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scent caught her attention and made her stop again. She paused, sniffing the air. Was it her imagination or was that the scent of roses?

Chapter Six
    ‘ GO ON, WHAT happened then?’
    Millie heard the voices as she opened the door to the sluice. Amy Hollins and another third-year, Sheila Walsh, were leaning against the sink, gossiping. They fell silent when Millie walked in.
    ‘What do you want?’ Amy demanded.
    ‘Sister sent me to make an ice bag for the patient in bed ten.’
    ‘Well, you’d better get on with it, hadn’t you? And hurry up. We don’t need Staff snooping around in here, wondering where you are.’
    Millie felt two pairs of hostile eyes following her as she slid the block of ice into a sacking bag and started to chip away at it. They were silent for a moment, then Sheila said, ‘Take no notice of her. Go on.’
    ‘Well, he took me for dinner at the Savoy, and then we drank endless champagne cocktails in Harry’s Bar . . .’
    ‘You’re so lucky,’ Sheila sighed. ‘My boyfriend can barely afford Lyons Corner House!’
    ‘You’re right, he does rather spoil me.’ Amy simpered. ‘He says nothing is too good for me.’
    ‘So when are we going to meet this wonderful man of yours?’
    ‘I’m not sure. He’s a very private person.’
    ‘So private you won’t even tell us his name?’ Sheila laughed. ‘If you’re not careful, we’ll start to think this Mr Perfect of yours doesn’t even exist.’
    ‘Of course he exists!’ Amy’s voice rose. ‘I’ve got proof, too. He gave me this last night.’
    Millie couldn’t resist glancing over her shoulder. Amy had unfastened her collar and was delving down inside her dress. Millie caught a flash of gold before Amy turned on her, scowling.
    ‘Haven’t you finished that ice bag yet?’ she snapped.
    ‘Nearly.’ Millie emptied the ice into a bowl and took it over to the sink to run it under tepid water to melt off any sharp edges. But her attention was still fixed on Amy and Sheila.
    ‘It’s beautiful,’ Sheila sighed. ‘But you’re taking a risk, aren’t you? You know you’re not allowed to wear jewellery.’
    ‘There’s a lot of things I’m not allowed to do!’
    Some whispering and giggling followed. Then Millie heard Sheila’s shocked gasp.
    ‘Oh, Hollins, you didn’t!’
    ‘Well, he’d gone to all the trouble of booking a suite. I couldn’t disappoint him, could I?’
    ‘What was it like?’
    ‘It was blissful. The rooms looked over the river, and it had the biggest bathroom you could imagine—’
    ‘I didn’t mean the hotel room, silly!’
    They shrieked with laughter. Millie turned back to her ice and let out a cry of dismay. She had paid so much attention to Amy Hollins’ story, she hadn’t noticed the ice melting under the tepid water.
    Amy crossed the room and glanced over her shoulder. ‘Now look what you’ve done! You’ll have to start all over again. Serves you right for eavesdropping on our conversation.’
    ‘I wouldn’t be eavesdropping if you weren’t in here gossiping,’ Millie muttered under her breath.
    ‘Did you say something?’ Hollins frowned.
    Millie kept her head down. ‘No.’
    ‘It’s a good thing too, or I’d report you straight to Matron.’
    Millie went off to fetch more ice and left them giggling and gossiping together.
    Coming out of the sluice, the first person she met was Staff Nurse Crockett. She was a squat woman in her forties, much older than any of the other staff nurses. Millie heard rumours that she’d stayed on Female Medical for so many years because she was devoted to Sister Everett.
    If she was devoted then she had an odd way of showing it. The pair bickered constantly, and occasionally went for days without speaking. It made life very difficult for the students sometimes.
    Today, thankfully, they were in perfect accord.
    ‘We have a kidney abscess just come in. Bed Six, a Mrs Lovell,’ she announced. ‘Sister wants you and O’Hara to settle her in and