‘Me, Sister?’ Panic washed over her. ‘But—’

‘Now, I don’t want to hear any arguments,’ Miss Parker cut her off briskly. ‘It really isn’t that difficult, Nurse. All you have to do is make sure the ward is kept tidy and the men looked after. I have already taken report from the night sister and given out the work lists, so everyone knows what they are supposed to be doing. You just have to make sure they do it.’

But Grace was hardly listening. Her mind was racing ahead, thinking of everything that could possibly go wrong.

‘It will only be for a few hours, Nurse Duffield.’ Amusement gleamed in Miss Parker’s eyes. ‘I’m sure even you could not bring the place to calamity by teatime.’

‘I hope not, Sister.’ But Grace’s palms were already clammy with the possibility.

She watched as Miss Parker put her hat on before the mirror, turning her head this way and that to check every angle. All the while, she went on issuing instructions.

‘Now, make sure everyone knows you are in charge, and don’t take any nonsense from anyone. Especially not the VADs. And particularly not Marchant. She is rather full of herself and inclined to take over if she is not kept in check.’

‘Yes, Sister.’

‘And don’t take any nonsense from the men, either. You must make sure that they are all in bed and the ward is tidy before Dr Logan does his round at ten o’clock. They’re bound to be in the middle of a card game, but you must tell them to stop. Confiscate their cards if you must.’

‘I will, Sister.’ Grace’s downcast expression must have given her away, because Miss Parker turned from the mirror and said in a kindly voice, ‘It will only be for a few hours, Duffield. Just do the best you can, and make sure you don’t lose anyone.’

She made it sound very simple. But Grace’s knees were still knocking underneath her voluminous skirt as she returned to Wilson ward. She felt sure that her fellow nurses would have something to say about her being in charge.

Surprisingly, they didn’t seem to mind.

‘Of course you should be in charge,’ Sylvia Saunders said, as if it was the most obvious idea in the world. ‘You’re so good with the patients, far better than we are.’

‘But I’ve never been in charge before,’ Grace said anxiously.

‘We’ll help you, don’t worry,’ Mary Finnegan said kindly. She was a pretty Irish girl, with dark hair and bright blue eyes.

‘And we’ll keep the VADs in check for you,’ Sylvia offered.

‘Except for Marchant,’ Mary Finnegan said, rolling her eyes. ‘No one can keep her in check, not even Matron.’

‘Speaking of which, Matron will be doing her rounds soon.’ Sylvia looked at the clock. ‘We’d better get this place tidy before she arrives, or it’ll be a black mark for all of us.’

They worked together, dusting and polishing and straightening the bed castors so they all faced in the same direction. Grace sat at Sister’s desk in the centre of the ward and surveyed the rows of neatly made beds with satisfaction. Perhaps this wasn’t so bad after all?