Janet Phipps nodded in sympathy. ‘Yes, and when the very little ones come here to begin with, sometimes we have to teach them how to wash their hands. It was good that you mentioned that today. Then they’ll know it’s not just me who goes on about how important it is.’
Alice pushed open the front door to the playground and lifted her bike from its rack. ‘I’ll make sure to say that again next week.’
Janet smiled. ‘They’ll look forward to your visit. As shall I. Maybe you’d have time for a cup of tea afterwards?’
Alice smiled back. ‘That would be lovely.’
Pushing her bike back to the main road, she decided to wheel it through the market, tempted by the thought of all the sights and smells. Summer was now here and the vegetable stalls were full of colour, with the stallholders shouting out as she went past. As the nurses had their meals together at the home, Alice didn’t need to buy anything, but her eye was caught by a cleverly arranged pile of pears, their bright skins shining in the sunlight. Suddenly she could imagine the taste of them and on impulse she went over to the stallholder. ‘Get yer vitamins here, Nurse!’ he shouted. ‘These’ll put hairs on yer chest.’
‘I hope not,’ said Alice, raising her eyebrows. ‘May I have half a dozen?’ She waited while he put them into a paper bag, and drew out her purse. She imagined how pleased Edith and Mary would be when she produced them later, and maybe she’d give one to Fiona too.
Looking up after carefully placing the bag in her wire basket, she thought she saw a familiar figure – was that Mattie in the distance, with her wild hair? But the figure moved into the shadow cast by an awning and disappeared, while Alice wasn’t close enough to call out. The sight of the young woman, whether it was Mattie or not, made Alice recall the picnic after the band concert in Victoria Park, and the way her older brother had spoken. It still rankled when she thought about it, the unfairness of it. She shook her head and reminded herself it didn’t matter. The only thing was, Edith had hinted how much she had liked Harry and it had been pretty clear he’d been attracted to her. Edith hadn’t mentioned him since but Alice knew her friend was not one to let such an opportunity pass her by.
For the second time that day, Fiona Dewar opened her office door just as Alice was passing, almost as if she’d been waiting for her. ‘How did it go?’ she asked, beckoning her in.
Alice took the same chair as before. ‘Very well, I think,’ she said, offering Fiona a pear as the superintendent returned to her desk.
‘Why, thank you. I don’t mind if I do.’ Fiona took the fruit and set it to one side for later. ‘So, do you think your visits will be of use to the children? Will you be happy to go back next week?’
Alice nodded. ‘They’re good as gold, or at least most of them are. They listened to what I said, and it will be better when they all have the brushes and toothpaste. It breaks your heart to see some of them not knowing what I’m talking about.’
‘But you didn’t show it,’ said Fiona briskly.
‘No, I wouldn’t do that. That would make them feel worse, wouldn’t it.’ It came out as a statement, not a question.
‘Quite right,’ the superintendent agreed. ‘We are here to help alleviate the difficulties of poverty in whatever practical ways we can, not to blame our patients for it, above all not the children. They can’t help which households they are born into. I’m glad to hear it was a success. It might be that it will be important to have close bonds with local schools in the near future.’
Alice raised her eyebrows but wasn’t sure what lay behind the superintendent’s words.
Fiona realised her hint had not hit its mark. ‘I hear you are a keen reader of the newspapers, Alice,’ she said. ‘That can only mean you are fully aware of the storm that is about to break very soon. You will have seen the preparations taking place already, with the trenches dug around all municipal open spaces and the factories changing use. I wish it were not so, but I see no point in burying our heads in the sand.’
‘You mean war,’ said Alice flatly. The words fell like lead.
‘Indeed.’ Fiona took a sharp inward breath. ‘Best to be prepared, as far as that is possible. There are plans in place to get children away from the most obvious points of attack, and it’s fair to say we are living slap-bang in the middle of one of them. We don’t have the details yet but, if it comes to it, it will be far better for them to be seen off by a friendly face than an anonymous stranger. That will help them leave in less distress and settle more quickly wherever they are sent.’ Her eyes fell to her desk. ‘Anyway, that’s the theory. We shall see. And it might not come to that. We can always hope.’
‘But you don’t seriously think war can be averted?’ Alice asked her.
Fiona looked up again. ‘Quite honestly, no. So, Nurse Lake, please get to know those children over the next few weeks, and make sure they think of you as a figure of authority they can trust. Yes, it’s important that you teach them the rudiments of personal hygiene. But in fact, you will be doing far more than that. When it comes to separating a child from its parent, it will make all the difference if there is somebody in charge whom they recognise. We should not fool ourselves. This could happen very soon. So, time is of the essence.’
Alice sank down on her bed in a confusion of emotions. The conversation had hit her hard. As the superintendent had pointed out, she knew from the papers, from local gossip and the evidence of her own eyes what was probably waiting around the corner, but to hear it spoken aloud by someone she trusted made it all too real. Part of her wanted to run away and hide somewhere, but she was conscious of the extra responsibility Fiona had just placed upon her. The superintendent thought she was worthy of such a task, should it come to it. That left her with little choice; she had to be ready to step up to the mark. If the children were going to be separated from their homes and loved ones, they had to suffer as little as possible – there was no question about that.
And how would the war affect her family, and all the people she had grown up with or met while training? Despite herself, her mind flicked to the one place she tried so hard to stop it from going. To the place where she held the memory of the young doctor who had once meant so much to her: Mark. The man she’d loved so fiercely, and who she had fervently believed had loved her back with equal passion. The man who had sworn they would never be parted, whatever life had in store; that they’d be together through thick and thin. What would he have said if he was here now, sharing her dilemma and sense of imminent danger? But he would never share anything with her again. He was lost to her and she had to bear it, somehow. Of her current circle, only Edith knew. Well, her parents did of course – and she knew they quietly thought she should forget him and move on in her life. She couldn’t bear that either.
There was a knock on the door and Edith burst in. ‘Thought I heard you come back. How did it go? Are you off duty now? I’ve just done my last call of the day. A poor old lady down Boleyn Road needed her dressing changed. She would have kept me chatting all day but I couldn’t take her last biscuits, it wouldn’t have been right.’
‘Have a pear instead.’ Alice opened the paper bag.
‘Oooh, I knew it would be worth dropping in,’ said Edith, snatching one quickly. ‘Now guess what my news is.’
Alice rolled her eyes. ‘No idea.’
‘Well, now.’ Edith settled herself on her friend’s bed, looking pleased with herself. ‘Remember those brothers from the park?’
‘From the picnic, you mean?’
‘Of course, do we know any others? Yes, from the day of the band concert. You know the one in the green shirt, the handsome one with the deep brown eyes?’
‘I remember the shirt.