He stared at the ceiling. ‘I don’t remember much from the Britannic,’ he said. ‘I’d forgotten how we teased you. Was that the same morning?’ he said casually. ‘I don’t remember anything much from before the lifeboat. That was the nightmare. Everyone screaming, panicked, climbing over each other to get to the back. I can see their faces, mouths and eyes open wide, hysterical, but the only noise was the ear-bursting racket from the propellers . . . then nothing until I woke in your arms.’

My intense relief to hear him admit this made me feel faint. He didn’t know I’d opened the portholes. Did he remember it was me on duty that morning, though? Would he say as much under questioning at an inquiry? Should I tell him. And if I did, what would his reaction be?

‘I was saved by a dolphin,’ I said, the words shocking me as much as him. ‘It pushed me up to the surface and saved my life.’

‘You were hallucinating.’

‘No, really. They all saw it, the priest said it was a miracle. I was going down, almost giving up. When I asked the priest why I’d been saved, later, he said it was because God had a plan for me, and I wonder if that plan was to save you, dear Corporal. To give you my blood. The surgeon said you were going to die and there was nothing we could do. I had your head in my lap, and I could not stand the thought of you dying in my arms, so I insisted he took some of my blood and put it into you. You know the rest.’

‘You’re very brave. I will always be in your debt.’

Those few kind words made me want to cry. It was as if bravery and cowardice, truth and lies, all melted together and leaked out of me as tears. How would I ever be able to put everything right?

‘When the dolphin came towards me, I thought it was a torpedo, Corporal. You see, I’d never seen a dolphin before. It hit me with such force, the surgeon said if it hadn’t been for my corset, I’d have suffered a ruptured spleen.’ I was glad he could not see me blushing at the mention of my undergarments. Overcome by tiredness, I closed my eyes.

‘I don’t even know where my spleen is. Have I got one, or is it a woman thing?’ he asked.

‘It’s just under your ribs, around here . . .’ I reached over and touched his bottom rib then quickly withdrew my hand, but he caught hold of it, and pressed it against his chest.

‘Do you think you could ever come to love somebody like me, nurse?’ He was silent and as I looked, his eyes closed and his face finally relaxed.