She would never usually have been so forward. But she could tell Dr Logan had nearly finished his examination. Soon he would be gone, and her chance with it.

He blinked at her. ‘What Christmas show?’

‘You must have heard about the Christmas show? We put it on every year for the patients. They have such fun. I’m Marie Lloyd this year.’

‘Really? I’m sorry I won’t be there to see it.’

Dulcie’s stomach plummeted with disappointment. ‘You’re not coming?’

‘I’m not on call this evening. Are you sure this patient is agitated?’ he asked.

‘What? Oh, yes. Sometimes. Can’t you come anyway?’ Dulcie said.

‘I have other plans.’ He added his signature to the notes and placed them back at the foot on Corporal Kavanagh’s bed. ‘Please tell Sister I will come back and speak to her about Corporal Kavanagh this afternoon.’

He had turned and was starting to walk away. Dulcie stared after him, helplessly.

She heard a muffled snort to her left. She glanced around to see Sam Trevelyan watching her, almost with a smile.

Then a thought struck her.

‘Dr Logan?’ she called after him, following him down the ward.

He carried on walking, taking some notes from the pocket of his white coat as he did. ‘Yes?’

‘May I ask your advice?’

That stopped him in his tracks. ‘About what?’

Dulcie caught up with him. ‘I just wondered – do you think it benefits patients to get a visit from their families?’

Dr Logan considered the question. ‘Well, I suppose it depends on the individual case. Obviously the age of the patient will need to be taken into account, his family situation, his general state of health. But – yes, I suppose in general, patients do benefit greatly from such visits.’

Dulcie let her gaze flick back up the ward to where Sam Trevelyan was still watching her.

‘Thank you, Doctor.’ She smiled. ‘That’s exactly what I thought.’

CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

‘Just think, Duffield. This time tomorrow I’ll be Mrs Edward Stanning!’

Grace could scarcely remember a time when she had seen her friend so happy. Anna whirled about the room, taking her belongings out of the chest of drawers and throwing them into the open suitcase on the bed. Her face was alight with excitement.

Grace smiled at her as she pinned her hair. ‘I’m so pleased for you, Beck. But I’ll really miss sharing a room with you.’

‘I know.’ Anna paused, a pile of clothes in her arms. ‘I’ll miss you and all the other girls, too. It’ll seem very odd, not waking up here every morning.’

‘I’m sure you won’t miss the Home Sister telling you when to get up and when to go to bed,’ Grace said. ‘Or queuing up for the bathroom on a freezing winter’s morning.’

‘I suppose not. But we’ve had some good times here, haven’t we?’ Anna looked out of the window. ‘I won’t miss shinning up and down that drainpipe in the dead of night, though. I used to worry every time I came home that you’d be fast asleep and wouldn’t hear me tapping on the window.’