Ruth persuaded the two jolly ladies serving behind the counter at the NAAFI to let her borrow a tray in order to carry the four mugs of tea.
‘Here you go then, miss, can’t say no to your handsome young man. Dreadful business up at the gunsite. Such a shame,’ the one with scarlet lipstick said as she put the mugs on the tray.
‘Yes, a tragic waste of a young life. Did you know that more people were killed by the blackout than by the Germans in the first year of the war?’ Ruth didn’t know why she’d told them this.
‘Blooming heck, I’m not surprised. Blooming dangerous creeping around in the dark, especially in the winter. I reckon them Germans are suffering just as much as us so it’s fair, ain’t it?’
Ruth wasn’t sure about that but nodded and smiled. ‘If you’ve got any buns, biscuits or cakes, that would be wonderful.’
‘Hang on a tick, I’ll find you something,’ the other lady said and vanished into the kitchen to return triumphantly with three iced fingers and a saucer full of broken biscuits.
‘Thank you, that’s so kind,’ Ruth said and put a handful of coppers, plus two threepenny bits, on the counter to cover the cost.
She almost tripped over the step as she walked in the medical centre and found the terrifying officer already there examining Sam’s ankle.
‘Excellent timing, Bombardier, I’m in need of a strong cup of tea,’ he said, with a charming smile. ‘I’ll understand if there isn’t one for me.’
‘I brought four, sir, just in case.’ Ruth couldn’t salute as she was holding the tray but nodded instead and he nodded back.
Sam looked pale but smiled at her. ‘Major Crossley thinks my ankle was fractured, not sprained, which is why it’s been so painful. I’ve made it worse by walking on it. I’ve got to go to Lincoln and have it X-rayed and plastered.’
‘The ambulance hasn’t left yet. If you don’t mind travelling with the remains then you could go with them. I’ll come too.’ Ruth looked at the officer and he nodded.
‘Good thinking. Nip out and make sure they don’t leave. The orderly can wheel your sergeant out to them when he’s drunk his tea.’
Ruth bribed the ambulance drivers with a shilling to get themselves a tea and then they were happy to hang about for a bit.
‘Knackering work getting that bloke out of the dugout. We could do with a cup of char, couldn’t we, Jimmy?’
‘Not half, ta, Corp. We’ll wait until your sarge’s ready. No rush. Our passenger ain’t going nowhere,’ Jimmy replied.
When she returned, the orderly had vanished with his tea, leaving, to her surprise, Sam and the major chatting as if they were old friends.
‘They’re having a drink and are happy to wait until you’re ready. Do you need to take anything with you? Will they keep you in?’ Ruth wasn’t going to spend the night on this battery site unless Sam was there too.
The officer answered from his chair where he was sitting perfectly relaxed. ‘It’s not a compound fracture, Bombardier, they won’t need to do anything but X-ray and plaster. A fair amount of hanging about, no doubt.’
‘I think I’ll go back to my base tonight, Sam, seems silly not to as I’ll be in Lincoln anyway.’
It was a bit awkward talking about personal things in front of a senior officer, but he seemed glued to his chair and didn’t seem to appreciate that they wanted to be alone.
Sam grinned. ‘I was going to suggest that you did that, love. I’m going to be on medical leave until the plaster comes off so will take my kitbag with me. I’ve sent someone to pack.’
The major was watching them both as if he knew something they didn’t. He was making her feel uncomfortable. With a small smile, he drained his tea and put it down.
‘I was waiting for you both to be here before speaking about this.’
He had their full attention now.
‘This Humfrey business is a tricky one. You breaking your ankle is perfect timing, Sergeant Johnson. I’m sending you home to convalesce and by the time you return, it should have blown over. We don’t want to lose a promising NCO like yourself.’
‘What about Arthur Humfrey?’ Ruth blurted out.
‘His card has been well and truly marked. He’s still going to Cairo, but I’ll be keeping a very close eye on him.’ He grinned at their surprise. ‘Yes, I’m being posted to the same place as him. That’s why I’ve been made aware of the issue. When the DI reported your information to the War Office, they were furious with you and with him.’
‘I was told by the DI that I was being posted to the Outer Hebrides,’ Sam said. ‘Humfrey said they all stick together and would ignore anything a lower-class bloke like me told them.’
‘Unfortunately, there are many of that ilk in that particular department. However, not all of them that work there are old Etonians and so on. Word filtered down and things were set in motion.’
Ruth guessed the major was also a spook and the perfect man to make sure Arthur didn’t become entangled in anything unsavoury because of his addiction.
‘Were you posted here to speak to Sam?’
‘Good God, not at all. Pure coincidence. I was marking time until I was needed elsewhere.’
‘I’m sorry if I’m being obtuse, sir, but how is Sam going to get from Lincoln hospital to St Albans, where his parents live, carrying his kitbag and using crutches?’
‘He’s a resourceful chap, I’m sure he’ll manage somehow.’
‘My RA battery is being posted as Binbrook is being emptied of planes until next spring. Would it be possible for me to have compassionate leave or something to escort my fiancé home? I’m not needed on my site and have no idea where we’ll be sent next. I’m intending to apply to attend an OCTU.’
The poor man was stunned by this barrage of words. He recovered and smiled. ‘I don’t see why not. I’d heard Binbrook was out of action. I’ll see what I can do. I’ll make a few telephone calls on your behalf.’
As soon as they were alone, she hugged Sam, who promptly pulled her onto his lap for a very enjoyable few minutes. Knowing they could be rejoined by their superior officer at any moment, she jumped off and beamed at him.
‘I can’t believe that this might actually work out for the best – it’s an ill wind that blows nobody any good.’ Ruth tried not to giggle and waited for his response.
‘Every cloud has a silver lining,’ he responded and waggled his eyebrows, which made her giggle even more.
‘I’m very much afraid, Sergeant Johnson, that we are now engaged. Do you wish to break it off?’
His eyes flashed. ‘I’d marry you tomorrow if I could. I love you, I knew it the moment I set eyes on you. Didn’t think there was any such thing as love at first sight – but I know it’s true.’
‘I love you too, this has happened so quickly my head’s spinning.’ She pulled a chair over so she could sit next to him. ‘It’s the middle of October now; do you expect to have your leg out of plaster by the end of November?’
‘I bloody well hope so. It’s going to be chaos here with no sergeants or an officer. I might be posted somewhere else when I’m fit, and I think that might be for the best after what’s happened.’
‘If I get sent for officer training, that takes longer than being made up to sergeant so maybe we can meet in London like last time.’
He nodded. ‘As you’re accompanying me to St Albans,’ he delved into his pocket and produced a notebook and the nub of a pencil, ‘I’ll write down my address just in case we get separated or something.’
‘I can’t see why that would happen, but you’re right, better to be safe than sorry.’
He chuckled and scribbled the information on a page and tore it out. ‘Here you are, love. A stitch in time saves nine.’
‘This is becoming silly. We must stop using these sayings or people will think we’re daft.’
‘I think it’s a laugh.’ He smiled in way that sent a wave of unexpected heat to a very strange place. ‘I’ll be able to introduce you to my parents. Now we’re engaged…’
‘You haven’t actually asked me and I haven’t given you my answer.’
‘Will you marry me, Ruth?’
Her laughter echoed around the chilly medical room and the orderly poked his head around the door to see what was going on. He took one look at the pair of them and hastily retreated.
‘Sam, that was the most unromantic proposal I’ve ever heard,’ she said.
It was his turn to laugh. ‘Good God, how many times has someone proposed to you? Are you a serial fiancée?’
Ruth was about to answer but Major Crossley strolled in and joined in the merriment.
‘Good news all round. Congratulations on your engagement.’ He remained standing, so Ruth got to her feet.
‘You will report to the barracks in Regent’s Park for OT three days from now, Bombardier Cox. Sergeant Johnson, you have six weeks’ medical leave, and your new posting will be sent to your home address.’
‘Thank you, sir, for arranging this for us. I think I’d better get a move on. It will be full dark soon.’
Ruth wasn’t looking forward to travelling with a corpse but had no choice. She wheeled Sam to the waiting ambulance and the men lifted him inside.
‘On the bench, Sarge, with your foot elevated. We’ll strap you in,’ one of the drivers said cheerfully.
This was accomplished without him yelping but it was a close thing as the pain was worse than before. He was worried the ankle might be more damaged than either medic thought. He’d find out soon enough so no need to mention it to Ruth.
The door slammed behind them.
‘It’s only a few miles to the hospital, love, hold my hand and don’t think about who we’re in here with.’
Sam ignored the throbbing of his broken ankle, the silent shrouded shape on the other side of the ambulance and just concentrated on the woman he was going to marry one day. She snuggled up to him and he put his arm around her.
‘Have you worked out how we’re going to get from the hospital to the station in the blackout?’ Ruth whispered to him.
‘You don’t have to whisper, Tiny doesn’t care,’ he whispered back and she giggled, which was his intention. He raised his voice. ‘To be honest, I don’t think we’ve got the slightest chance of catching a train to London today. We can either find an empty waiting room at the hospital or go to the station and hope there’s one there.’
‘I was just thinking about the mechanics of you travelling on a bus with crutches and your leg in plaster and me with my haversack, respirator, tin hat and your kitbag.’ She wasn’t whispering but was still speaking so quietly he almost missed what she said.
‘Okay – we’ve got to make a decision first about where we’re going to spend the night then we can discuss how we’re getting from A to B.’
‘At the hospital, it’s likely to be warmer and cleaner than the station.’
‘In which case we don’t have to worry about anything else until tomorrow morning. When do you want to get married?’ His abrupt change of subject was deliberate. She wasn’t fazed and replied immediately.
‘Next summer if we can coincide our leave. Neither of us know where we’ll be or what we’ll be doing then but it’s good to have something to look forward to.’
‘I think as an officer you might have more say in where you’re posted. If you ask for London then at least I’ll be able to get to you from wherever I might be.’
‘I’ll do that. Shall we try and get time off together close to Christmas or the New Year?’ She hesitated and then squeezed his hand as if she was about to give him bad news and his stomach dropped.
‘There’s something I’ve not told you and you might be upset when I do. I’ve got £3,000 in a trust fund, the interest comes to me each quarter. I can access the full amount on marriage or when I’m twenty-one.’
‘That’s amazing. Why did you think I’d be upset to discover I’m marrying a wealthy woman?’
‘Hardly that, but it does mean we can buy ourselves a house…’
‘Not bloody likely, we’ll buy a bit of land and my dad and I will build a house for us.’
Her teeth flashed white in the darkness and she sighed loudly. ‘How spiffing, as my friend Grace would say, having a house that nobody else has ever lived in. I grew up in ancient buildings and have never lived in a new house. I can’t wait.’
They were chatting away in the gloom with as much enthusiasm as if they were sitting in a cafe rather than next to a dead body.
The ambulance rocked to a halt and it was a relief to have the doors open even though they could see bugger all in the dark as no lights were allowed in the blackout.
‘Hang on, Sarge, we’ll just deliver the body and then get a wheelchair and take you in,’ someone said, but Sam couldn’t tell which one of the drivers it was.
‘I’ll get out, give you more room to manoeuvre,’ Ruth said and slid off the narrow bench he was strapped into.
* * *
Sam’s eyes had adjusted to the darkness and he could just make out the two men and then the shape of Tiny as he was gently removed from the ambulance. He expected Ruth to jump back in but she didn’t. He wasn’t sure how long it took to take a body to the morgue but he reckoned it would be half an hour at least.
‘I found a wheelchair, Sam, if I bring it right to the doors do you think you could somehow get into it with my help?’ Ruth said from outside the open ambulance door.
‘I’ll give it a go, if I can lean on your shoulder whilst I hang onto the door frame, I think I’ll be able to do it without putting my foot down.’
He completed the transfer successfully but the pain left him speechless for a few moments.
‘I’ll wheel you around to the accident department, Sam, it’s a bit creepy standing around outside the morgue.’
‘You’ll have to take it slowly, love, as I’ve got to hold my foot in the air.’
‘No, you haven’t. This is a wheelchair specially for broken legs and it’s got a thingy I can pull out for you to rest your leg on. I couldn’t do it until you were safely in the chair.’
She fiddled around under his thigh and despite his discomfort it made his pulse race having her so close.
‘There, if we lift your leg this support will slip underneath, at least I hope it will.’
It did and immediately the pain lessened. ‘I’m impressed, love, you’re going to make a bloody marvellous officer,’ he said and grabbed her hand and kissed the knuckles.
‘I wish you’d not swear so much, Sam, I’m not used to it.’
He chuckled. ‘Then you must be deaf as all soldiers swear and most of them a lot worse than me.’
There were no steps or slopes to negotiate and with him holding a torch in each hand and pointing it ahead of them, they found the entrance to the hospital that the ambulance men used to bring in patients.
‘There you are, Sergeant Johnson, we were beginning to think you’d changed your mind,’ a white-coated doctor with horn-rimmed spectacles and grey hair said with a smile.
‘Sorry to have kept you waiting, Doctor, but I’m here now.’
* * *
The surgeon decided after examining the X-ray that his ankle would recover with just a plaster cast.
‘I’m the bearer of good news, Sergeant, a few weeks and you’ll be fighting fit. I’m not needed so will leave this to a junior doctor to do.’
‘That’s excellent news. It’s going to be too late to find accommodation for tonight. Is there a room somewhere my fiancée and I can wait until morning?’
‘I’m sure there is and I’ll mention it to Matron. Goodnight, young man.’
Ruth was allowed to wait with him whilst a junior medic was located to plaster the ankle. ‘The matron is going to sort out a place we can stay for the night.’
‘That’s good news. A nice student nurse is making us a cup of tea and will bring it to us. Isn’t that kind?’
‘Certainly is. I’ve been thinking, love, that it can’t have been a coincidence that Crossley just happened to be the medic on duty at my battery.’
‘I asked him, but he said it was a coincidence – but you’re right. I’m sure he was posted there, temporarily, in order to speak to you specifically about Humfrey, even though he denied it. Just luck that you actually needed his medical expertise.’
‘I know it’s convenient for me to be out of action and so on but it’s a bloody nuisance. I’d rather be posted to Scotland than this.’
‘I’m glad you won’t be sent away. Actually, I think you should think about suing the girl who injured you. She should be made to pay financially even if she’s got away with the legal side.’
‘I’m not sure I want to upset that girl’s posh family any further,’ Sam said.
‘Remember you won’t be in the vicinity if you start legal proceedings. I know a solicitor costs a lot of money, but I’ll willingly pay the fees and you can refund me when you win your damages.’
Sam wasn’t keen on borrowing money from Ruth but she seemed so set on getting him compensation for his accident that reluctantly he agreed.
‘If I write a letter saying that you’re acting on my behalf, do you think that will be enough? I really don’t want to get involved, it’s not my sort of thing but if you feel so strongly about it then I’d be happy for you to give it a go.’