‘In the normal course of things I wouldn’t allow a student to take such a long time off, but in your case it was unavoidable, and you will have gained knowledge first-hand of nursing a terrible disease. Under the circumstances I’ll allow you to rejoin your colleagues on the wards. You’re a good student and I’m sure you’ll soon catch up.’

‘Thank you, Sister. I’ll work twice as hard.’

‘I’m sure you will. You may start today. The wards are always very full at this time of the year.’

Daisy slipped back into the routine the moment she put on her starched grey uniform dress, white cap and apron. She worked tirelessly, finding it much easier than the arduous work at Creek Hall during the worst of the epidemic. That evening, back in her room, she made copious notes as she studied her textbook, but she found herself nodding off and she made herself ready for bed. She was exhausted, but when she stretched out on the thin mattress she could feel the metal base and she longed for her comfortable bed in Creek Cottage. The sound of horse-drawn traffic in the street below filtered through the badly fitting window, adding to the noisy tramp of booted feet and roars of laughter, as men rolled out of the public house further along the road. The older ladies had gone to their room, which was directly above hers, and Daisy could hear them walking around, their bare feet padding on uncarpeted floorboards, and the dull chatter of their voices. All this was strange to her ears after a long absence, and she could imagine how a child must feel when sent away to boarding school for the first time. It came as something of a shock to realise that home for her was now Little Creek. She might be a Londoner born and bred, and she loved the city, but her past and present had come together and she found herself pining for the quiet of the countryside, the soft rippling of the creek as the water rushed over the pebbles, and the occasional sharp cry of a fox somewhere deep in the woods. She closed her eyes and dreamed of the Lazy Jane, floating at anchor on the sunlit waters of the inlet.

For the next weeks Daisy worked harder than she had ever done before. The long hours on the wards were followed by evenings occupied with her studies. She spent as much of her precious free time as she could with Toby and Minnie, who were obviously very much in love. Daisy was delighted for her brother, but the pair were so wrapped up in each other that she often declined their invitations to accompany them for a meal or to the theatre. She wrote once a week to her aunt and uncle, keeping them up to date with her progress, and although she penned several letters to Nick, his replies were infrequent and brief. She knew that he must be extremely busy and that made her feel guilty. Perhaps she ought to have remained at his side and worked for the good of the people she had come to know so well. In London the crowds that thronged the streets were a faceless mass, whereas in Little Creek she knew everyone, if only by sight, and certainly by reputation. Mrs Bee and Hilda had kept her up to date with the gossip and, as the days went by, she felt the gap between herself and her adopted home widening into a huge gulf.