Half an hour before they were to accompany the patients to the show, Sister O’Brien and the doctor ushered a new prisoner into the hospital. He was shaking and seemed in a bad way with a blackened eye and swelling to the right side of his jaw. Celia wondered what might have happened to him.
‘Please settle this officer in one of the beds, Nurse Robertson,’ Sister O’Brien said.
‘You’ll remain in here until that swelling goes down,’ Doctor Burton explained to the traumatised young man. ‘I need to be certain your ribs have healed, too, before you go back into the dorm with the other men.’
Before he walked away, he took Celia’s arm and led her from the soldier’s bedside. ‘He’s been in a fight, as you can probably tell. I’m not sure why but I think he and one of the others are from the same town, so knew each other prior to the war.’
‘Probably past differences coming to a head,’ Sister suggested, coming over to them with a knowing frown on her face.
Celia hadn’t seen many fights among the men, assuming that they were sticking together and trying to make the best of things rather than falling out over petty differences.
‘Yes,’ Celia agreed, returning to look after the young man, who seemed highly agitated. She glanced up at the doctor nervously.
‘He’s had something to calm him,’ Doctor Burton said. ‘And should begin to relax soon.’
She drew a screen around the bed and proceeded to wash and change the soldier, who seemed little more than a boy. He didn’t speak but the frightened look in his dark-blue eyes upset her. Celia tried to soothe him with her words, aware that he didn’t appear to understand her but hoping that her tone was in some way comforting to him. Seeing someone in this fearful state broke her heart and she had to concentrate on what she was doing so that her emotions didn’t get the better of her. Eventually he was settled in bed and she folded the screen away.
‘You’ll be safe here,’ she said, wanting him to relax and trust her, but when his fear didn’t seem to subside she decided to speak to Otto and ask if maybe he could help.
‘Do not worry,’ Otto said. ‘I will speak to him and reassure him that I will watch out for him while he sleeps.’
‘Maybe don’t say that bit,’ Celia suggested. ‘You’ll be leaving to watch the show soon, and I wouldn’t want him to wake and find that you’re not there.’
Otto threw back his covers and carefully manoeuvred his damaged leg out of the bed, and followed with the other one. ‘I shall not attend the show,’ he said. ‘I will remain with the boy.’
Celia stared at him. He was so kind. ‘No, Otto,’ she said. ‘You need time away from the ward and you were really looking forward to the show. It’s only for an hour, and I’ll be staying here with him.’
Otto cocked his head towards the door, where Elsie had just arrived. ‘I do not wish to spend time with that woman. I would rather miss the show than be with her for a minute. No, I am happy to remain here. I shall speak to the unteroffizier now before he sleeps. Hopefully I will be able to reassure him.’
‘That’s very kind,’ Celia said gratefully. ‘I hate to think of anyone being frightened.’
‘I have experienced enough fear not to wish it on anyone else.’
She imagined he had. ‘Thank you.’
Celia was aware of Elsie walking towards her, so turned away from Otto and waited to see what the other woman wanted.
‘Why aren’t your patients ready to leave?’
Celia looked at the pinched, scowling face. ‘Because we have a new patient who Doctor Burton and Sister O’Brien have asked me to look after.’
‘And him?’ Elsie almost spat the words as she pointed in Otto’s direction.
‘Hauptmann Hoffman is very kindly speaking with the patient to try and reassure him. He will now be staying behind.’
‘Of course he is,’ Elsie sniggered. ‘How convenient.’
Celia wanted to slap the woman’s face but it wasn’t the way to behave. Instead she ignored her snide comments. ‘I’ll help the patients into their coats so that they’re ready to go with you.’
When Elsie and the patients had left, Celia gave a sigh of relief. She was finally alone with Otto, albeit also with the young unteroffizier, but he had begun to settle and she imagined he would soon be asleep. She had no intention of being careless, though, and didn’t trust Elsie not to creep back to spy on them. She glanced at Otto and knew instinctively that he would think the same way.
Once the unteroffizier was sleeping and Otto was sitting in the chair next to his bed, Celia pulled up another chair and sat. ‘Poor boy,’ she said, looking over at the sleeping patient, the purple hues on his pale face revealing how hard he had been punched. ‘How can someone pick on a boy like him?’
‘There’s no excuse,’ Otto said. ‘Tomorrow I will go and find out who was involved in this attack and speak with them. It is not acceptable. We should be looking out for one another in this place, not fighting. We are supposed to be disciplined men.’
He seemed sad and Celia wasn’t surprised. Otto was a decent, honourable man and she could tell that this incident had upset him deeply. She wanted to tell him not to leave the ward in such bad weather, but knew he felt honour bound towards his fellow men and couldn’t sit back and do nothing.
‘I’m glad he has you to look out for him,’ she said.
He stood and walked over to the boy’s bed, standing next to her chair. Then she felt his hand take hers. Celia looked up at him to see him checking that the ward door was still closed, before he lifted her hand to his lips. ‘One day we will be able to hold hands openly, schatz.’
‘Yes, we will.’ She sighed. ‘And that day can’t come soon enough for me.’
‘And for me.’