Free Ring for the Nurse by Marjorie Moore Page B

to give ‘ em to you. You ’ d know what to do wiv ‘ em. ”
    “ Know wha t to do with them! ” Felicity silently echoed the words as she unwrapped the massed blooms, then viewed them with consternation. There wouldn ’ t be enough vases in the entire h o spital to hold them! They ’ d take hours to arrange and even when arranged, hours to keep fresh and watered! Picking up a spray of white lilac she held it to her face, its sweet intoxicating perfume awoke for a fleeting moment almost forgotten memories. Quickly she laid it aside, then with resignation settled down to her task.

 
    CHAPTER SIX
    Felicity was r elieved when the next few days had passed. The excitement of Guy Brenton ’ s accident, the resulting chatter, were gradually dying down and life was resuming its normal routine. Even the humiliation of her interview with Matron was almost forgotten and she was no longer subjected to endless questions from her fellow nurses. The days had passed swiftly, and in their passing she had even begun to lose her unreasonable dread of entering Guy Brenton ’ s room, that self-consciousness in a patient ’ s presence, which was something she had never hitherto experienced.
    On the whole, Felicity had to admit, Guy Brenton wasn ’ t proving a very formidable person to nurse; on the contrary she found him far more tractable to deal with as a patient than he had ever been on the wards. Sometimes she wondered whether Alaine Jason ’ s outspoken revelations had given her a new confidence; she had, perhaps unwittingly, painted such a clear portrait that subconsciously Felicity had begun to wonder what all the fuss was about ? She had spent months implicit l y following his dictates. The position was now reversed; as his nurse she had every intention of seeing that he followed hers! There was still one thing which gave her constant concern. Guy Brenton, although stronger, made no real headway, he spoke little, and certainly gave her no confidences, but she felt sure he harboured a deep anxiety about the future and must be suffering untold distress as to whether he would ever regain the complete use of his hand. She was certain that if he shared these worries they would surely be easier to bear, and, with any other patient, she knew she would have felt it to be part of her duty to persuade him to speak of his fears, to offer encouragement and so help to lighten the burden. Today the embargo on visitors had been raised and Felicity hoped that Alaine Jason on her visit that afternoon might prove the safety valve which she felt her patient needed. But would she? Felicity had been asking herself that question during the busy hours of the morning, it had constantly been recurring to her, but somehow, when she recalled her brief encounter with Mr. Brenton ’ s fiancé e she could not place her in the role of sympathetic listener.
    The day, for early spring, was warm, and Felicity, although she had two free hours, could not face the dusty atmosphere of the London streets. She had promised to shop with Diana, but with the intention of calling off the arrangement she tapped at Diana ’ s bedroom door.
    Diana, her uniform thrown carelessly over the back of a chair, and clad only in a thin dressing-gown, lay full length on the bed. She agreed only too readily with her friend ’ s suggestion that the shopping expedition be deferred, and rolling over on her side appraised Felicity. “ You look tired, don ’ t mind not going out, a rest will probably do us both much more good. ”
    “ But not indoors, ” Felicity protested firmly. “ Let ’ s go and sit on the lawn. ”
    “ That ’ s a flattering term, ” Diana laughed. “ If you are referring to that strip of moth-eaten grass outside the Nurses ’ Home, I think ‘ back yard ’ would be a more apt description. ”
    “ I don ’ t mind what you call it, but at least it ’ s fresher than indoors. We ’ ll get a couple of deck chairs and sit in the sun. ”
    “ What, like