He turned to Matron. ‘Her bruising is consistent with a severe blow. To make sure it’s nothing more serious, she must lay quietly on her back with no movement if she can help it. Keep her corset on for support, but not too tight. That garment probably saved her from a ruptured spleen. I’ll take another look tomorrow.’

‘Right, let’s get you into the other school room with the patients,’ Matron said, before calling over a couple of the Britannic’s crew who were seconded as stretcher-bearers.

In the temporary hospital, my bed was next to Corporal Perkins. Poor Perkins moaned and whimpered, rolling his head from side to side. The patient to my left, with the head injury, was heavily bandaged and hardly conscious. There were four other casualties.

‘Perkins!’ I called over. ‘It’s me, Gertie.’

‘The nurse?’ He continued to display his awful pain.

‘Yes. Listen, they’re going to operate on you soon. You’ll feel better when they’ve sorted you out and cleaned the wound.’

‘I’ve lost my foot, so why’s it such absolute agony? I’m going mad here – mad – I wish I’d died!’

‘You’ll be fine. It’s the salt, that’s all. It’s saving you from gangrene. Try and tell yourself that. Just the salt, Perkins.’

‘Just the salt. Just the salt.’ Then he let out a bone-crunching holler. ‘Put me to sleep! You wouldn’t let a dog suffer like this. Why me?’

‘Think about the future when you’ve got your new foot. They say you can hardly tell these days. Also, you’re out of the war. Isn’t that grand, Perkins? You’ll be down at the Pally dancing the tango with beautiful women before you know it.’ I stared across at him, conscious of his intense discomfort, my eyes aching with unshed tears. My punishment for allowing myself to be bullied, wanting to look important and in control of my patients. If only I hadn’t opened the portholes! At that moment, I’d have done anything to take away the Corporal’s awful pain.

I had mixed feelings about missing his operation. Although this would have been my first real procedure, I didn’t think I could watch the bone-saw being used on him because of my actions.

*

The next day, I felt wretched. ‘What’s happening out there?’ I asked as Nurse Josephine administered the Corporal’s medication.

‘There’s a ship in the bay, minesweeping.’ She stuck a thermometer in Perkins’s mouth. ‘When they’re sure there’s no danger, the vessel will tie up, then they’ll ship us to Athens. Matron said you’re to stay here until the surgeon’s seen you. How do you feel, Gertie?’ She placed a hand on my forehead. ‘You appear a little flushed.’