Danuta felt like crying too, but it was more from relief that the delivery had gone without a hitch than an emotional reaction to the baby. She watched Kitty cradling her tiny daughter as Cordelia and Peggy shed tears and cooed at the same time. It had been quite a morning, but as there was still no sign of a midwife or doctor, her work wasn’t over yet.
‘Mamma Peggy, would you please bath the baby whilst I see to Kitty? And Babunia Cordy, could you bring some newspaper and make a fresh pot of tea?’
She waited until they’d left the room and then looked down at the exhausted Kitty. ‘I will remove the artificial leg first, then you will be more comfortable as you deliver the afterbirth.’ She saw the startled look on her face. ‘It will not hurt,’ she assured her quickly.
Minutes later, Danuta checked that the afterbirth was whole, and wrapped it in the newspaper. She stripped away the dirty towels, washed Kitty as well as she could using a small towel as a flannel, and then used Doris’s brush to untangle her hair. Plumping the pillows and drawing a blanket over her, she watched Kitty rest back with a weary smile and knew she would soon be asleep.
‘I don’t know how to begin to thank you,’ Kitty said. ‘I’m sorry I made such a fuss, but everything happened so fast, and I was in a panic.’
‘You were very calm considering,’ soothed Danuta. ‘I have heard much worse from other women.’
‘It was you who was calm,’ said Kitty solemnly, ‘and that made me feel better. I dread to think how I’d’ve coped if you hadn’t been here.’
‘Between you and Mamma Peggy you would have managed,’ she replied, patting her hand. ‘You have a beautiful, healthy daughter; that is all that matters now.’ She turned as Peggy came into the room, the baby swaddled in a clean towel, its tuft of dark hair brushed into a sweet coxcomb. ‘I will leave you to enjoy her,’ she murmured, heading for the door armed with dirty towels and the bowl of water.
‘I’m calling her Faith Danuta Makepeace,’ said Kitty, ‘and when she’s old enough I will tell her all about you, and how wonderful you were.’
Danuta blinked back tears, suddenly overcome by all that had happened. ‘Thank you, Kitty. That is a great honour,’ she managed before quietly closing the door behind her.
‘It’s brought it all back, hasn’t it?’ asked a sharp-eyed Cordelia as Danuta entered the kitchen. She put her arms around her and drew her close. ‘There, there, dear.’
‘I’m not crying for my Katarzyna – she is with me always – but these tears are because I am so relieved nothing went wrong.’ She drew back from the embrace. ‘You see, I was so frightened of that, Babunia. Kitty went into labour very fast, and it can be most dangerous to both mother and baby.’
‘Then you cry away, Danuta,’ Cordelia said with a loving smile and a soft pat on the cheek. ‘Kitty and the baby are safe and well, and you’ve proved you’re wasting your talents by hanging about here instead of going back to nursing.’
Danuta wasn’t at all sure about that. She’d found the entire episode nerve-wracking to say the least, and the thought of being plunged straight back into the hectic routine of a busy hospital was a step too far.
The silence in the kitchen was broken by Rita and Fran rushing up the steps. ‘Sarah’s keeping the children out for lunch at the Lilac Tearooms,’ said Fran. ‘How’s Kitty?’
‘She’s had a beautiful daughter,’ said Cordelia proudly. ‘And Danuta managed it all wonderfully well.’
‘That was quick,’ breathed Fran. ‘Were there any complications?’
Danuta shook her head. ‘We are waiting for the doctor to come to check her, but as far as I can see they are both doing very well.’
Fran cocked her head as she heard the demanding wail of a newly born. ‘It certainly sounds like it,’ she said, shooting her a grin. ‘Well done, Danuta. You see, I told you, you are ready to go back to nursing.’
‘Maybe,’ Danuta hedged. ‘And it would be good if you could put something on Kitty’s stump. She walked too far today and it looks very sore.’
‘Can we go in and see them?’ asked Rita excitedly.
‘For a little while. Kitty is very tired and needs to sleep.’
Danuta remained in the kitchen as they headed for the bedroom with the fresh pot of tea. She needed a moment to settle down after all the excitement, and the sight of that dark coxcomb of hair had almost been her undoing, for, despite her protestation to the contrary, it had reminded her too much of her own baby.
Peggy was in her element. Kitty had given tiny Faith her first feed and then fallen asleep, leaving Peggy to cuddle the drowsy baby. She looked up as Rita and Fran came into the room with Cordelia and put her finger to her lips. ‘They’re both sleeping,’ she whispered.
The girls crowded in to see the baby, their faces soft with awe as she grimaced and stretched, her rosebud mouth moving at the memory of her first feed.
‘Do you want to hold her?’ Peggy asked.
‘No fear,’ whispered Rita. ‘I’d be terrified of dropping her.’
Fran had no such fears and expertly took the baby from Peggy’s arms just as someone knocked on the front door.
‘I’ll get it,’ called Danuta, and after a short conversation, brought in Doctor Sayer.
The elderly medic beamed at them all before quickly examining Faith and then shooing them out of the room with instructions to call an ambulance.
‘There isn’t anything wrong, is there?’ asked Peggy sharply.
‘No, my dear. ‘But young Kitty here needs to be in hospital after delivering so quickly so we can keep an eye on her and protect her from any infection.’
Peggy telephoned the hospital and then went to join the others in the kitchen, where Fran assured her it was common practice to take newly delivered mothers in when the birth had been swift.
Doctor Sayer entered the kitchen a few minutes later and dumped his medical bag on the table. Accepting a cup of tea from Peggy, he took a slurp and then regarded them all with a beaming smile before he turned to Danuta.
‘I understand from Kitty that you’re a trained nurse?’ At her hesitant nod, he continued, ‘Where did you learn, and how long has it been since you’ve practised?’
Danuta hid her damaged fingers in her dress pocket. ‘I trained in Warsaw, and worked in the main hospital there until I came to England,’ she said cautiously.
He drained his teacup. ‘Well, it seems you haven’t forgotten how to deliver a baby. Was that your speciality?’
Danuta shook her head, uncertain where these questions were leading. ‘I was theatre nurse.’
His bushy white eyebrows shot up. ‘Were you now? So why aren’t you working as such when the hospitals are crying out for nurses?’
Danuta fidgeted, all too aware of being the centre of attention. ‘I was injured in bomb attack in London and have only just been released from the Memorial.’
He regarded her thoughtfully. ‘You certainly look as if you need a few square meals and a dose of sunshine – but the Memorial wouldn’t have discharged you if you weren’t fully recovered.’ He brushed a finger over his moustache. ‘Do you have any paperwork from your time in Poland to show your qualification?’
‘Everything was destroyed when the Germans came,’ she said flatly.
‘That’s a great shame,’ he muttered. ‘I could have done with another district nurse and midwife. Poor Mrs Higgins can barely manage now, and when the men start coming home she’ll be snowed under.’
Danuta felt a spark of hope that extinguished the previous doubts. ‘I could perhaps get a letter from my employer in London to confirm my qualifications,’ she suggested carefully.
‘And who was that?’
‘A military hospital for injured servicemen.’ She bit her lip. ‘But it may take some time to receive a reply. They are very busy.’
Doctor Sayer stroked his beard. ‘If you can get that letter, come to my surgery and we’ll talk some more,’ he said. ‘I can’t offer you work in theatre, but you’d be a godsend out in the district.’ He smiled at her. ‘If you decide to accept my offer, I’ll lend you my textbooks so you can brush up on midwifery, and Mrs Higgins will bring you up to date should you need it.’
Danuta experienced a sudden rush of nervous hope. ‘I will write to them tonight.’
Peggy didn’t quite know how she’d manage that as the London hospital was purely fictional, but she set that minor difficulty aside as the ambulance arrived. With little fuss, Kitty and Faith were carried out on a stretcher. Doctor Sayer climbed into his car to follow them, and with calls of good luck and promises to visit as soon as possible, they all stood on the front step to watch her being driven away.
‘Right,’ said Peggy. ‘We’d better get Doris’s room sorted before she gets back. The last thing we need today is ructions.’
‘We’ll do it,’ said Fran and Rita in unison. ‘Go and sit in the garden,’ ordered Fran. ‘You’ve done enough today.’
Peggy looked at her watch. She had another hour before she was supposed to be at the Red Cross centre – and that reminded her, she’d yet to tell Charlotte about baby Faith, and Kitty would need the layette taken into the hospital. She lit a cigarette, then dialled the number for Briar Cottage.
Having made sure Charlotte was all right and was fully informed about Kitty’s baby and the heroic part Danuta had played in her arrival, Peggy consoled her over her news about Freddy, and agreed that he was better off there than taking to the skies over Europe. She ended the call and went to find Danuta.
She found her sitting at her dressing table, and softly closed the door behind her before settling on the edge of the bed. ‘You did very well today, dear,’ she began, ‘and I’m delighted old Doctor Sayer was so impressed that he offered you a job. But we both know you weren’t nursing in London, so how can you possibly obtain references?’
Danuta met her gaze in the dressing-table mirror. ‘There is someone who will write it for me,’ she said. She turned and reached for Peggy’s hands. ‘No more questions, please. I cannot answer them.’
Peggy slowly nodded. ‘I understand,’ she murmured. ‘But are you sure it isn’t too soon for you to take on such a responsibility? Mrs Higgins has to work very hard with such a large community to cover now.’
‘Then it will be good to help ease her work. But I have a lot of catching up to do before then. My midwifery course was long ago, and it’s very important I don’t make mistakes.’
‘Doctor Sayer will lend you the textbooks, and I’m sure Fran will test you on things. She’s very good like that, and is keen for you to go back to nursing.’ Peggy grinned. ‘She remembers you working with the first-aiders and ambulance crews, and knows that when you set your mind to something, you see it through.’
Danuta grinned back. ‘It is a new day and a new start, Mamma Peggy, and I will do my very best to make you proud of me.’
Peggy’s soft heart melted and she embraced her. ‘Oh, Danuta, I’m already so proud of you. You don’t have to prove anything to me.’