by Emma Fraser
Lady Dorothea held onto the steering-wheel and, without taking her foot off the accelerator, kept the truck going forward.
It was the longest twenty minutes of Jessie’s life. When she made out the Red Cross flag over the first-aid post she almost wept with relief.
‘We don’t have long,’ Archie said grimly. ‘We do what we can, then go.’
They jumped out of the truck, keeping their heads down, and hurried over to the station, dropping quickly into the trench. Several wounded men were lying in rain-soaked mud and Isabel, Maud and Jessie set about deciding who to treat first while Archie, and Lady Dorothea, went in search of the injured doctor.
Of the four men lying in the trench, one was dead from a bullet to the head, two had minor leg injuries and one had a severe abdominal wound that required surgery.
‘Please get the two walking wounded into the back of the truck, then set up the operating tent. When you’ve done that, come back for this man. I’ll try to stop the bleeding as best I can while I’m waiting,’ Isabel instructed.
Maud and Jessie nodded, their hands flying as they bandaged the two other men. Isabel placed a wad of swabs over her patient’s abdominal wound. Jessie knew they would have to get it cleaned and the bleeding stopped but they could only do that in theatre.
Archie and Lady Dorothea returned from the doctor’s dug-out and Archie shook his head. ‘He died while we were with him. Nothing anyone could do, I’m afraid.’
Lady Dorothea’s face had lost its colour. Whatever injuries the doctor had sustained must have been horrific to shake her.
‘Can we get this man out of here?’ Isabel asked. ‘He needs surgery.’
‘I’ll fetch one of the stretchers.’ Lady Dorothea turned to Archie. ‘Forgive me, we haven’t been introduced. I’m Maxwell.’ Despite her pallor she held out a dusty hand.
‘Scotty, ma’am. Pleased to meet you.’
There was no sign from Dorothea that she recognised him from the abbey. Jessie wondered if Archie truly appreciated the risk he was taking but there was little either of them could do except hope that she would never discover she’d just met the man sought in connection with her brother’s death.
Ignoring the sounds of battle, they managed to get the injured man onto the stretcher and out of the filth of the trench. In the meantime, Lady Dorothea and Maud had pitched the tent and set up the mobile operating table with a large basin underneath to catch the blood. Sterilised instruments were set out on another table, with morphine and chloroform.
‘I’ll act as your anaesthetist,’ Jessie said to Isabel. ‘Like the day we helped your dad with Flora McPhee.’ How long ago that seemed.
Isabel smiled. ‘There’s no one I’d rather have by my side. We made a good team that day.’
An explosion rocked the ground, sending an instrument spinning from the table.
‘We should get out of here,’ Archie said. ‘Those guns can’t be more than three thousand yards away.’
‘We can’t move him,’ Isabel replied. ‘He’ll die for certain if we do.’
‘Then Jessie, Maud and Maxwell must go. I’ll stay to help.’
‘I’m going nowhere,’ Jessie said tersely, cutting away the wounded soldier’s uniform.
‘You can’t help Isabel, Scotty,’ Maud added. ‘Sorry, old chap. She needs us. Why don’t you go with Maxwell and take the two men in the truck to Mladanovatz?’
‘If you think I’m leaving any of you women alone here, forget it.’ Archie motioned with his hand. ‘Jessie, I insist you leave.’
Jessie’s head snapped up. ‘Archie MacCorquodale! I’m not your baby sister any more! I’m not leaving this patient and that’s that!’
‘Archie MacCorquodale?’ Jessie hadn’t heard Lady Dorothea come in. She was standing looking at them, frowning.
Jessie was horrified. Amid the fear, exhaustion and frustration at the death and destruction around them, she’d forgotten herself.
‘And you’re his sister? But you told me you met him at the station in Paris.’
‘We can talk about it later,’ Isabel said. ‘Right now, I need to operate on this man.’
Jessie’s heart was racing as she placed the mask over their patient’s face. What would Lady Dorothea do when she realised, which she was bound to at any moment, that Archie was the man they were looking for?
Lady Dorothea paled. ‘Oh, my Lord,’ she murmured, and stumbled out of the tent. Jessie knew she had worked out the truth. However, nothing could be done about that now. The injured man had to come first.
They fell silent as they concentrated on the operation. As soon as they’d finished, Jessie left Isabel and Maud to see to the patient and went in search of Lady Dorothea.
She found her sitting on an upturned crate with her eyes closed.
‘Maxwell,’ Jessie whispered, ‘I can explain.’
‘What was your name before you married?’
‘MacCorquodale.’ There was no point in lying any more.
‘I can’t believe you’ve been deceiving me all this time. Good Lord, Jessie, your brother’s Archie MacCorquodale – the man my papa believes killed my brother. Did you think I wouldn’t find out?’
‘I hoped you wouldn’t. Please, Maxwell, you have to believe me. Archie didn’t kill your brother.’
Lady Dorothea smiled sadly. ‘I might have if you’d told me this at the beginning. How can I believe anything you tell me now?’
‘What will you do?’ Jessie whispered. ‘At least give him time to get away.’
‘If he’s innocent, he has nothing to fear.’ She shook away Jessie’s arm and began to walk towards the truck. ‘I’ll wait for you in the ambulance.’
Just then there was an explosion and Jessie was thrown into the air. She landed on her stomach with a thump that tore the breath from her body. Time seemed to stand still as dirt and rocks showered around her. She covered her head with her hands. Eventually she became aware that someone was shouting her name.
‘Jessie! Jess, are you all right?’ Archie’s voice was muffled. ‘Thank God,’ he said, when she raised her head to let him know she was unhurt.
‘The others?’ Her voice was no more than a whisper. She scrambled to her feet. There was too much smoke to see clearly.
‘The shell missed the tent. But we have to get out of here. We might not be so lucky next time.’
‘Where’s Lady Dorothea?’ She looked towards where she had last seen her but there was only a hollow where the shell had struck.
‘Stay here,’ Archie ordered. ‘I’ll look for her.’
Jessie watched him with increasing despair as he ran in a half-crouching position towards the shell hole. There was no chance Lady Dorothea could have survived the blast. A droning noise filled the air and Jessie looked up. Two Serbian aircraft were flying overhead. One dropped in height and began raking the ground with gunfire. It wouldn’t stop the advancing army but it might buy them a little time.
Archie had paused in front of what looked like a crumpled heap of rags. A few seconds later he raised his head and shouted, ‘Jessie! Help me!’ He swept the bundle into his arms and ran back towards the tent. When Jessie caught up with him, she saw he was carrying Lady Dorothea and that she was in a bad way.
In the tent, Isabel and Maud were shocked but unhurt. When Isabel saw Archie her face lit up, and in that instant Jessie knew that the doctor’s daughter loved her brother as much as he loved her.
But when Isabel saw the unconscious Dorothea in Archie’s arms, her face blanched. ‘Quick, Jessie, let’s set up another table so I can examine her. Maud, you stay with our patient. Shout if you need me.’
Archie laid his burden down and Jessie cut the lower half of Dorothea’s dress before snipping away the elastic of her drawers and parting the material. Thick red blood pooled in the injured woman’s groin.
‘Hold the lamp over her,’ Isabel said, before bending her head to examine the wound. ‘Shrapnel’s causing the bleeding. I need to remove it.’ When Isabel
lifted her head, Jessie saw the anguish in her eyes. ‘And when I do she’ll bleed even more. We have some saline left but I don’t think that will be enough to save her.’
‘Remember that transfusion you saw, Isabel?’ Archie said. ‘We could try it.’
Isabel’s expression was bleak. ‘I don’t have anything. No blood. Nothing.’ She glanced around, and as her eyes fell on her medical bag, she frowned. ‘No, wait … The doctor at the American Hospital gave me some citrate solution. If we had blood I could risk trying to transfuse her.’
‘But we do. You can use mine,’ Archie said. ‘The doctors have used it before. My blood seems to work.’
‘I don’t know,’ Isabel said. ‘We might kill her.’
‘If we don’t give her blood, will she survive?’ Archie demanded.
Isabel shook her head. ‘No.’
‘Then it seems to me that we have no choice.’ Archie gripped her shoulder. ‘You can do this, Isabel. At least you have to try.’
Isabel smiled uncertainly, then seemed to give herself a shake. ‘We need tubing and a bottle. A sterilised bottle. Do we have one?’
They didn’t. Then Jessie had an idea. ‘There’s an empty antiseptic bottle – why don’t we use that?’
While Archie rolled up his sleeve, Isabel rinsed the bottle with boiled water.
‘Jessie, could you keep pressure on Dorothea’s wound?’ Isabel asked, smiling briefly when she saw that Jessie was already one step ahead of her. She swabbed Archie’s arm and applied a tourniquet. Working quickly, she attached a length of tubing to a large-bore needle. She poured a little citrate solution into the bottle, put the other end of the tubing into it and placed it on the floor. Archie didn’t even wince as she inserted the needle into his vein, checking it was in before she loosened the tourniquet.
‘You’ll be fine, Maxwell,’ Jessie whispered. ‘Hold on.’ Oh, God, this couldn’t be happening. Lady Dorothea had found out who Archie really was, but Jessie didn’t want her to die. She deserved better than this.
As soon as Archie’s blood was running into the bottle, Isabel swabbed a large vein in the other side of Dorothea’s groin and inserted a cannula into it.
‘Now, Jessie, you’ll have to let go so you can assist me,’ Isabel said, her voice steady. ‘Archie, hold the lamp over my surgical area. I know it won’t be easy with the tube in your other arm, but I need both Jessie’s hands free.’
Jessie concentrated on keeping the surgical field free of blood while Isabel explored the wound with forceps. She gave a triumphant smile as she removed a piece of metal. ‘That’s one. Let me check for any more.’
They held their breath as they waited. Every now and again the dull thud of an explosion came from outside but, to Jessie’s relief, it seemed that the shells were falling less often. The drone of the aeroplanes was still audible too, although they appeared to be moving further away.
‘Catgut, Jessie,’ Isabel said, and Jessie used sterile forceps to pass her the suturing material. When she’d done that she placed her fingers on Lady Dorothea’s carotid artery. The pulse was so weak she could hardly feel it, but it was there.
A few moments later, Isabel straightened. ‘Jessie, if you dress the wound, I’ll complete the transfusion.’
This, Jessie guessed, was the most dangerous part.
‘When will we know?’
‘Almost as soon as I start feeding Archie’s blood into her. If anyone feels like sending up a prayer, please do so.’
Jessie closed her eyes and silently begged God to grant her one more favour. He’d taken Mam, Dad and Seamus, and although He’d returned Tommy and Archie to her, she asked Him for one more life. They waited – it was all they could do – but when Dorothea’s pulse began to beat harder under her fingers she knew her prayers had been answered.
The shelling started again, closer now.
‘We have to go,’ Maud said anxiously.
Isabel pulled off her rubber gloves and dropped them on the floor. ‘Let’s get our patients into the truck.’
As soon as they’d transferred them to the ambulance, Archie cranked the engine until it spluttered into life. He heaved himself up on the step of the driver’s door, but then he turned away and stared across the field, listening.
‘What is it, Archie?’ Isabel asked. ‘We must hurry. There’s no time.’
‘There’s a man out there. I can hear his calls for help. I have to go to him.’
‘No, Archie. They’ll shoot you.’ Jessie was almost sobbing with terror. ‘You’re not in uniform. Let me go. They’ll not harm a nurse.’
He gripped her arm. ‘Please, Jessie. Listen to me. I have to do this. Call it restitution, if you like, but you must all leave now.’ He turned to Isabel. ‘Can you drive?’
She nodded.
He pulled off his Red Cross armband and put it on Isabel. When she tried to pull it off, he held her arm firmly. ‘You must wear it. If the Germans catch you they may not believe you’re a doctor. Now for God’s sake, get out of here.’ It was only then that Jessie saw Isabel wasn’t wearing hers. She must have forgotten to put it on in the rush.
Isabel looked at Archie, and for a moment they held each other’s eyes. She smiled slightly. ‘Oh, Archie,’ was all she said.
Before Jessie could speak, Archie passed her a revolver. ‘Take this.’ He leaned forward and hugged her. ‘Be careful, a gràidgh, and take good care of Isabel.’ He smiled again, but Jessie could see the torment in his eyes. ‘I’ll come back, you’ll see.’ Then he jumped down and started to run.
When Jessie made to follow him, Isabel grabbed her arm and pulled her none too gently towards the truck. ‘We have to get Dorothea and the others to the hospital. They’ll die if we don’t.’
Jessie looked into the darkness. She could still go after him.
‘Maud needs your help in the back, Jessie,’ Isabel said quietly, ‘and if anyone can survive, it will be Archie.’
All Jessie could do was nod.
‘Now, Sister Stuart,’ Isabel said, helping Jessie into the back, ‘let’s make sure our patients stay alive until we can get them to the hospital.’
Chapter 47
The camp in Mladanovatz was in chaos when they finally rolled in. Women hurried between the tents, heaping belongings and supplies onto wagons. Men sat in the backs of trucks, their bandages reflecting a ghostly light.
Before Isabel had brought the truck to a standstill, Jessie had jumped from the back. ‘We need some help over here. Now!’
Orderlies unloaded the two patients and stretchered them away to the wards. Jessie made to follow, but Maud held her back. ‘I’ll stay with her and make sure she gets onto the hospital train. You’re in no state to do any more.’
Maud was right. Jessie looked wearily at Isabel as she joined them. Even in the dim light and under the coat of dust and mud, her face was white. ‘I need to go back,’ she said.
Jessie sighed, almost too tired to argue. ‘You can’t.’
‘I must.’
Jessie’s heart felt as if it were encased in ice. ‘If I thought there was the slightest chance of rescuing Archie, I would go. But there isn’t. He’s behind enemy lines, and if he’s alive he’ll have been captured by now. As it is, the enemy are only just behind us and we have patients who need us.’
Evans ran to them. ‘We’ve been given orders to evacuate to Kruševatc. Only those who can’t be moved are to stay. Four nurses will remain with them. The rest of us are to leave with the patients.’
Isabel didn’t appear to be listening. She started to walk away. ‘They won’t shoot me. I’m a doctor.’
Jessie yanked on Isabel’s arm until she was facing her. ‘The sun’s going down. You’ll be a figure in the dark to them.’ She had to shout to make herself heard above the noise of cannon fire and exploding bombs. ‘Even if they don’t shoot you, remember what happened to Matron Cavell.’
Isabel’s eyes were frantic and Jessie doubted she was hearing a word she was saying. ‘For God’
s sake, Isabel. If you go after him, I’ll have to go too. He’ll never forgive me if I let something happen to you.’
Isabel slumped to her knees, her face awash with tears. It was the first time Jessie had seen her lose her composure. ‘Then I’ll stay here. I can’t leave him.’
There wasn’t time to argue. Some of the wagons, loaded with the wounded, were already leaving. Jessie crouched beside Isabel. ‘Can’t you see that if I thought there was a chance of saving him I’d go? He’s my brother.’ Her voice caught and she took a deep breath to steady it. ‘Archie is a strong and determined man, Isabel. If anyone can survive, it will be him. If he can find a way back to us, he will.’
‘I love him, Jessie.’
‘I know. And for that reason you have to live. So he can find you when this war is over.’
When she raised her face, Isabel’s expression was resolute. Although she was still pale, all other signs of her earlier distress had vanished. Jessie held out her hands and they got to their feet.
Evans was waiting impatiently. ‘We’re about to leave. I’ve fetched your bundles for you.’
‘What about Kragujevatz?’ Jessie asked. ‘Can’t we go there?’
‘Apparently not. The Germans are expected to take it at any moment – if they aren’t there already. Some of the staff have already left and our orders are to take as many wounded as we can and retreat to Kruševatc. The others will meet us there.’
Jessie frowned. ‘Where’s Maud?’
‘She’ll stay with Maxwell to make sure she gets on the hospital train. She’s to be one of the nurses who will stay. I imagine she wants to be close to Milan.’
Jessie looked around the place she’d called home these last weeks. So much had happened, was still happening. When would this nightmare end? She turned on her heel and clambered into the back of the truck alongside Isabel and two nurses. There were four trucks carrying as many of the wounded as they could cram in and an equal number of ox-wagons piled high with supplies. The women who were staying behind with the patients who couldn’t be moved saw them off with cries of, ‘See you soon. Take care now, and God bless.’ To hear them, anyone would have thought they were waving guests off after a party instead of facing the possibility of capture – or worse.