Mrs Dulcie Logan.

And she would never have to wear a home-made dress again.

Home-made or not, the men waiting by the double doors to Monaghan ward certainly seemed to appreciate her as she walked towards them.

‘Aye, aye, lads. Here’s a sight for sore eyes!’ One of the men, a burly corporal called George Yeoman, nudged the man next to him.

The others joined in, whistling their admiration.

‘Don’t you look nice, Nurse? Civvies suit you.’

‘Blimey, you scrub up well, don’t you?’

‘If I’d known you were that pretty, I’d have asked you out earlier!’

Dulcie accepted their compliments with a smile. But all the while she was aware of Sam Trevelyan, standing silently to one side.

She hadn’t expected him to be there. The sight of him standing in his hospital uniform, leaning on a walking stick, unsettled her for some reason.

‘Listen to you all. Anyone would think you’d never seen a girl in a dress before!’ Miriam Trott snorted.

‘Not a girl like her we haven’t!’ Private Hobbs leered.

Miriam’s pinched little face flushed. Dulcie guessed she hadn’t received such an admiring reception.

‘Shall we go?’ Miriam said, her voice tight with annoyance. ‘I’ll lead the way.’

It was the middle of March, but there was still no sign of spring. The trees in Victoria Park were starkly bare against the dismal grey sky, and a bitter wind blew as they set off along Bethnal Green Road.

Dulcie stayed at the back of the group, helping Private Hobbs, a young man with an amputated foot. Sam Trevelyan was at the front, his limping steps at first keeping up with Miriam Trott’s briskly tapping heels. But then, gradually, he fell back until he was level with Dulcie.

‘Fancy seeing you here,’ he said in a low voice.

‘I could say the same about you. I didn’t think you were the type to go on an outing?’

He sent her a sideways look. ‘Am I that much of a misery guts?’

‘Well, now you come to mention it …’

Sam shook his head. ‘I’m a reformed character,’ he said. ‘I even played whist with someone last week.’

‘You didn’t!’

‘I did.’

‘You’ll be joining in with one of Nurse Trott’s sing-songs next!’

Sam grimaced. ‘God forbid! I’d never go that far.’ Then he paused and said, ‘You do look nice, by the way.’

‘Thank you.’

‘That colour suits you. It matches your eyes.’

She could feel herself blushing. ‘Two compliments, Sergeant? You really are a reformed character, aren’t you?’

‘You’d be surprised.’

For a moment they looked at each other, and Dulcie felt a tiny surge of something like panic. She broke the silence.

‘Aren’t you going to ask me how I’m getting on on Wilson ward?’

He looked amused. ‘How are you getting on?’ He looked at her left hand. ‘Not engaged yet, I see?’

‘It’s only a matter of time,’ she said lightly.

‘I’m sure. You seem very determined.’ The way he said it, she wasn’t sure if it was meant to be a compliment or not.