Read Online The Silver Locket by Margaret James - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Margaret James
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Rose said sternly. ‘I’m a volunteer, so you should address me as Miss Courtenay.’
‘I’m a sick man, Sister.’ Private Coleman shook his head. ‘You can’t expect me to remember guff like that.’
‘Good afternoon, Miss Courtenay.’ Maria came up and handed Rose a tray. ‘I hope you had a pleasant outing? Sergeant Curtis, Private Floyd and Lance Corporal Townsend need their tubes and dressings changed, so if you wouldn’t mind?’
‘I’m glad it’s you, Miss Courtenay,’ Sergeant Curtis murmured, as Rose drew the curtains round his bed. ‘You’ve got the gentlest hands of all the nurses on this ward.’
Rose blushed again, but this time with pride.
Alex’s leave came to an end and he rejoined his company in France. The third battalion was in trenches near Arras, and his new platoon was in the actual front line, but the men who’d occupied these trenches last had made them almost cosy. The pumps worked properly, so when it rained the water didn’t lie in muddy puddles, soaking everything.
The officers had a dugout roofed with corrugated iron and furnished with a table and some armchairs stolen from a nearby farmhouse that was now a ruin. There were crates of whisky, a new paraffin stove and piles of blankets, as well as several recent Punches , Tatlers , and other magazines.
‘A little home from home,’ observed the captain who showed Alex round. ‘When it’s quiet we all cram in, then get a decent fug up. You wouldn’t know there was a blasted war going on outside.’
‘It’s all very snug, sir.’ Alex put his pack down on a bunk. ‘They told me back at base we’d only be here for another couple of weeks. Do you know where we’ll be going next?’
‘We hope there isn’t going to be a next!’ Captain Ford looked grim. ‘I don’t know what they’re saying back home in Blighty, but the fellows here can’t believe the Brass is going to let us sit and look at Jerry all the flipping winter. They promised we’d be home in time for Christmas, after all.’
Alex merely shrugged.
‘Come and have a dekko at the saps,’ the captain added, pointing to the entrance of a tunnel snaking under no-man’s-land. ‘We’ve packed them all with high explosive, so the Jerries opposite are going to get a nasty shock tonight. I understand you’ve done a course in mining?’
‘Yes, that’s right.’
‘Then you could get in there and make sure everything’s been set up as it ought to be. The last time we did this, we lost five men, and Colonel Parker wasn’t pleased. So when you’ve had a gander, come and tell me what you think.’
Although his fellow officers were hoping to be home in time for Christmas, Alex didn’t care where he went next, to England or Siam. He was relieved to get away from Chloe, who hadn’t proved to be a blessing.
After their furtive hole and corner wedding in a register office, at which the guests had been a solemn Henry Denham and an embarrassed Mrs Jarman, the newly-married pair had gone to spend a couple of days in Dorset.
Chloe had waddled round Henry’s cold, dark and dilapidated house complaining that it wasn’t what she’d expected. The whole place smelled of mice, she grumbled, and there were rotten floorboards everywhere. The banisters were broken, and if she didn’t watch it she would take a tumble down the stairs and break her flipping neck.
When it was time for Alex to go back, Chloe announced she couldn’t stand the quiet of the country any more, and was going to stay with her Aunt Emily in Wolverhampton. ‘So I must have some money,’ she said sharply. ‘Forty pounds at least.’
Alex gave her fifty.
Chloe put the money in her purse. ‘It’s not at all like I’d imagined,’ she added, sniffing miserably.
‘What’s not as you’d imagined?’
‘I’d have thought a gentleman like you would have a grand, imposing house, not a horrible, draughty barn like this. I thought there would be silver plate and lovely velvet curtains
‘I’m a sick man, Sister.’ Private Coleman shook his head. ‘You can’t expect me to remember guff like that.’
‘Good afternoon, Miss Courtenay.’ Maria came up and handed Rose a tray. ‘I hope you had a pleasant outing? Sergeant Curtis, Private Floyd and Lance Corporal Townsend need their tubes and dressings changed, so if you wouldn’t mind?’
‘I’m glad it’s you, Miss Courtenay,’ Sergeant Curtis murmured, as Rose drew the curtains round his bed. ‘You’ve got the gentlest hands of all the nurses on this ward.’
Rose blushed again, but this time with pride.
Alex’s leave came to an end and he rejoined his company in France. The third battalion was in trenches near Arras, and his new platoon was in the actual front line, but the men who’d occupied these trenches last had made them almost cosy. The pumps worked properly, so when it rained the water didn’t lie in muddy puddles, soaking everything.
The officers had a dugout roofed with corrugated iron and furnished with a table and some armchairs stolen from a nearby farmhouse that was now a ruin. There were crates of whisky, a new paraffin stove and piles of blankets, as well as several recent Punches , Tatlers , and other magazines.
‘A little home from home,’ observed the captain who showed Alex round. ‘When it’s quiet we all cram in, then get a decent fug up. You wouldn’t know there was a blasted war going on outside.’
‘It’s all very snug, sir.’ Alex put his pack down on a bunk. ‘They told me back at base we’d only be here for another couple of weeks. Do you know where we’ll be going next?’
‘We hope there isn’t going to be a next!’ Captain Ford looked grim. ‘I don’t know what they’re saying back home in Blighty, but the fellows here can’t believe the Brass is going to let us sit and look at Jerry all the flipping winter. They promised we’d be home in time for Christmas, after all.’
Alex merely shrugged.
‘Come and have a dekko at the saps,’ the captain added, pointing to the entrance of a tunnel snaking under no-man’s-land. ‘We’ve packed them all with high explosive, so the Jerries opposite are going to get a nasty shock tonight. I understand you’ve done a course in mining?’
‘Yes, that’s right.’
‘Then you could get in there and make sure everything’s been set up as it ought to be. The last time we did this, we lost five men, and Colonel Parker wasn’t pleased. So when you’ve had a gander, come and tell me what you think.’
Although his fellow officers were hoping to be home in time for Christmas, Alex didn’t care where he went next, to England or Siam. He was relieved to get away from Chloe, who hadn’t proved to be a blessing.
After their furtive hole and corner wedding in a register office, at which the guests had been a solemn Henry Denham and an embarrassed Mrs Jarman, the newly-married pair had gone to spend a couple of days in Dorset.
Chloe had waddled round Henry’s cold, dark and dilapidated house complaining that it wasn’t what she’d expected. The whole place smelled of mice, she grumbled, and there were rotten floorboards everywhere. The banisters were broken, and if she didn’t watch it she would take a tumble down the stairs and break her flipping neck.
When it was time for Alex to go back, Chloe announced she couldn’t stand the quiet of the country any more, and was going to stay with her Aunt Emily in Wolverhampton. ‘So I must have some money,’ she said sharply. ‘Forty pounds at least.’
Alex gave her fifty.
Chloe put the money in her purse. ‘It’s not at all like I’d imagined,’ she added, sniffing miserably.
‘What’s not as you’d imagined?’
‘I’d have thought a gentleman like you would have a grand, imposing house, not a horrible, draughty barn like this. I thought there would be silver plate and lovely velvet curtains
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