Page 80 of Summer in Greece

‘No, really. They all saw it, the priest said it was a miracle. I was going down, almost giving up. When I asked the priest why I’d been saved, later, he said it was because God had a plan for me, and I wonder if that plan was to save you, dear Corporal. To give you my blood. The surgeon said you were going to die and there was nothing we could do. I had your head in my lap, and I could not stand the thought of you dying in my arms, so I insisted he took some of my blood and put it into you. You know the rest.’

‘You’re very brave. I will always be in your debt.’

Those few kind words made me want to cry. It was as if bravery and cowardice, truth and lies, all melted together and leaked out of me as tears. How would I ever be able to put everything right?

‘When the dolphin came towards me, I thought it was a torpedo, Corporal. You see, I’d never seen a dolphin before. It hit me with such force, the surgeon said if it hadn’t been for my corset, I’d have suffered a ruptured spleen.’ I was glad he could not see me blushing at the mention of my undergarments. Overcome by tiredness, I closed my eyes.

‘I don’t even know where my spleen is. Have I got one, or is it a woman thing?’ he asked.

‘It’s just under your ribs, around here . . .’ I reached over and touched his bottom rib then quickly withdrew my hand, but he caught hold of it, and pressed it against his chest.

‘Do you think you could ever come to love somebody like me, nurse?’ He was silent and as I looked, his eyes closed and his face finally relaxed.

‘Of course, soldier. There isn’t a girl in the world who wouldn’t be swept away by a kind, handsome man such as yourself. Now get some sleep. Goodnight, Corporal Perkins,’ I murmured, and in the back of my mind, I whispered, ‘Goodnight,’ to Sissy and Arthur too.

*

I woke in bright sunlight as the clatter of the anchor chain vibrated through the ship. The vessel had ceased bucking and rolling so I guessed we had moored in the port of Mudros. Although aching from my uncomfortable cot, my spirits soared to have arrived at my destination at last. I had a good feeling about the day.

‘I’m going to get you some food, Corporal. I’ll be back soon,’ I said. Shivering, I wrapped the blanket around my shoulders and hurried to my cabin. Nurse Josephine was about to leave for breakfast. The two of us rushed to the dining room and just scraped in before it closed. The meal consisted of Huntley & Palmers hardtack biscuits with warm, diluted, condensed milk. I begged another two portions and took them to Perkins.

‘I need to wash and shave first,’ he said. ‘Can you help me, nurse?’

‘Me? I’m not sure I should. You must try and do things for yourself.’

I hooked him under the arm and over his shoulder and pulled. The gasp of his breath on my face, and a low groan as I heaved his body into an upright position, gave me a sense of power. ‘There, swing your leg to the ground and I’ll bring your crutches. Best if you manage independently as much as possible. I’ll fetch water and soap if I can find it, so you can wash.’

‘You’re an angel. You know that I’ve fallen in love with you?’ he said in a jokey, flirty way.

I smiled right into his eyes, pleased to see him free of the awful depression that could strike an amputee at any moment.

The door opened and the surgeon entered. ‘Excellent, nurse. I see you’ve used your initiative.’

I remembered the last time I used my initiative; the world’s largest liner sank and God knew how many people suffered the most horrible death because of it.

The surgeon turned to Perkins. ‘Corporal, I’ve received new orders to drop you at Malta. You’ll be picked up there by another ship and returned to Portsmouth.’

I trembled. Was this for the tribunal? Had the surgeon received orders that I was destined to go there too?

As if Perkins heard my fears, he asked, ‘Will the nurse accompany me, sir?’

‘No, you’ll be in my charge. No need for concern, young man, I’ll take good care of you, though I dare say I won’t be as pleasing on the eye. Nurse Smith has orders to report for duty at Mudros clearing station, which is where we are at this very moment.’

My knees almost buckled with relief.

The surgeon turned to me. ‘Thank you, nurse. Your work’s done here. Disembark and report to your Chief Medical Officer on the quayside. They’re treating as many casualties as possible, changing dressings and so on, before bringing them aboard.’

‘Very good, sir.’ I longed to bid Perkins a proper farewell, perhaps even gather him up in a hug, and plant a farewell kiss on his handsome face, but the first rule of nursing was not to get involved with a patient. I turned to him, threw my shoulders back and lifted my chin. ‘Goodbye, Corporal. Safe journey and good luck with the new leg.’ I left the room in a few quick steps.

*

I hurried to collect my belongings and disembark. Looking out from the deck, I studied the layout of Mudros. Long promontories on either side of the port made the harbour seem more like a wide river. As far as I could see, there were at least six battleships moored up in the bay and twice as many barges, loading goods onto the ships. Further along the quayside, cranes lowered barrels and equipment onto more barges. The distant horizon of Lemnos was broken by an arid mountain range that, in the morning light, took on the shape of a man’s head.

The valley of Mudros was a town of white tents that filled the port and continued into the distant foothills. Barrels and bulging sacks lined the road towards the mountains as far as I could see. Stretchers bearing wounded soldiers covered the quayside below our ship.

I hurried down the ramp, past orderlies who supported limping, sagging men with grey faces. Nurse Josephine hefted her bag onto land, then attended injured men who were about to be stretchered aboard. The quayside rang with shouted orders, ambulance engines, and some plaintive cries from the badly wounded. The stench of cigarette smoke, engine fumes and body odour accompanied the general racket and bedlam. Stretcher-bearers could not shift the patients as quickly as they arrived at the dock by ambulance.

Consequently, everything backed up with rows of wounded, some unconscious, some dully bemoaning their missing limbs. One soldier extended half an arm towards me, ‘Please . . . please . . .’ he whimpered. I saw pale faces, pleading eyes. Dull, red-brown stains of old blood. That stale stink of death lay damp and heavy as morning mist, in the still air hanging over Mudros harbour.