better myself! ”
“ How any girl could put up with his curt manner I don ’ t know, ” a nurse sitting at the next table now joined in. “ I can ’ t imagine him bothering with any girl; not even a fiancée ! ”
Suddenly Felicity felt completely detached. It was as if her three friends were no longer beside her and the men and girls standing at the table had faded completely from her vision. In her imagination she was back in that small white - walled room where only the deep sound of her patient ’ s breathing had broken the silence until with little more than a whisper he had murmured a name. “ Alaine. ” Surely no deeper proof was needed that during those long hours of unconsciousness she alone had remained vivid in his mind.
The return of the waitress balancing a tray again caused a distraction and after an unmistakable hint from Diana that they ’ d like their tea in peace, the unwelcome questioners returned to their own tables.
“ Thank the Lord for that! ” Bill murmured fervently. “ Go on, Di, pour out, Felicity seems to be finishing her doze! ”
“ Sorry! ” Felicity laughed as she recalled herself to the present and took the proffered cup from Diana ’ s hand. Accepting a cake from the selection on the dish which Philip offered her, she spoke. “ I say, Phil, this rumour that ’ s going round—I heard it first at lunch in the Nurses ’ Hall, then again at tea—the idea that Brenton might never get back the full use of his hand, is there any truth in it? ”
“ Can ’ t say at all, I doubt if even MacFarlayne knows for certain. I ’ m darned sorry that such a thing should have happened to him. ”
“ That ’ s something I can ’ t understand, ” Bill Newlyn remarked. “ All the male staff are genuinely concerned for Guy Brenton—the patients too, so they tell me—but except for a sense of vulgar curiosity, I don ’ t believe one of the nursing staff seriously care one jot. ”
“ That ’ s not quite true, ” Diana protested. “ In a way you are right, but —”
“ Just a moment, Di, ” Philip interrupted. “ Bill is right. All we chaps, housemen, students and the rest, admire Guy Brenton. He is a damn good teacher, sympathetic and understanding with the patients too, but I ’ ve never heard a sister or nurse say a good word for him. ”
“ The answer is easy. ” Diana leaned her elbows on the table and confronted her companions. “ I ’ m in theatre and see plenty of him—too much at times. ” She twisted her red lips into a grimace to express her feelings. “ He has got the patience of Job—and some of those students are enough to drives one distracted. But haven ’ t you noticed what he is like with us? With Sister and me for example, he hardly gives us a civil word, just as well perhaps ” —she gave v ent to a long-drawn-out sigh— “ we ’ d drop dead with surprise if he did! ” She turned to Felicity. “ It ’ s exactly the same on the ward; isn ’ t it? ”
“ Yes, ” Felicity admitted. “ But I think it ’ s because the nurses show they are scared of him. ”
“ I think you are both quite wrong, ” Philip spoke with conviction. “ I believe it ’ s Brenton that ’ s scared of you! ” The statement brought a howl of laughter, it was such a ridiculous statement and Philip had been quite solemn about it. Regaining her composure, Felicity spoke. “ You might explain that one, Phil, you ’ ve just left us guessing! ”
“ Can ’ t explain it, but one day I bet I ’ m proved right, ” Philip responded.
“ I really : believe you ’ ve got something there, ” Diana admitted calmly. “ Anyway, Guy Brenton has managed to get himself engaged, so I suppose there ’ s at least one girl of whom he is not scared. ”
They all smiled at Diana ’ s remark, then after a little more good-natured chatter, Philip rose to his feet. “ We must be moving. I ’ m ‘ on ’ tonight and with an important patient like Brenton in the
“ How any girl could put up with his curt manner I don ’ t know, ” a nurse sitting at the next table now joined in. “ I can ’ t imagine him bothering with any girl; not even a fiancée ! ”
Suddenly Felicity felt completely detached. It was as if her three friends were no longer beside her and the men and girls standing at the table had faded completely from her vision. In her imagination she was back in that small white - walled room where only the deep sound of her patient ’ s breathing had broken the silence until with little more than a whisper he had murmured a name. “ Alaine. ” Surely no deeper proof was needed that during those long hours of unconsciousness she alone had remained vivid in his mind.
The return of the waitress balancing a tray again caused a distraction and after an unmistakable hint from Diana that they ’ d like their tea in peace, the unwelcome questioners returned to their own tables.
“ Thank the Lord for that! ” Bill murmured fervently. “ Go on, Di, pour out, Felicity seems to be finishing her doze! ”
“ Sorry! ” Felicity laughed as she recalled herself to the present and took the proffered cup from Diana ’ s hand. Accepting a cake from the selection on the dish which Philip offered her, she spoke. “ I say, Phil, this rumour that ’ s going round—I heard it first at lunch in the Nurses ’ Hall, then again at tea—the idea that Brenton might never get back the full use of his hand, is there any truth in it? ”
“ Can ’ t say at all, I doubt if even MacFarlayne knows for certain. I ’ m darned sorry that such a thing should have happened to him. ”
“ That ’ s something I can ’ t understand, ” Bill Newlyn remarked. “ All the male staff are genuinely concerned for Guy Brenton—the patients too, so they tell me—but except for a sense of vulgar curiosity, I don ’ t believe one of the nursing staff seriously care one jot. ”
“ That ’ s not quite true, ” Diana protested. “ In a way you are right, but —”
“ Just a moment, Di, ” Philip interrupted. “ Bill is right. All we chaps, housemen, students and the rest, admire Guy Brenton. He is a damn good teacher, sympathetic and understanding with the patients too, but I ’ ve never heard a sister or nurse say a good word for him. ”
“ The answer is easy. ” Diana leaned her elbows on the table and confronted her companions. “ I ’ m in theatre and see plenty of him—too much at times. ” She twisted her red lips into a grimace to express her feelings. “ He has got the patience of Job—and some of those students are enough to drives one distracted. But haven ’ t you noticed what he is like with us? With Sister and me for example, he hardly gives us a civil word, just as well perhaps ” —she gave v ent to a long-drawn-out sigh— “ we ’ d drop dead with surprise if he did! ” She turned to Felicity. “ It ’ s exactly the same on the ward; isn ’ t it? ”
“ Yes, ” Felicity admitted. “ But I think it ’ s because the nurses show they are scared of him. ”
“ I think you are both quite wrong, ” Philip spoke with conviction. “ I believe it ’ s Brenton that ’ s scared of you! ” The statement brought a howl of laughter, it was such a ridiculous statement and Philip had been quite solemn about it. Regaining her composure, Felicity spoke. “ You might explain that one, Phil, you ’ ve just left us guessing! ”
“ Can ’ t explain it, but one day I bet I ’ m proved right, ” Philip responded.
“ I really : believe you ’ ve got something there, ” Diana admitted calmly. “ Anyway, Guy Brenton has managed to get himself engaged, so I suppose there ’ s at least one girl of whom he is not scared. ”
They all smiled at Diana ’ s remark, then after a little more good-natured chatter, Philip rose to his feet. “ We must be moving. I ’ m ‘ on ’ tonight and with an important patient like Brenton in the
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