Minnie sent an enquiring look to Daisy. ‘Your brother asked her out?’

‘Toby volunteered to take both of us for a stroll in Victoria Park.’ Daisy lowered her voice as Aggie bustled in with a tray of steaming cocoa. ‘I think he was sorry for Ivy. She did have a nasty experience tonight.’

‘Maybe I should endure something similar and Dr Marshall would ask me out. He’s so good-looking, all the probationer nurses are in love with him.’

‘Really?’ Daisy stared at her in surprise. ‘I thought you had a rich gentleman friend.’

Minnie shrugged. ‘He was only interested in one thing, Daisy. I told him I wasn’t that sort of girl and he bowed politely and walked away. I won’t be seeing him again.’

‘Then perhaps you’d like to come with us on Sunday?’

‘Yes, indeed. I’ll make sure I’m not on the roster.’

Daisy had been on duty since very early on Sunday morning, but she had managed to get the afternoon off. She had arranged to meet the others in the park, although it was never possible to guarantee that she would get away on time. It was just as well she had not asked Minnie to wait for her as there had been two emergency admissions and, as usual, the cleaning up fell to the probationer nurse. Daisy was getting accustomed to mopping up all kinds of things that in the past would have made her retreat hastily. Matron was a stickler for disinfectant and Daisy’s hands were reddened and sore from contact with harsh soap and hot water. The smell of carbolic clung to everything, including her clothes and hair.

Even though she was in a hurry to leave she made time to visit Hilda on the ward, and she answered all the questions that the anxious mother had thought up since their last conversation. Although Daisy had described Creek Hall and its grounds in detail, and the area of marshland with its abundance of wildlife, Hilda wanted to hear it all again. She had been born and raised in the East End and she knew nothing of the countryside and had never seen the sea. She listened enthralled as if Daisy was telling her a tale from The Arabian Nights, and of course she wanted to know how each of her four children was coping with her absence. Daisy was careful to stress that they were happy and well cared for, but naturally they missed their mother and were waiting eagerly for Hilda to return to them.

Finally off duty, Daisy put on her bonnet and fastened the ribbons under her chin. She checked her appearance in the small cracked mirror that one of the nurses had hidden in the china cupboard and left the changing room, exchanging cheery words with the porter who was on duty in the reception area. She stepped outside the main doors and came face to face with someone she had thought never to see again.

‘Julian!’

‘I’ve been waiting here for over an hour, Daisy. I couldn’t believe it when that crippled fellow told me that you were working here as a menial.’