Damsel In Green

Georgina swallowed rage. Night Nurse indeed! She was just as trained as Gregg was herself, but in the circumstances, powerless to do anything about it. The Professor wasn’t, however. He flashed her a look, and if she hadn’t known that her tired eyes were playing her false, she could have sworn that he winked. His voice, when he spoke, was silken. ‘Good for you—er—Nurse. You allude to Staff Nurse Rodman, I believe. Yes, indeed you may help, if you please. Be kind enough to take over from her at once—I have something I wish to discuss with her.’

His smile dismissed her. Georgina found herself walking to the door rolling down her sleeves as she went, and putting on hastily snatched up cuffs. Outside in the corridor he said pleasantly, ‘I thought that we might as well divulge our plans to Cornelis; that is, if you can spare the time?’ She nodded merely, being far too busy keeping up with his long legs. Halfway up the stairs to Children’s he stopped and said apologetically, ‘I forget that I cover the ground somewhat faster than most people—and you must be tired.’

She admitted that she was, tried to imagine him being tired himself and failed utterly. They heard Cornelis long before they saw him—apparently there was something he didn’t fancy for breakfast. He was, in fact, on the point of hurling a bowl of porridge at the attendant nurse when he saw them coming down the ward. His small, intelligent face brightened and he thrust the offending food at the nurse as he shouted a greeting at them. ‘Cousin Julius—George! How super to have you both at once. I say, George, do tell Nurse to take this beastly stuff away—I won’t eat it.’ He was peeping at his guardian as he spoke.

The Professor said nothing at all, indeed, there was a faint smile on his face, although his brows were raised in mild enquiry. Georgina put the bowl down on the bedtable in front of Cor, and said with the cunning of one versed in the treatment of childish tantrums:

‘You’ll grow into a very small man, you know.’ She put the spoon in his hand.

‘Why?’

‘Because if you don’t eat, you don’t grow, and some things make you grow more than others. Porridge, for example. You said the other day that you intended to be as big as your guardian.’

‘You mean Cousin Julius?’ He was watching her under lowering brows.

‘Yes, I do.’

‘Why don’t you call him Julius?’

‘Well …’ she cast a look at the Professor, who was standing, hands in pockets, watching with what she considered to be unnecessary enjoyment. He said now, without looking at her, ‘You’re not being polite, Cor. In fact, you are being particularly unpleasant. You will apologise, please.’ His blue eyes surveyed his small cousin, and Georgina, watching, could see the affection in them. ‘Look old chap, we know your legs are uncomfortable and you’re hating every minute of lying strung up like this, but that’s no excuse for being rude.’ He smiled, a wide kind smile that made her heart bounce against her ribs.

Cor smiled too. ‘Sorry, Cousin Julius,’ he said, all at once cheerful. ‘I was a rude pig, wasn’t I?’ He repeated himself, delighted with the words. ‘George, darling George, I’m truly sorry, I was a rude …’

She interrupted him. ‘All right, Cor. We know you didn’t really mean it. Now eat up your porridge so that we can talk.’

He started to spoon the cooling nourishment. ‘All of us?’ he enquired, his mouth full. ‘Why are you so early, Cousin Julius?’

‘I had some work to do here—it seemed a good idea to kill two birds with one stone.’ He caught Georgina’s expressive eye and said on a chuckle, ‘What a singularly inept remark!’

She replaced the empty bowl with a boiled egg and some bread and butter, and sat down thankfully on the stool the Professor had fetched for her. She turned her attention to Cor and kept her eyes on him while the Professor talked.

‘I’ve news for you, Cor. It’s the seventeenth today—the day after tomorrow you are coming home.’ He put a large, well-kept hand, just too late to prevent the bellow of delight from Cor. ‘Let me finish—I’ve work to do, even if you haven’t, and unlike you, I’ve not yet had my breakfast; nor has Nurse. You’ll have all this rigging until after the New Year. You know that, don’t you? And there will be X-rays at intervals and Uncle Sawbones to see you from time to time. Staff Nurse Rodman will look after you.’

Cor put down his bread and butter and stared at his guardian as though he couldn’t believe his own small ears. ‘George? Coming home with us all? Julius, you’re absolutely super. I’ll be home for Christmas … I’ll be so good … Julius, dear Cousin Julius, I love you!’

The big man’s eyes were very kind. ‘Yes, I know, old man. We all miss you, you know—you’ll have to stay in your room; but we can all come in and out, and Miss Rodman will be with you for a great deal of the time.’

Cor turned a starry gaze on Georgina. ‘You’ll like coming, won’t you, George?’ he asked anxiously.

‘I’m thrilled. I can’t think of anything I’d rather do.’ She found to her astonishment that she meant it—indeed, her delight at the prospect left her startled at its intensity. She went off into a brown study, watched by the Professor with no expression on his face at all, and by Cor with considerable bewilderment. She looked up and smiled at him, so that her tired face was touched with beauty. ‘I was just thinking of the fun we’ll have getting you on your feet again,’ she said cheerfully, and was rewarded by his grin.

She stayed a little longer while the Professor told her his arrangements. She was to be at the ambulance bay at four o’clock on the nineteenth, with whatever luggage she would require. He politely deplored the fact that she would be unable to have a full day’s sleep, but assured her that she should go to bed as early as she wished on reaching Dalmers Place. He himself would be unable to accompany them, but Mr Sawbridge would make sure that everything was in order before they left the hospital and had agreed to be at the house by the time they arrived in order to supervise the re-erection of the Balkan frame with its attendant weights and pulleys.

‘Why don’t you do it, Cousin Julius?’ Cor demanded.

‘My dear fellow, I haven’t a clue; I daresay Staff Nurse Rodman knows more about it than I do.’ He smiled at her, and she gave an answering chuckle, well aware that he was perfectly capable of putting up twenty Balkan frames if he so had the mind. He got to his feet.

‘Go to bed. How thoughtless of me to keep you like this!’ His eyes searched her face. ‘We are all happy to have you with us. Beatrix is longing to see you again.’

Georgina said quickly, ‘Oh, is she? I am glad. I wanted to write to her, but it didn’t seem—that is, I didn’t care to …’ she came to a halt awkwardly.

‘My dear girl, I understand, although your fears were groundless. You are the last person I would accuse of pushing yourself forward.’

She looked relieved. ‘Beatrix didn’t think I had forgotten her?’

‘No,’ he assured her gravely, ‘never that.’

She said goodbye to them then, and went first to Cas, ignoring a furious Gregg to give a brief report to Sister, and then to the dining-room, where, as she so often was, she was the last. She was barely seated at the table before a voice enquired, ‘What’s all this, George—dating handsome consultants in Children’s before eight o’clock in the morning!’

Another voice chimed in, ‘Obviously he likes the early bird.’ There was a shriek of laughter, and Night Super, sitting with her sisters at the other end of the dining-room, raised her eyebrows and smiled. It was tacitly agreed that the night nurses needed to let off steam when they came off duty; she went on with her breakfast, and wished that she was with them, sharing the fun.

Georgina spooned sugar into her tea with a lavish hand. ‘It’s my early morning charm,’ she explained imperturbably, though her cheeks were pink. ‘There’s nothing like a red nose and wispy hair to enhance my type of good looks.’

‘Yes. But why choose Children’s—it’s the least romantic of places,’ asked the Night Staff from that ward. ‘Give us the facts, George.’

Over several slices of toast, lavishly loaded with butter and marmalade, she told them. When she had finished, there was a silence lasting at least ten seconds until someone said, ‘How funny—the other day we were all taking—remember?—and George said she wasn’t sure what she wanted to do, and now it’s all cut and dried. Take some pretty clothes,’ she added.

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