Half an hour later, everyone else had gone, leaving Grace alone on the darkened ward. In the darkness, the sound of snoring mingled with the usual moans, yelps and cries of distress. Some men shouted warnings, while others simply sobbed. One man, Private Hobbs, cackled with laughter in his sleep.

Grace made her way slowly down the ward, checking on them all by the dim light of her lamp. As she approached Edward Stanning’s bed, she could see he was sitting up, propped against the pillows.

Grace felt the hairs on the back of her neck prickling. She would have walked by, but Edward called out to her.

‘Did you hear my news, Nurse? I’m going home tomorrow.’

Grace paused at the foot of his bed. ‘Yes,’ she said. ‘Nurse Beck told me you’d been discharged.’

‘A full discharge, Nurse!’ Edward grinned. ‘I’ll never have to wear a uniform again!’

Frankly I’m not surprised the army doesn’t want him in their ranks anymore. I’ve read his records …

Grace swallowed hard. ‘That’s very good news, Private Stanning.’

‘It’s more than that, Nurse. It’s the start of my new life.’ He looked pleased with himself. ‘What with that and marrying Anna, I reckon after tomorrow I’ll have everything I’ve ever wanted.’

Outside, the wind sent a sudden squall of sleet rattling against the window like a burst of machine-gun fire. Grace started in fright.

‘Blimey, Nurse, what’s the matter with you?’ Edward said. ‘You’re as jumpy as these other poor devils!’

Grace smiled uneasily. ‘It’s just the storm, that’s all.’

‘It’s horrible, ain’t it? Mind, the weather had better buck its ideas up by tomorrow. If the sun doesn’t shine on my wedding day, I won’t be happy about it!’

Grace looked at his open, laughing face. Surely Dr Logan must have got it wrong, she thought. There was no malice in Edward Stanning’s expression.

‘I’ll keep my fingers crossed for you,’ she said.

But Grace was still troubled when she returned to her desk in the centre of the ward. She tried to work on the reports, but her mind kept wandering back to the conversation she had overheard.

Was Edward Stanning really dangerous? she wondered. She knew he had a quickfire temper, and his moods could change from day to night in the blink of an eye. But lots of the men on Wilson ward found it difficult to control their emotions. And Edward had always been quite charming to her.

And Anna loved him with all her heart. Surely she would have sensed if there was something dark in him?

More than a case of neurasthenia, Dr Logan had said.

She glanced down the length of the ward. The end of the long gallery was in shadow, but she could hear the soft chorus of moans and sighs as the men finally settled into uneasy sleep. From what she could see, Edward had settled down too.

Grace put down her pen, the page still blank in front of her. It was no good; she would not be able to concentrate until she knew for sure.