaides,’ she said. ‘He came from Gallipoli to join us.’

  They shook hands and exchanged greetings, then Leo said, ‘But isn’t Gallipoli still under Turkish control?’

  Iannis smiled. ‘For the present, yes. But I wanted to help the Allies who are fighting to drive them out, so I slipped through the lines one dark night and came here.’

  ‘That must have been very dangerous,’ Leo said.

  ‘He is a very brave man,’ Sophie declared, laying her hand proprietarily on the doctor’s arm. He smiled at her fondly and Leo realised that they were more than just colleagues. She was glad that Sophie had something to lighten the burden of her heart-breaking work but she felt a twist of envy. Victoria had Luke and Sophie had Iannis, but what hope was there that she might one day be united with her soul mate?

  ‘You are Greek?’ she asked Iannis. ‘I mean, I would guess that from your name.’

  ‘Macedonian Greek,’ he said. ‘As Sophie is Macedonian Serb. We are all mongrels, here in Macedonia, but we all love our country in the same way.’

  Luke had reappeared during the course of the morning but in answer to Leo’s query about Victoria all he had said was ‘Give her time. She needs a bit of breathing space.’ He had offered his services as a stretcher bearer and general orderly and Sophie had been happy to accept. He joined them at lunch and Leo felt as they talked that a real sense of comradeship was developing between the four of them. She wished Victoria was there to be part of it.

  When she returned to their tent that evening there was no sign of her friend and she was beginning to grow anxious when she came in, flushed and with her sleeves rolled up.

  ‘Vita! Where have you been? What have you been doing?’ Leo asked.

  ‘You were right. I couldn’t sit around all day doing nothing,’ Victoria responded, ‘so I volunteered to help in the hospital kitchen.’

  Leo jumped up and went to hug her. ‘Well done! I should have known you would find something to do.’

  But Victoria backed away, gesturing Leo back. ‘I’m sorry, but if you don’t mind I think it would be better if we didn’t get too close to each other, don’t you?’

  Leo retreated to her bed and sat down. It was sensible, she had to admit, but she felt rejected and unclean. Victoria made a conciliatory gesture. ‘I’m sorry, Leo. Honestly, I admire you for what you are doing … but I just can’t bring myself to do it. At least at Lozengrad everything
was kept clean, but here … the filth and the smell make me feel sick. And to be honest with you, I don’t see why we should risk our own health. Dying in a car crash or by a stray bullet is one thing; but not like that!’

  ‘It’s all right,’ Leo responded. ‘I understand. We all have things we can’t cope with. We must each do what we feel able to.’

  For some days they both continued to work at their chosen stations, but Leo felt that Victoria had withdrawn emotionally as well as physically. She was uncomfortably aware that she watched with distaste as she examined her body for lice every night, and she kept all her clothes and other belongings well away from anything of Leo’s. One day as they worked together in the ward she mentioned her disquiet to Luke.

  ‘I think she’s just about at the end of her tether, to be honest,’ he said. ‘She’s a strong person and she’s a tiger behind the wheel of a car, but she needs a rest.’

  ‘I can’t seem to get through to her anymore,’ Leo said. ‘It’s as if she’s cut herself off.’

  Luke’s face tightened. ‘Yeah. I know what you mean.’

  He said no more but later that evening, sitting by the campfire, Leo saw him talking to Victoria in the shadows just beyond the firelight. She could not hear what they were saying but she saw him reach out to put his arms round her and saw her shrug him off and turn away. Is this the end of the affair, she asked herself, or just a temporary hiccup? Perhaps she’s got herself involved and now she’s regretting it. Well, I tried to warn her. Hard on that thought came a moment or ironic self-awareness. Who am I to warn others about love affairs, when I’m pining my heart out for a man who thinks I’m a boy and believes women should stay in the kitchen?

  Next day a column of ox-carts bearing wounded arrived with the news that the Turks were attacking in force around Gallipoli. The truce had broken down. The same evening they learned that fighting had begun again on the Chataldza front.