not dyed.’
‘Yes, I’m lucky with my hair.’ I gave it a little pat. ‘I never have to do much with it. After a wash it just waves naturally.’
‘Well, don’t gloat. Just because you’re going out with the best-looking fellow in the place.’
She was grinning at me but I caught a faint note of envy in her voice. Ally had already been out with three different men since our arrival, but moaned that she hadn’t really enjoyed herself with any of them.
‘Don’t worry,’ I told her. ‘You’ll find someone you like soon.’
‘I’m not sure …’ She bit her lip anxiously. ‘It’s daft, but I can’t help thinking about Mike the whole time. He usually writes as soon as he gets back to his base, but he hasn’t this time. I’m worried about him, Kathy. Supposing he’s been hurt – or killed?’
‘Perhaps he’s just been too busy to write,’ I suggested. ‘If there was bad news someone would let you know.’
‘Yes, I expect you’re right. I’m being silly.’ She pulled a face. ‘Go on then, you lucky thing. Go and meet Dr O’Rourke. And stop looking so nervous!’
‘I’ll try.’ I gave her a quick hug. ‘You try to stop worrying about Mike.’
She grinned and shook her head as I left. I went downstairs and saw Tom O’Rourke standing just outside the front door. It was a pleasant summer evening and he was wearing beige slacks, a brown shirt, a deep fawn sweater slung over his shoulder. I thought he looked like a star from the movies and my heart did a rapid somersault.
‘Kathy,’ he murmured, his eyes going over me with approval. ‘You look … very nice. That colour blue suits you.’
I was wearing a simple blue dress with a tucked bodice, short sleeves and a white collar. It was good to get out of uniform for a while, but I knew the dress was a bit girlish. I’d had it new just before I left home and the style wasn’t what I would have chosen for myself, but I hadn’t been able to get myself anything new yet. Ally had spoken of us spending our first leave together at her home, and I intended to buy some more suitable clothes, but that wouldn’t be for ages.
‘I thought we would walk to the village.’ Something flickered in Tom’s eyes as they went over me. ‘You hardly look old enough to drink in the pub, Kathy.’
‘It’s just this dress. Gran bought it for me. It’s too childish but it’s my best.’
He nodded and smiled. ‘Very pretty. You look older in your uniform.’
I bit my lip as I sensed a withdrawal in him and realized he wasn’t pleased by the way I looked. Perhaps I should have worn my hair up instead of letting it hang loose? It was too late now. I should just have to hope my youthful appearance hadn’t put him off completely.
‘Have you written to Mrs Cole yet?’ he asked as we began to walk in the direction of the village. ‘Bridget told me that she was worried because she hadn’t heard.’
There was a note of reprimand in his voice that touched a nerve. Did he imagine I was an irresponsible child? The evening I’d been anticipating so eagerly had suddenly become disappointing. He had said it was just a drink to talk about people we both knew but I had expected more than this somehow. I’d thought there was something between us. Now he seemed to have become the grand doctor figure being kind to a new recruit.
That was exactly what I was, of course, but I’d hoped for a very different outcome to the evening. We spent half an hour talking about people in the lanes, and then progressed to the hospital. He became passionate then and I glimpsed a man I could admire as he spoke about his work and hopes.
By nine o’clock he had me back outside the Dower House.
‘It was a pleasant evening, Kathy,’ he said offering me his hand. We shook hands as if we were polite strangers. ‘We must do it again one day.’
‘Yes. Thank you, Dr O’Rourke.’
He frowned, hesitated as though wanting to say more, then turned and walked off in the direction of the hospital. So that was that then! My heart flopped all the way to my boots as I stood watching him. He simply wasn’t interested in me as a woman. In fact he thought of me as a child.
Ally looked surprised when I walked in.
‘You’re back early? I thought you would be ages yet.’
‘I told you – it was just a friendly gesture. I’m a kid he used to see in the lane years ago.’
‘It’s that dress,’ Ally said. ‘It’s too young for you. I would’ve lent you something but mine wouldn’t fit.’
‘I don’t suppose it would have made any difference. He remembers me as a kid from down the lane and always will.’
‘Well, there’s plenty more fish in the sea. Sally says there’s a dance on next Saturday in the village hall. We’ll see if we can borrow a dress for you and we’ll all go.’
Ally’s attitude was the right one, of course. She seemed to have got over her personal worries for the time being, but I was still smarting from my disappointment that evening.
Eleanor Ross came up trumps over the dress. She was on duty that evening and gave me a choice of three, because, as she said, she wouldn’t be needing them herself.
‘I brought far too much with me,’ she told me with a wry look. ‘But maybe these will come in useful after all. Try them all on and see which one suits you best, Kathy.’
‘May I really?’
‘Yes, of course. I never say what I don’t mean. The green silk is lovely on, but the yellow brocade might suit you better. I’m not sure about the black.’
The black dress was fabulous, very slinky and cut close to the body. It had tiny shoulder straps, the bodice heavily beaded with jet. I knew at once that it suited me, but it was very sophisticated and so obviously expensive that I was afraid to choose it.
I finally settled on the green silk. It was a simple dress cut low on the shoulders with tiny puffed sleeves and a full skirt that just flirted above my ankles. No doubt it had cost almost as much as the black dress, but I sensed that Eleanor was pleased I hadn’t chosen her favourite.
‘That one looks really good on you, Kathy,’ she said. ‘We’re very much the same size but I could put a couple of tucks in the bodice for you.’
‘Won’t that spoil your dress for you?’
‘No – besides, you may want to borrow it again. I’ve got loads more at home.’
Eleanor had never made any secret of her father’s wealth, but it was hard to imagine anyone having a wardrobe full of clothes like these. I felt privileged to be wearing the green dress for the dance that evening, but a little anxious in case I should spoil it.
Several of the nurses and VADs were going as a group. Someone had fixed up a bus to take the party, and twenty of us piled into it. The men were mostly junior doctors, though there was also one of the porters and two flying officers, who had received burns to their faces and hands but were recovering now. The scars they would bear for the rest of their lives were terrible but the girls had all seen worse cases and no one took any notice. For these particular officers a dance in the village was the first step towards going home and a normal life.
One of them had become engaged to a nurse who had looked after him from the beginning. It was against the rules for nurses to marry, of course, but Julia Lane would be leaving when her fiancé was well enough to go home, and then they planned to marry. Their romance had pleased everyone, because in the midst of all the pain and suffering in the hospital it proved that life went on and sometimes people found happiness again.
We were certainly a merry group that evening, chattering and laughing all the way to the dance. Held in the village hall, it had been put on especially for