‘Good morning, Nurse,’ Otto said, smiling at her as she entered the ward.
‘Good morning,’ she said, walking up to his bedside. Surely there was no harm in being friendly, she decided, aware that Sister was attending to a patient on the other side of the small ward. She greeted the other patients as she passed them. ‘Did you sleep well, Otto?’ she asked quietly. It was odd addressing him by his first name. She caught his smile from the corner of her eye and, embarrassed, focused on straightening his bedding. ‘How’s your leg today?’
‘It doesn’t look pleasant,’ Otto said, grimacing as she touched the side of the wound lightly.
‘The treatment seems to be doing the job, though,’ she said before remembering he was a qualified doctor and perfectly able to see that for himself.
‘I do not like it but as long as this keeps any infection away, I will suffer it.’
‘You’re doing very well.’ Celia knew what he was going through was viciously painful and was relieved he understood the reasons behind Doctor Burton’s decision to put him through this. ‘It will be worth it when your leg has healed.’
‘I agree, although…’ His smile faltered and she wondered what might be wrong.
‘Is something the matter? Can I do anything for you?’
‘No, thank you. I have some pain, but it is only to be expected.’ He frowned. ‘I had a nightmare. It has made me a little out of sorts.’
‘I’ll be back in a minute and then you can tell me all about it,’ she said, knowing how nightmares could upset her entire day when they were truly realistic.
She went to check on the other patients then returned to Otto’s bedside with warm soapy water, a facecloth, towel, toothbrush and toothpaste to wash him.
She helped him sit and remove his pyjama jacket. Glancing over her shoulder and seeing that Sister was busily making notes, she asked quietly, ‘What was it about, your nightmare?’
‘I dreamt of my brother.’
He hadn’t mentioned having a brother before. Celia was glad that he had now so that she could find out a little more about Otto’s life before the war back in Austria. ‘Is he older or younger than you?’
‘Younger by two years.’
She placed his toothbrush in the toothpaste powder and then, dampening it, handed it to him with a glass of water and watched him clean his teeth. It was strange to think how intimate it was acceptable to be with a man you barely knew when you were a nurse. She realised that she already knew every inch of Otto’s body, probably even more than her mother had ever seen of her father’s.
When he handed back the used toothbrush and glass of water, Celia placed them on the side table. ‘And why do you think you were dreaming about him?’ she asked as she wrung out the flannel and handed it to him.
He washed his face thoroughly before returning it to her and taking the towel to dry his skin. ‘I think it was because you mentioned you had a sister. Are you close?’
‘Very.’ Celia smiled, grateful to have someone left in her life that she loved deeply.
‘My brother and I are also.’
She didn’t wish to pry but supposed he wouldn’t mind her asking him further questions, especially if he was wanting to share his nightmare with her. ‘Is he at home in Austria?’
He shook his head. ‘No, unfortunately not. He enlisted before I did and was captured last year.’
‘That’s terrible,’ Celia said immediately, wondering where the camp might be, as surely it was a British one. Maybe Otto’s brother was being held somewhere in France?
‘I do not know where he is being kept.’ He sighed miserably.
‘Poor man, I hope he’s being well treated.’
‘I pray each day that he is. My brother isn’t as robust as I and was prone to sickness when he was a child.’
Celia could tell Otto was more anxious about his brother’s predicament than he was letting on.
‘He is a gentle soul. He didn’t wait to be conscripted and only joined the German Army because he thought our father would be impressed and think him more of a man.’
‘Really?’
‘I believe that to be so.’ He took the soapy flannel from her and began washing himself. ‘I worry for him and how he will cope with being incarcerated for …’ he gave a shuddering sigh, ‘… for the years he will be there. It troubles me greatly to think of him on foreign soil and not knowing whether he will survive.’
Celia wasn’t surprised. She tried to imagine how she might feel if her brother was being held in a prisoner-of-war camp in Europe somewhere. ‘At least he’s still alive,’ she said, wanting to cheer him up. ‘And presumably safer than he would be at the Front.’
He stared at her and then handed back the flannel and took the towel from her hand, their skin touching as he did so. Her stomach contracted and their eyes met. She saw his perfect lips move but for a second couldn’t hear what he was saying as she fought the pull to press her mouth against his in a kiss. Celia gasped at her shocking instincts.
‘You are all right?’ he asked, concerned.
Celia could feel the heat in her cheeks, so looked away and wrung out the flannel, desperate to compose herself before turning back to him. ‘I, um, had a thought, that’s all,’ she said, hoping he hadn’t noticed the look on her face as he was speaking. ‘What was it you said?’
‘That you are kind to say this to me. I had not thought of Karl’s situation in this way. You are right. If they are treating him well, and I hope that they are, then he is probably better to be there than to be fighting.’ He shook his head. ‘I could never imagine my sweet brother using a gun and having to try to kill another man.’
Celia couldn’t imagine Otto fighting either. ‘It must have been troubling for you to have to do it too.’
‘You mean to try to kill another man?’
‘Yes.’ She hoped she wasn’t overstepping the line of familiarity by broaching the subject.
‘Because I am a doctor, or because I am, I believe, a decent human being?’
‘Both, I suppose. Mostly, though, because you are a doctor and have sworn the Hippocratic Oath.’
‘It was never something I imagined myself having to do. But I think that most of the men being forced to take up arms on both sides of the war probably feel the same way.’
She supposed he was right. ‘Yes. I know my brother Charlie found it alarming.’
He smiled. ‘You have a brother? He is a soldier?’
She cleared her throat, wishing she hadn’t mentioned Charlie. Now she would have to concentrate on keeping a check on her emotions. Sister would not be impressed to find one of her nurses in tears at a patient’s bedside.
‘He was a soldier,’ she explained, her voice cracking with emotion. ‘He died last year.’
Otto reached out and took her hand in his. ‘I’m so sorry, Celia,’ he said, his voice gentle. ‘No one should have to lose someone they love because of others’ choices.’
She stared at his hands holding hers, comforted by his warm skin cocooning hers like a soothing balm on her heart. ‘Thank you,’ she whispered. She looked into his bright-blue eyes and her heart flipped over. She wished they lived at any other time in history. She couldn’t miss the love emanating from his gaze and didn’t care that her feelings likely shone straight back at him.
They gazed at each other in silence for a few seconds, each lost in thought. Celia wondered if Otto was thinking the same thing as her and hoped that there would be a time in the future when they could discover if their affection for each other was real, or brought about because of him stepping up to help her, and her nursing him when he was at his lowest ebb.
Doctor Burton arrived then, interrupting the moment, and Celia watched as he removed the dressing from Otto’s muscular chest to check his wound. ‘This is doing well, I’m pleased to say,’ he said. ‘Nurse, all this will need is a fresh dressing.’
‘Yes, Doctor,’ she replied, happy to know that Otto was doing well.
She then waited anxiously as the doctor inspected Otto’s calf. She knew Otto was desperate to be able to get up and move around more, and hoped that Doctor Burton might have some cheering news for him.
‘What do you think, Doctor?’ Otto said when Burton had finished.
‘I’m very pleased with your progress, Oberleutnant Hoffman. There is still no sign of infection and your leg is now starting to heal well.’ He smiled at Celia. ‘You have the dedicated attention of these wonderful nurses to thank for your continued recovery.’
‘I do, Doctor.’ Otto smiled at her and Celia felt heat rise in her cheeks. ‘I am very grateful to them all.’ He turned his attention back to the doctor, who was about to leave his bedside. ‘Excuse me, Doctor.’
‘Yes, Oberleutnant?’
‘Do you believe my leg may soon be closed up? I’m finding it difficult not being able to get up each day, and wondered if I might be allowed to walk about soon?’
Celia couldn’t miss the concerned expression that flitted across the doctor’s face. ‘We are at that stage where I can close the wound. Probably tomorrow. You’ll have less pain then and will be able to move freely once it has had a bit of time for the incision to heal.’
‘Thank you, Doctor.’
The doctor patted Otto’s shoulder. ‘We’ll soon have you outside taking exercise with your comrades, don’t you worry.’
Celia gave Otto a sympathetic smile as she followed the doctor to the next patient’s bedside. She could see Otto was putting on a brave face and wondered how badly he was hurting inside. He must desperately have wished he was in a German hospital closer to home.