Finding the ward sister, Flors introduced herself and then asked about Sibbie’s bed being moved into the same side ward as Paulo. ‘Hmm, unconventional, but do-able, I suppose, in the circumstances. Those two are heroes and deserve us to go the extra mile for them, bless them.’

‘Thank you, Sister . . .?’

‘Sister Baker – Annie Baker.’

‘Well, I’m very grateful to you, Sister Baker; that’s very kind of you.’

‘Not at all, I learned a long time ago that medical intervention is all well and good, but we should take note of emotional needs, too.’

‘Sister, is there no hope for Paulo?’

‘Where there’s life, there’s always hope, my dear. That young man has suffered internal bleeding from heavy blows, and had the blood supply to his leg cut off for too long. The surgeons have done what they can to make him comfortable, but he is very poorly.’

‘Has he been given blood?’

‘Yes, what we had of his type sustained him through his operation, but he has a rare Rhesus negative blood group, and that is inhibiting our ability to give him what he needs. He needs more radical surgery. I’m sorry, but his leg requires amputation, as it is gangrenous, and it is this that will kill him; but we didn’t have enough of his blood type to get him safely through the operation. We have tested all the nurses and doctors, and even the patients, but none have the same type. And we have sent out a request to all the hospitals in London to see if they have any – but nothing. Without it, he has very little chance of survival.’

‘Rhesus negative? I’ve never heard of that. In my day, we simply gave blood.’

‘You were a nurse?’

‘A Voluntary Aid nurse in the last war.’

‘I was, too. There have been a lot of advances since those days, when blood was just blood to us. We now know that a patient must have compatible blood; and further to that, we are finding that there are a few people who have an extremely rare blood group. We have tested many medical staff, in the hope of one of them being of the same type as Paulo, but no luck yet.’

‘So Paulo’s life depends on something you can’t locate. That’s terrible. Will you test me and my husband, please? And his mother is on the way – is there a chance she might have the same blood type?’

‘Yes, of course we will test you both. I’ll send a nurse to take a sample from you. But there is a much greater chance that his mother and any siblings will have the same blood type, so when will she arrive? Time isn’t on our side.’

‘She is on her way. Paulo has a sister, too; well, a half-sister, but I don’t know if they are bringing her, as she is only nine.’