The Best of Daughters (41 page)

Daisy laughed. ‘Sister Newman, I do believe you've got a sense of humour beneath that stern exterior.'

‘Don't talk nonsense, Miss Lennox. Now get dressed, or do you need me to help you?'

‘I think I can just about manage. I don't want to keep you from your really sick patients.'

It was easier said than done, but somehow Daisy managed to get her skirt on and one arm through the tunic sleeve, hitching the rest of it around her shoulders and fastening it with her belt. She grinned as she caught sight of her reflection in the glass door panel. Sister Newman had a point. It was not the most attractive uniform, but it had served its purpose and now she was on another mission. She was not going to let Rupert slip away. He had a life back in England and a family who loved him. She loved him. It came as a surprise to her, but seeing him on that snowy road near the chateau had crystallised her feelings for him. She had felt passion for Bowman and overwhelming physical attraction, but that was not a recipe for a life-long commitment. Despite the fact that he had declared his love for her, she knew only too well that he was not a one-woman man. Heartache and heartbreak would have ended their relationship as it had with his wife and with Ruby. But Rupert was a part of her. She had only truly come to realise it when she had seen him cut down by enemy fire. He had known it all along, but she had rebelled against the unavoidable fact that fate had intended them for each other. She knew now that he was her future, and even if he were to be a permanent invalid she wanted nothing more than to spend the rest of her life caring for him.

She made her way to his room and sat all day at his bedside. She talked until her throat ached, relating stories of the day to day running of Lamarck, which was now closed and missed by all the women who had worked there. She told him about the draughty
tents they had occupied at Unit Three, where in that first bitter winter they had been lulled to sleep by the sound of waves pounding on the shore. She described the camaraderie she had enjoyed with Clarice and the other women who toiled in unspeakable conditions with cheerfulness and dedication, carrying out duties that would challenge the hardiest of souls. She talked about the old times when they were children and spent long hot summers running wild in the grounds of Pendleton Park with Teddy and Bea. She told him that Bea had married Jimmy Gurney and that they had a baby daughter. She went into details of how she had found Ruby working as a Gladys in Lyons Corner House, and that she had a little boy, although she did not mention the fact that Bowman was the child's father.

During the following few days she poured her heart out to Rupert, but she did not tell him that it was Bowman who had saved her life. That was part of the past which was dead and buried with him in a foreign land. Ruby was the only person who understood the feelings he had aroused, and Daisy spent hours composing a letter to her, in which she broke the news of his death.

Clarice visited as often as possible, but one day she told Daisy sadly that she was being posted to Unit Five, working with the Belgians, and her duties would take her further afield, transporting their wounded to hospitals in an even wider area than before. They clung to each other for a long while, promising to keep in touch if at all possible and to meet up again as soon
as hostilities came to an end. ‘It must come soon,' Clarice said, sniffing and wiping her eyes on the sleeve of her khaki tunic. ‘We'll be cousins when you marry Rupert and I'll dance at your wedding.'

Daisy hugged her. ‘Of course you will. And I'm to be sent home. I'd much rather stay and see out the rest of the war with all my dear friends, but I'd be no use with this injured shoulder.'

‘What about Rupert?'

‘He's still in a coma. They say they daren't move him until he comes round.'

‘And he will. I know he will.'

‘I hope so, Clarice. But even if he remains like this for the rest of his life, I'll stay at his side. I'll fight for him even if he cannot battle for his own survival. I won't allow him to die.'

‘Good luck, darling.' Clarice broke away with a muffled sob. ‘Got to go now. See you soon back in old Blighty.' She hurried from the room, leaving the door to swing shut.

The muffled thud brought Daisy back to reality: she rose to her feet and made her way to Rupert's room. Something had drawn her to him, she could not say what it was, but she had half expected to find him sitting up in bed. Her disappointment was acute when she saw that he remained exactly as she had left him a couple of hours previously. She sat on the chair beside him and took his hand in hers. ‘Rupert, it's me, Daisy. They want to send me home next week but I won't go without you. I promise never to leave you and I'll stay by your side no matter what.' She lapsed into silence,
still holding his hand, and her mind was made up. She would stay on as an auxiliary nurse or a ward maid. She would speak to Boss and persuade her that even if she could not work with the FANYs now, she could still do something for the war effort. She was so busy planning her speech that she almost ignored the slight pressure on her hand. She stared down at their entwined fingers, watching closely and hardly daring to breathe. She almost shouted for joy when she felt it again and this time it was stronger. She clutched his hand to her breast, leaning over and kissing him softly on the lips. ‘Rupert, come back to me.'

His eyes opened slowly and she held her breath. He turned his head to stare at her and his lips moved silently. She squeezed his fingers. ‘Darling Rupert. You're safe, my love. I'm going to take you home.'

When all the formalities were completed, Daisy was allowed to accompany Rupert on the troopship returning to England. He was sent at first to the London General Hospital at Denmark Hill for assessment of his condition. Daisy, now permanently retired from the FANY due to her injuries, stayed at Pendleton House in Grosvenor Square and visited him daily. She would have volunteered as a VAD but it would be months before her collar bone healed properly. It was difficult to do the simplest things with one arm, but with the help of Betsy, the parlour maid, she was able to make herself presentable. For the first time in almost three years, apart from her brief home leaves, she was able to dress in elegant clothes and her perfume was
Jicky instead of carbolic. Her hair, it seemed, was fashionably short and skirts were raised above the ankles. Looking at the well-dressed ladies in London who were outwardly untouched by the horrors of the war, it was hard to equate their lifestyles with the suffering that Daisy had witnessed during her time in Flanders. She knew that whatever her future role in life, she would not become one of the idle rich.

She put all her energies into caring for Rupert. She visited the hospital each morning and stayed there all day. Sometimes Lady Pendleton joined her. She had travelled to town immediately on hearing that her son was in hospital, and eventually Lord Pendleton arrived, but he seemed to find it hard to cope with Rupert's injuries. He left at the first opportunity having made gruff noises to the effect that Rupert must get well before the glorious twelfth and the start of the grouse shooting season, which seemed utterly tactless to Daisy, although Lady Pendleton merely smiled.

‘Don't take any notice of my husband. He finds it hard to express his innermost feelings.' She rose from her chair at Rupert's bedside and leaned over to pat him gently on the hand. ‘I have to fly now, darling. I have an appointment with my dressmaker, but I'll see you again very soon.' She beckoned to Daisy as she left the private ward. ‘My dear girl, we must have Rupert sent home as soon as possible. For one thing it's terribly inconvenient having him here, and I do so hate the hospital smell, it clings to one's clothes and hair for simply hours after one leaves.'

‘And the other thing, Lady Pendleton?' Daisy tried to keep the acid tone from her voice.

‘The other thing?' Lady Pendleton frowned thoughtfully. ‘Yes, of course. We can look after him at home. You're a nurse, aren't you? You looked after all those poor devils in France.'

Daisy lifted her arm in the sling just a little, and even then the pain stabbed like a knifepoint. ‘I'm afraid I can't do much until my shoulder heals.'

‘No, quite. Well, there's a military hospital at Colchester barracks, and once Rupert's case has been fully assessed I'm sure they will transfer him there.' She closed the door to Rupert's room. ‘I don't want the poor boy to hear this, but his speech is still quite slurred and he often forgets what he's saying. Do they think that the damage is permanent?'

Daisy shook her head. ‘I don't think that the neurologists have the complete answer, but he's making progress every day. His memory is returning gradually and his other wounds are healing well, although they still don't know if he will ever be able to walk again. We must just wait and hope.'

Lady Pendleton enveloped her in a perfumed embrace, kissing her on both cheeks. ‘You are such a treasure, my dear Daisy. Your loyalty to my son is touching.'

‘I love him, Lady Pendleton,' Daisy said simply, and she knew that it was true. She would stay with him every step of his gradual recovery, and even if he was never quite as handsome or as dashing as before it would not make the slightest bit of difference.

‘You are a dear girl,' Lady Pendleton said, smiling. ‘Now I really must go. I'll see you at dinner.'

‘Yes, of course.'

Lady Pendleton hesitated for a moment. ‘You really ought to have a break from all this hospital business, Daisy. Perhaps a weekend at Pendleton Park or even Rainbow's End? I'm sure your parents would be overjoyed to see you again.'

‘There's plenty of time for that,' Daisy said calmly. ‘When Rupert is well enough to go to a convalescent home, then I'll feel able to see my family, but until then he is my chief concern.'

On a cold, bleak day in February, Rupert was transported by ambulance to the Sobraon Barracks Military Hospital at Colchester, and Daisy returned home to Rainbow's End, politely but firmly declining Lady Pendleton's invitation to stay at Pendleton Park. Her parents welcomed her with open arms but neither of them made any attempt to hide their relief on hearing that she had been deemed unfit to return to Flanders.

Ruby burst into tears at the sight of her but young Martin had obviously forgotten her and clung to his mother's skirts with his thumb plugged firmly into his mouth, eyeing her warily. At the age of two he was a sturdy little fellow with a mind of his own and temper to match, but he had inherited his father's charm and he had only to smile and gurgle with laughter in order to wrap Daisy's parents and his own mother round his tiny little finger. Martin, Daisy thought after the first few days at home, was verging on becoming a
very spoilt little boy. However, even she was not immune to his winning ways and very soon they were the best of friends.

‘He's so like his dad,' Ruby said, watching him playing with a puppy that Victor had given him for his second birthday in January. ‘He's Barnaby all over again.'

Daisy pulled a face. ‘I hope not.' She laid her hand on Ruby's shoulder. ‘At least I hope he takes more after you than his father.'

‘But you was soft on Barnaby, wasn't you?' Ruby's dark eyes scanned her face as if desperate to seek an honest answer. ‘You loved him too. I know you did.'

‘I was infatuated, Ruby. He could charm the birds from the trees if he so chose, but he died a hero, and that's what you must tell Martin when he's old enough to understand.'

Ruby glanced fondly at her son as he rolled about the kitchen floor with the puppy. ‘I will, and hope to God that this is the war to end all wars like they say it is.'

Daisy picked up her reticule. ‘Amen to that. Anyway, I'd love to stay and chat with you, but I promised Bea that I'd drive over to the farm and see her before I go to the hospital. It's been a great help having the Prince Henry so that I can visit Rupert whenever I like.'

‘Tell her to bring Joyce to see us soon. It won't be long before she's big enough to play with Martin. That's if Miss Beatrice doesn't mind her daughter hobnobbing with the servant's kid.'

‘Don't be silly. Bea isn't like that and well you know
it. I'm sure that Martin and Joyce will be the best of friends.'

‘I hope so.' Ruby stopped kneading the bread dough, wiping her forehead with the back of her hand. ‘Before you go, is it all right if I have tonight off instead of Saturday?'

Daisy paused in the doorway. ‘Yes, of course. I'll be here as well as Mother and Father. Are you going somewhere special?'

Ruby's face flushed so that her cheeks were bright pink. ‘Arley and me are going to the music hall.'

‘You and Arley Meadows?'

‘I know you didn't like him much at the start, but he's a nice, kind man, and once you get him off the subject of blooming butterflies he can he really interesting.'

Daisy stared at her in amazement. ‘You're stepping out with him?'

‘We're keeping company.' Ruby covered the dough with a damp cloth and placed it closer to the range. ‘There's nothing wrong in that, is there?'

‘Absolutely not. I'm really pleased that you're getting out and about. I'd hate to think of you spending the rest of your life grieving for what might have been.'

‘I know that Barnaby would never have married me. Apart from the fact that he already had a wife and child, he didn't feel the same about me as I did about him. But he gave me Martin and he's the best thing that ever happened to me.'

‘And does Arley get on well with your boy?'

‘He's amazing with him, and that awful mother of
his quite dotes on my Martin. She's not a bad old stick if you know how to handle her, but Arley don't stand up to her enough.'

‘I imagine that you will, though,' Daisy said, chuckling.

‘I put her in her place from the start. I had plenty of practice with my old man and me sister.'