‘You did absolutely right.’ Matron smiled at her. ‘But now before you go out to the last patient I insist you have a sandwich and a hot drink in the kitchen. The cook will be happy to rustle something up for you. I bet you haven’t had any lunch, have you?’

‘No, I haven’t.’ Holly gave her a guilty smile. ‘I was worried about not having time to get to everyone so I just kept going.’

‘We really do need to get you a bicycle. I shall speak to Dr Phillips about it this very evening. Now go and have something to eat and don’t worry about the notes. You can do them this evening at home and hand them to me in the morning. Well done, nurse.’ And with that she left Holly feeling rather proud of herself.

Just as Holly had feared, over the next week there was an epidemic of chickenpox amongst the children in the courtyards and almost every visit she made was to one of them. Some of them were so weak and malnourished that it made them desperately ill and Holly wished she could do more for them.

She arrived at the hospital one morning to collect her list of house calls to find Matron waiting for her with a broad smile on her face. ‘Come with me,’ she instructed and led Holly to the very back of the hospital where the mortuary was situated. ‘There, will that help?’ She pointed to a bicycle with a large basket balanced above the front wheel and Holly smiled.

‘That will do very nicely,’ she answered. ‘And my bag will fit in the basket. I shall be able to get to my patients in half the time now. Thank you, Matron.’

‘It’s Dr Phillips you have to thank, really,’ Matron admitted. ‘He knew of someone who was selling it so we bought it out of the hospital funds but I’ve no doubt it will pay for itself in no time. Oh, and by the way, you might like to know that thanks to you the young lady you had sent in after a backstreet abortion looks like she’s going to pull through.’ She shook her head sadly. ‘Unfortunately whoever performed the operation was a butcher. She admitted that they used a knitting needle to rid her of the child and then an infection set in so it was touch-and-go with her for a while there. She won’t tell us who did it, however, so the maddening thing is that some other poor girl will no doubt suffer the same fate. Also it looks doubtful that she will ever be able to have any more children but I suppose that’s a small price to pay for her life.’

Holly nodded in agreement, feeling desperately sad for the girl. Just then Harry appeared from the rear door and lifted the mood when he asked, ‘What do you think of her then?’ He nodded towards the bicycle and Holly giggled.