Nurse Errant
Page 17
He was very nice. ‘I’m always pleased with success. This time I’m particularly pleased. He’s a good patient, Lesley. I think you’ll make each other very happy.’
‘Bless you, Joe. I’d love to see him. I promised him I’d leave that to him. I suppose I had better keep that one?’
‘I do know that’s the way he wants it. He’s talked about you, as I know you.’ He sounded as if he was smiling. ‘According to him, love’s a great thing and I ought to try it sometime.’
I could hear Paddy in those words. ‘Joe ‒ he is going to be all right?’
He hesitated. ‘He’s going to need glasses for some time, if not always. And it’s still pretty early to give a definite opinion beyond saying the operation was as successful as one could have hoped. That suit you?’
‘Joe, wonderfully! I’ll send all my eye patients to you! God bless you ‒ and that I do most sincerely mean.’
I had to wait again. The waiting was not the agony it had been before. It was bad enough. Paddy did not telephone or write so much as a postcard.
My monthly free weekend came round. The temptation to rush up to London and call in at Hilary’s was almost unbearable. I tried to switch weekends with Janet as I preferred working. That did not come off, as she had a cousin’s wedding in Scotland fixed for her own following free weekend, and to alter mine would have meant altering the whole rota.
Christmas was a matter of days away. On Saturday morning I went into the market-town to do some belated Christmas shopping and buy all the cards I should have sent off days before. Ann was back at work, and when I returned home the house looked bleak and empty.
We always left our back door unlocked. I went in that way, and was slowly depositing my parcels on our kitchen table and wondering how to kill the rest of my weekend, when I heard steps in our hall.
I looked round, and stayed still with my head twisted over my shoulder.
Paddy was in the hall door. Paddy in his usual country clothes, looking a little pale, but otherwise just as he had always looked, apart from the expression on his face. No man before had ever looked at me in that way.
As he came towards me I saw he had a pair of glasses in one hand. He put them on the dresser and held out his arms.
I went to him. Neither of us spoke. There was still nothing that needed to be said.
A long time later, from a long way off, I heard urgent knocking on the back door. Paddy raised his head, I glanced round. Lindy Yates was watching us open-mouthed from the still-open back door.
Paddy let me go, his eyes alight with laughter. I went to Lindy, too happy for self-consciousness. ‘Darling, what is it?’
‘Please, Nurse, I only came to say the vicar said if I saw you could I ask if you’d play dress rehearsal tonight? And, please, it’s at seven, and the vicar says if it’s all right not to bother to let him know, but if it’s not would you give him a ring?’ She took a long, much-needed breath, peered round me to look at Paddy, then back up at my face. ‘Nurse!’ Her eyes shone. ‘Are you going to want lots and lots of extra cupboards after all?’ she demanded hopefully.
I hugged her. ‘Lots and lots, darling! You must come and tell me exactly how many and where to put them!’
‘I will, Nurse! I will!’ She bounced with pleasure, and shot off with pig-tails flying to regale the village with some magnificent gossip.
‘Angel, there’s nothing for it.’ Paddy was ‒ incredibly ‒ nervous. ‘You’ll have to marry me now. The village will have the date fixed, the names of our offspring, and wedding presents chosen before young Lindy gets through.’ His arms tightened round me. ‘Will you let me make an honest woman of you, sweetheart?’
‘Paddy, darling, I thought you were not one of the marrying kind?’
He rubbed his face against mine. ‘Angel, you know I’m a shocking liar. And didn’t I myself tell you never to believe one word I said in those days?’
‘And this day?’
His eyes were alight with more than laughter. ‘This day and every day, my love, I’ve no more lies for you. I can’t do without you, Lesley. What man could manage without his guardian angel? Ask anything you like of me, but don’t ask that,’ murmured Paddy.
‘I won’t.’
‘Then let’s have no more talk.’ He kissed me hard. ‘I’ve done far too much of that.’ He kissed me again. ‘And nothing like enough of this.’
Also by Lucilla Andrews
If you enjoyed Nurse Errant, you will also want to read these other stories by Lucilla Andrews.
The Print Petticoat
A moving story of heartache and hope in the Maternity Unit of a busy 1950s teaching hospital.
Joanna Anthony is a dedicated Nursery staff nurse at St Gregory’s Hospital. The nurses and doctors share laughter and tears as they tend to the mothers and babies in their care.
There is time for romance, too. After five years together, is ambitious Dr Richard Everley finally ready to settle down with Joanna? And what of the two other young doctors who have more than a professional interest in her?
It takes a serious illness for Joanna to understand where, and with whom, her future really lies.
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The Secret Armour
There’s romance for Nurse Maggie on the wards of a 1950s teaching hospital. But is she in love with the wrong man?
Nineteen-year-old nurse Maggie Howard is completing her training at St Benedict’s Hospital. Life on the ward is hard and the Sisters are strict, but Maggie and her set mates, Alice and Rose, love their work. That’s not all that Maggie loves, when against all advice she falls for a dashing patient, David Corford.
Maggie will experience happiness, heartache and misunderstandings. And throughout the emotional ups and downs, young houseman George Hartigan is always there to provide a shoulder to cry on.
Will Maggie risk her career and future happiness over her love for a handsome patient?
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The Quiet Wards
Young nurse Gillian Snow is blamed when a dangerous drug goes missing during her shift on the ward of a 1950s teaching hospital. But who took it?
Twenty-one-year-old Nurse Gillian Snow finds her career in jeopardy when a dangerous drug disappears from the drug cupboard under her care. The situation also affects her romance with dashing house-surgeon Peter Kier.
Moved from her ward to do other duties, Gillian experiences the happiness and heartache that comes from nursing both children and accident victims.
As she struggles to understand who took the drug, and why, Gillian finds support and truth from some unexpected quarters.
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The First Year
Rose Standing has a lot to learn about hospital life, patients ‒ and romance, during her first year as a probationer nurse at St Martin’s Hospital in 1950s London.
Twenty-year-old Rose has a reputation for being accident-prone and absent-minded. Does she really have what it takes to make a good nurse?
The biggest question on Rose’s mind is whether the Senior Surgical Officer, Jake Waring, will even notice her existence. Are her daydreams about a romance between them destined to remain a fantasy?
Rose discovers that each department has its own heartaches and joys as she gains experience on the men’s surgical, women’s medical, and Casualty wards.
Meanwhile, handsome student doctor Bill Martin shows a keen interest in Rose. But she has her suspicions about his motives.
A moving and heart-warming story of a young nurse, and the challenges she faces on the hospital wards and in her personal life.
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Amazon UK
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A Hospital Summer
In the summer of 1940, Clare Dillon is a V.A.D. in an English military hospital, nursing the wounded as the bombs fall.
Twenty-year-old Clare must rise to the challenge of nursing in wartime. Whether giving comfort to a dying soldier, or assisting in a birth during an air raid, she has to remain clear-headed and professional.
Clare is not only dealing with problems at the hospital. She is also worried for the safety of her brothers, who are both in the forces. Then the Dunkirk evacuation changes her world forever.
With the medical emergencies and bombings, it’s no wonder Clare doesn’t have time to think about the attention she’s getting from young medical officer Joe Slaney. But she surprises herself when news about Joe makes her face up to what she really wants for the future.
A gripping, bittersweet story about the courage and determination of young V.A.D. nurses in the Second World War.
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My Friend the Professor
Young probationer nurse, Frances Dorland, is dealing with the ups and downs of 1960’s hospital life when she meets an understanding older man ‒ the Professor.
Frances’s nursing friends joke about the identity of the Professor, but the truth is that none of them know anything about him, except that he proves to be a loyal and kind friend to Frances.
As Frances starts to realise she feels more than friendship for the Professor, she is also trying to help the course of true love run smoothly for her best friend Estelle Dexter. And handsome student doctor Bart More is sending mixed signals to both young women.
It is only when one of the hospital staff becomes dangerously ill that Frances and her friends come to realise home truths that will change their lives forever.
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A Nurse’s Life by Jane Grant
Heart-warming and humorous tales from a 1940s student nurse
In this warm and witty book, Jane Grant recounts her life as a trainee nurse in a busy 1940s London teaching hospital.
Jane, and her friends Mary and Phyllis, discover that both happiness and heartache can be found on the wards of St. Bernard’s Hospital. Before long they realise it takes determination and a sense of humour to deal with the colourful characters of hospital life – and that goes for the staff as well as the patients.
The young nurses gain their medical training under the watchful eyes of strict, but generally fair, sisters and matrons. They meet patients who are facing the biggest challenges of their lives, and share with them moments of bravery and fear. There are times of laughter, but also of tears.
There is romance too, as Jane and her fellow student nurses enjoy the attentions of the hospital’s handsome young doctors, falling in and out of love for the first time.
A Nurse’s Life is a moving and amusing account of a bygone era, brought vividly to life. Also available in this series, there is more from Jane and her friends and family in More From a Nurse’s Life, A Sister’s Life and A Country Life.
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A Country Practice: New Beginnings by Judith Colquhoun
Brendan and Molly Jones swap city living for a new start in the country. But are they prepared for rural life in Wandin Valley?
A Country Practice follows the dramas, loves, secrets and dilemmas of the people in a small country town in south-eastern Australia. There is romance, humour and tragedy for the medical staff and patients of the Wandin Valley Bush Nursing Hospital, and their friends and neighbours.
Brendan and Molly meet the colourful characters who will change their lives forever.
Terence Elliott is the town’s respected doctor, but can he overcome his demons to save a mother and baby in danger?
Simon Bowen, the newest doctor in town, is frustrated at being seen as an outsider by the tight knit country people. Will he succeed in winning them around ‒ especially young vet Vicky Dean?
Police sergeant Frank Gilroy has his heart set on Vicky’s mum, Sister Shirley Dean. But is he the man for her?
Meanwhile, a teenager in love clashes with her father and a serious car accident reveals a surprising secret about two of the town’s residents.
A heart-warming and engaging tale, based on the award-winning, international hit television serial A Country Practice.
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The Country Doctor by Jean McConnell
Captivating tales from a young GP’s case notes
Young doctor Linda Ford swaps a busy London teaching hospital for a six month post at a small West Country General Practice. She soon discovers that countryside life is far from uneventful.
John Cooper, the senior doctor, warns Linda not to get emotionally involved in her cases. But Linda can’t help taking a personal interest in her patients, particularly when their problems seem to be more than medical. And as this is the late 1970s, Linda also faces some misgivings about a female doctor. Especially a young and pretty one.
Linda clashes over medical matters with Dr Peter Cooper, the older doctor’s son. But there is an undeniable attraction too. Where will it lead? And as Linda is keeping Peter’s place until he joins the practice as his father’s partner, what will her future hold?
This slice of rural life uncovers the dramas, family secrets and dilemmas which confront patients young and old. Their stories are in turn intriguing, poignant, and heart-warming.
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A Doctor’s Life by Dr Robert Clifford
A heart-warming, nostalgic look at life for a doctor in the 1940s and 1950s, perfect for fans of Call The Midwife and classics such as Dr Finlay’s Casebook and the Richard Gordon Doctor series.
This charming and amusing story follows young doctor Bob Ramsden from his training at a busy 1940s London teaching hospital to life in general practice as a Somerset GP in the 1950s. It is also the tale of his love for the beautiful, clever Priscilla, the medical colleague he falls for at first sight, despite feeling sure that she is out of his league.
Once at medical school, he soon discovers that both laughter and tears are to be found on a hospital ward.
During his medical career, Dr Bob meets patients who can be brave, funny or a challenge. His fellow doctors provide moments of entertainment, as well as support. There are many tales of happiness and heartache in this nostalgic look at a doctor’s life in post-war Britain.
Bonus Short Story: The Bevin Boy. Bob spends time as a Bevin Boy, working in a Yorkshire coal mine. There he enjoys the camaraderie of his fellow miners, but also experiences great tragedy.
A Doctor’s Life is a poignant, feel-good account of a doctor’s love for his profession and his patients, as well as his devotion to the woman who is the love of his life.
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Home from Home by Cath Cole
Home from Home is the true-to-life, moving story of five student nurses in the 1960s.
The lives of Theresa, Maggie, Jenny, Sarah and Chris are about to change forever as they start their nurse training at The School of Nursing at Farnton General.
They soon realise that the
y have much to learn about life, both on and off the hospital wards. A strong bond is formed as the young women face the challenges presented by families, boyfriends and their nursing responsibilities.
Friendships are tested as the young nurses experience the joys and heartbreaks of growing up. But for each of them, for different reasons, the hospital will become a home from home.
A touching, bold and, at times, amusing account of the lives and loves of five trainee nurses in the 1960s.
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City Hospital Book 1: New Blood by Keith Miles
City Hospital: One busy hospital, five medical students, plenty of drama …
Join five young trainee medics as they learn about life and love on the wards of City Hospital.
Suzie, Mark, Karlene, Gordy and Bella share a house, and the ups and downs of being a medical student in a busy teaching hospital.
In City Hospital Book 1: New Blood …
An accident leaves a young life hanging in the balance. A guilty Suzie holds the key to catching the culprit.
A party goes horribly wrong when an argument has unexpected and far-reaching consequences.
Karlene discovers why it’s never a good idea to get too close to a patient.
The City Hospital series is perfect for fans of television medical dramas. Further titles in this series are also now available.
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