Nightingales on Call

by Donna Douglas

  She had never seen her sister so worried, and for a moment she hesitated. But then she remembered that if she didn’t go, it would mean another long, boring night in with her books. And she couldn’t face that.

  ‘I’ll be careful, Katie, I promise. Sure, it’s only one night out,’ she reasoned. ‘What could go wrong?’

  Katie kept Effie talking so long, she was almost late meeting Hugo. She was worried he might have decided she wasn’t coming, but to her relief he was lounging against the hospital gates, smoking a cigarette.

  Effie panicked and broke into a run. She hurtled past the Porters’ Lodge, down the gravel drive and cannoned straight into him.

  ‘Steady on!’ He put out his hands to catch her, the cigarette caught between his lips. ‘You’re a bit keen, aren’t you?’

  ‘I’m so sorry I’m late!’ she panted. ‘I didn’t think you’d wait for me.’

  ‘Of course I’d wait.’ He took out his cigarette and blew a thin curl of smoke into the air. ‘I suppose that Sister Tutor of yours kept you late scrubbing floors and whatnot?’

  Effie shook her head. ‘It was my sister’s fault. She didn’t want me to come out with you.’

  ‘Why on earth not?’

  Effie felt the heat rising in her face. ‘She doesn’t think your intentions are honourable. Not just you,’ she added hastily, seeing him frown. ‘She doesn’t have a very high opinion of medical students, I’m afraid.’

  ‘Quite right too,’ Hugo said briskly. ‘Your sister sounds like a very sensible girl. We’re all scoundrels to a man.’ He blew another languorous smoke curl into the sky. ‘But you still came, in spite of her dire warnings?’

  ‘I wanted to find out for myself,’ Effie replied.

  ‘Good girl.’ Hugo grinned. ‘I like a woman with an independent spirit.’ He looked her up and down. ‘But your sister was right to be worried. You look so utterly ravishing I’m sure you’d bring out anyone’s dishonourable intentions.’

  ‘Do I?’ Effie looked down at her dress. She still wasn’t sure if it was too old-fashioned.

  She was even less sure when they arrived at the restaurant. To her astonishment, Hugo had booked a table at a smart establishment in the West End. Effie had never seen anything like it. The room reminded her of a wedding cake, with chandeliers and white walls decorated with gilt plaster curlicues. Waiters in tailcoats swished between the candlelit tables, and everywhere there was the soft hum of conversation and the clink of china and glasses.

  Effie sniffed the air. It even smelled expensive, of good food and wine mingled with French perfume.

  She shrank behind Hugo’s shoulder as the maitre d’ approached them, half expecting him to throw her out for looking so shabby. But the man broke into a smile when he saw Hugo.

  ‘Ah, Mr Morgan, how nice to see you again. Please come this way, your usual table is ready for you.’

  Effie followed him, bumping into furniture and diners, apologising to everyone as she passed.

  There was a kerfuffle at the table as the waiter tried to pull out her chair for her and spread her napkin in her lap. Effie apologised to him, too, while Hugo watched her across the table with lazy amusement.

  ‘You don’t have to keep saying sorry to everyone, you know.’

  ‘Sorry,’ Effie replied, then put her hand over her mouth. ‘I’ve never been anywhere as grand as this.’ She gazed around her.

  Even Katie would be impressed, she decided. Surely Hugo wouldn’t have brought her somewhere as posh as this if his intentions weren’t honourable?

  The waiter fawned over them. Effie was perplexed by the French menu, so Hugo ordered for her.

  ‘I hope you haven’t asked for anything too complicated?’ she whispered.

  Hugo smiled. ‘You’ll see.’

  A moment later the waiter arrived with a silver ice bucket. Effie gawped as he made a great show of popping the cork on the bottle. ‘Is that real champagne?’

  ‘Don’t you like champagne?’

  ‘I’ve never tried it.’

  ‘Then you have a treat in store.’ Hugo nodded to the waiter to fill their glasses. ‘Try it, Euphemia. It’s delicious, I promise you. And I defy even you not to end up mildly intoxicated after a glass or two of this.’

  He was right, it was delicious. She loved the way the icy bubbles fizzed and danced on her tongue. It was so cold, yet it spread a wonderful warmth through her body, making her feel less nervous. Effie sank two glasses of champagne before she finally began to relax in her surroundings. The drink loosened her tongue, and she was soon chatting easily to Hugo about her sisters.

  ‘I think I know your sister Bridget,’ he said. ‘Tall, dark-haired woman on Male Orthopaedic? Never smiles, never a hair out of place.’

  Effie laughed. ‘That sounds like Bridget!’

  ‘The students all call her the Ice Queen. Very beautiful but utterly terrifying.’ He took a sip of his champagne. ‘No wonder she tried to warn you off me.’

  ‘Oh, no, that was my other sister, Katie. She’s a student in her final year. We share a room in the students’ home.’

  ‘That sounds like fun?’

  ‘I thought it would be, but she’s turned out to be a spoilsport.’ Across the table, Hugo stifled a yawn with the back of his hand. Effie was instantly mortified. ‘I’m sorry, you don’t want to hear about my boring sisters.’

  ‘Not at all, I’m fascinated. But I haven’t been to bed all night.’

  ‘Have you been playing cards with your friends again?’

  ‘No, worse luck. I’ve been studying.’

  Effie looked at him, impressed. So Katie was wrong about him, then. He didn’t spend all his time gambling and having parties.

  ‘I have to work hard, to keep up the family reputation,’ Hugo went on. ‘My father is a Nightingale man. That’s where he met my mother, when he was a humble student.’ He smiled at her over the rim of his glass. ‘So you see, your sister’s wrong. Not all our intentions are dishonourable.’

  Their meal arrived, the dishes covered with elaborate silver domes. Effie stared at her plate in horror as the waiter lifted off the dome with a flourish.

  ‘What is it?’ she whispered to Hugo.

  ‘Lobster. Wait until you try it, it’s divine.’

  Effie pleated her thick linen napkin anxiously between her fingers. ‘I don’t know how to eat it,’ she confessed.

  ‘Here, let me show you. It’s quite simple, once you get the hang of it.’

  Hugo was right about the lobster, too. It was heavenly, delicate and sweet with a buttery sauce. Effie had never tasted anything like it, and before she knew it she’d cleared her plate.

  ‘My goodness, you were hungry, weren’t you?’ Hugo commented.

  Effie glanced around at the other women. They all seemed as thin as rakes in their expensive silks and furs, picking at their food like birds. It suddenly occurred to her that she should have shown more decorum, instead of ploughing in. How many times had her mammy rapped her knuckles with a ladle for diving in for seconds?

  She opened her mouth, but Hugo held up his hand. ‘And before you start, don’t even think about apologising,’ he said. ‘There’s nothing wrong with a girl having a healthy appetite.’

  Hugo ordered more champagne, then a couple of brandies with their coffee. They must have been stronger than her father’s poteen, because by the end of the evening Effie was feeling quite giddy. She was having the time of her life.

  Until the moment Hugo leaned across the table and said, ‘I say, I don’t seem to have my wallet.’

  Chapter Twenty-One

  IT WAS AS if the waiter had tipped the ice bucket over her head, shocking her to her senses. Effie sat bolt upright and stared at him across the table.

  ‘You must have it. You paid the taxi driver, remember?’

  ‘I know, but I don’t have it now. It might have fallen out on the way here.’

  Effie reached for her bag under the table. ‘I have some money.’

&nb
sp; ‘That’s very sweet of you, but I don’t think it will be enough to cover this somehow.’

  He picked the bill up off the silver tray and waved it under her nose. Effie caught sight of the figures and let out a squeak of dismay.

  ‘I don’t think I’ve ever had that much money in my life!’ she whispered. The brown pay packet that was handed to her every week wouldn’t even have covered the price of one glass of champagne. ‘What are we going to do?’

  He shrugged. ‘I suppose we’ll just have to make a run for it.’

  ‘We can’t!’ Effie’s mouth fell open in horror.

  ‘What else can we do?’

  ‘I don’t know, but there must be some other way.’ She cast her eyes around desperately. Was it her imagination or was the maitre d’ sending her suspicious looks? ‘Surely if you just talked to them, promised to send them a cheque . . .’

  Hugo shook his head. ‘They’d never agree. No, Euphemia, I’m afraid we’re just going to have to disappear discreetly. Fortunately the place is busy, so we won’t be noticed.’ He patted her hand across the table. ‘It’s easy, I promise. All you have to do is get up and walk out calmly, as if you’re going for some fresh air. Then, once you’re outside, run to the corner and wait for me there.’

  ‘What will you do?’

  ‘I’ll think of something.’ He smiled at her. ‘Don’t look so worried, darling, or they’ll know something’s up. Just get up and walk out calmly.’

  As Effie rose, her legs were shaking so much she didn’t think she could even stand, let alone walk. Studiously avoiding the maitre d’s eye, she forced herself to make for the exit. Her eyes were so firmly fixed on the door, she tripped over a chair leg and stumbled but was too terrified to apologise.

  The cool night air hit her and she began to run, clattering along the pavement, her heart hammering in her ears, certain that she must have several waiters on her tail. She dived around the corner and hid herself in the darkened recess of a shop doorway. She braced herself, clenching her jaw to stop her teeth chattering with fear.

  Minutes went by. Then, just as Effie had convinced herself that Hugo must have been caught, she saw him sauntering down the street towards her.

  She hissed his name and quickly beckoned him over.

  ‘Hello, darling.’ He grinned at her. ‘I see you’ve found an excellent hiding place.’

  ‘Never mind that! What happened? Did anyone see you? Did they chase you?’ She glanced past him up the street.

  ‘Everything was fine.’ He glanced at his watch. ‘Now, let’s get you back to the hospital, shall we? It’s almost eleven and I’m assuming you don’t have a late pass?’

  He strode to the edge of the pavement and held up his hand, whistling for a taxi. Effie hurried out of the shelter of her doorway towards him.

  ‘What are you doing? We can’t take a taxi without any money. And before you say anything, I’m not going to make a run for it again,’ she warned him.

  ‘I’m not asking you to, darling.’ Hugo reached into his pocket and pulled out his wallet.

  Effie stared at it. ‘Where – where did you find that?’

  ‘It was in my pocket.’ He shrugged.

  He whistled again and a taxi came towards them. Effie turned her back to it, facing him.

  ‘We have to go back to the restaurant first,’ she said.

  ‘Why?’

  ‘To pay the bill, of course.’

  ‘But I’ve already paid it.’

  She frowned at him uncomprehendingly. And then she saw the gleam in his dark eyes, and slowly it began to make sense. ‘You – you tricked me,’ she murmured.

  ‘I know! I wanted to see if you’d go through with it.’ Hugo gave a shout of delighted laughter. ‘Oh, Euphemia, you’re such an angel. You should have seen yourself as you were fleeing the restaurant. I’m telling you, you must never consider breaking the law. Because that beautiful face of yours will give you away every time.’

  The cab stopped and Hugo opened the door for her. Effie stood rooted to the spot, her heart hammering against her ribs. She didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.

  ‘You tricked me,’ she whispered again.

  ‘It was a prank, darling, that’s all. Just a bit of fun. Now hurry along. If I’m not back at my digs by midnight I shall turn into a pumpkin.’ He frowned. ‘Euphemia? Are you all right?’

  She shook her head. ‘I’m not going with you.’

  ‘Euphemia!’ he sighed. ‘For heaven’s sake, be sensible. How on earth are you going to get back to Bethnal Green at this time of night on your own?’ Effie said nothing. She stood on the pavement, her hands balling into stubborn fists at her sides. ‘Look, I’m sorry, darling. I didn’t mean to upset you. It was just a silly joke, that’s all. The other students and I play them on each other all the time.’

  ‘Well, I don’t like it.’

  He frowned. ‘I thought you had a sense of humour?’

  ‘I do, but that was just cruel.’

  ‘Then I won’t do anything like it again to you, I swear.’

  He held up his hand in solemn promise. Effie hesitated. He was still smirking, and she wasn’t sure if he was joking. But he was right, she had no idea what bus to catch, or if buses even ran at all at that time of night.

  Then she looked at his face, so handsome and full of remorse, and allowed herself to smile. ‘I suppose there was no harm done,’ she conceded.

  ‘Exactly.’ Hugo stepped aside. ‘Now please allow me to take you home, otherwise I won’t be able to live with myself.’

  She forgave him on the way back, but only after he’d apologised over and over, and promised never to play such a horrid trick on her ever again.

  ‘But it was rather funny,’ he said. ‘You should have seen your face. I thought you were going to faint clean away!’

  ‘So did I.’ Effie smiled reluctantly. ‘Especially when I tripped over that chair!’

  By the time they reached hospital, their argument was forgotten. As they said goodnight outside the gates, Effie was trembling.

  ‘Are you cold, darling?’ Hugo asked.

  ‘A little.’ She didn’t want to tell him it was anticipation that was making her tremble. He was going to kiss her, she knew it.

  ‘You’d better go inside, in that case.’

  ‘Oh, no, I don’t have to go straight away . . .’ She stopped herself.

  Hugo smiled. ‘Oh, I think you do, Euphemia. I don’t want your terrifying sisters coming after me, do I? I mean to impress them, you see. Then perhaps they’ll allow me to start courting you.’

  ‘I don’t care what they say. You can court me whether they like it or not.’ She pressed her lips shut. When would she learn not to open her mouth? Every time she did, she managed to say something awful.

  Hugo laughed. ‘I’m delighted to hear it. But I also have an early lecture first thing tomorrow and I don’t think the consultant will be too impressed if I fall asleep. I’ve done it before and frankly it didn’t go down very well.’

  He moved closer and Effie closed her eyes, waiting for his lips to descend on hers. But instead he planted the lightest peck on the end of her nose.

  ‘God, you’re so sweet, Euphemia.’ He shook his head in wonder, and then he was gone.

  Sweet? Euphemia watched him sauntering towards the Porters’ Lodge, ready to distract the Night Porter while she sidled past. She didn’t want to be sweet. She wanted to be sophisticated and irresistible, like Greta Garbo.

  Fat chance of that, Euphemia O’Hara, she scolded herself.

  The nurses’ home was in darkness as she tiptoed towards it, trying not to let her footsteps crunch too much on the gravel. But as she approached it the front door suddenly flew open. Effie froze, helplessly trapped in the light that spilled out from the hallway.

  ‘What is the meaning of this, O’Hara?’ Sister Sutton’s voice rang out. She stood in the doorway, her bulky frame silhouetted against the light. ‘Do you know what time it is? It’s almost midnight,�
� she went on, without waiting for an answer. ‘Nearly two hours after lights out, to be precise. Where have you been until this time, may I ask?’

  ‘Please, Sister, I’ve—’

  ‘Oh, don’t bother to tell me, girl, I’m far too tired to listen to you. I don’t take kindly to being kept up at night waiting for students. You can explain to Matron first thing in the morning.’

  After that there was no chance of creeping in unnoticed by Katie. She sat up in the darkness as Effie came in.

  ‘There you are!’ she said. ‘I’ve been worried about you.’

  ‘Don’t you start.’ Effie put down her bag. ‘I’ve already had a lecture from Sister Sutton.’

  ‘She caught you, then?’

  ‘Oh, yes, she caught me all right.’ Effie sat down on her bed and started pulling off her shoes. ‘And she’s sending me to Matron in the morning.’

  ‘Good,’ Katie said. ‘Perhaps she can talk some sense into you.’

  Effie peered at her sister in the darkness. Katie didn’t seem nearly as upset about it as Effie had imagined she would. ‘You don’t seem very surprised?’

  ‘Why would I be? I was the one who told Sister Sutton.’

  ‘What?’ Effie stopped undressing, one shoe still in her hand.

  ‘I reported you.’ Katie’s voice sounded prim in the darkness. ‘You wouldn’t listen to me, so I thought you needed to be taught a lesson. I told you I’d do anything to keep you out of trouble.’

  ‘I wouldn’t be in trouble if it wasn’t for you!’ Effie aimed her shoe at her sister’s shadowy shape. It bounced off her shoulder.

  ‘Ow!’ Katie yelped. ‘You can’t blame me!’

  ‘I do blame you,’ Effie said. ‘If I’m sent home tomorrow, I’ll blame you for that, too!’

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  ‘PLEASE, NURSE DOILY, has Ernest finished with my comic?’

  Dora stopped at the foot of Archie’s bed. ‘Hasn’t he given it back to you yet?’ she frowned.

  Archie shook his head. ‘He’s had it a while now. I don’t want to trouble him if he hasn’t finished with it. But I’d be much obliged if he did give it back soon.’