The District Nurses of Victory Walk

She’d missed the first introductions, although it wasn’t hard to see that the other man was related to the first. He wasn’t as strikingly good-looking and his hair was darker, but he had similar features. His expression was pleasant but warier. Alice had the clear impression that he wouldn’t have invited a party of strange women to join his family group on the slight pretext of sharing a bottle opener, but he seemed friendly enough. Then the woman turned around properly and she realised she knew her.

‘It’s Nurse Lake, isn’t it?’ said the young woman, kneeling up and placing her baby on the ground in front of her, where there was a pale yellow knitted blanket. ‘Alice?’

‘Mattie! How nice to see you,’ said Alice, swiftly recognising her first patient’s friend. ‘Is this your baby? Isn’t she a little beauty?’

‘Yes, this is Gillian,’ said Mattie, beaming with pride. ‘And these are my brothers, Harry and Joe. Looks as if you’ve already met Harry.’ She pulled an affectionate face. ‘This is the nurse I told you about a few weeks ago, the one who came to see to Brian after you gave him your cold, Harry.’

Harry stuck out his hand. ‘Pleased to meet you. Mattie told us all about you. Are you all nurses, then?’

‘We are,’ said Edith. ‘So you can believe us when we say that it’s very important not to get too thirsty on a hot day.’

‘And is shandy an acceptable medicine?’ asked Harry, eyes bright with mischief.

‘It is.’ Edith nodded seriously.

Alice turned back to Mattie. ‘And how is little Brian now? I haven’t heard from Mrs Berry again, so I assumed he was better, but you never know.’

Mattie shifted a little so that Alice could sit down beside her. ‘He’s much better. They almost came with us today but then Kathleen had to go to see her mother about something or other. She said he had a bit of a temperature for a few days after you saw him and some sniffles, but it didn’t last long. He’ll be all right.’

‘Good.’ Alice was relieved. ‘And your friend? Kathleen? How is she? It must be so tiring, looking after a baby on her own, especially when he’s sick.’

Mattie pursed her mouth. ‘Well, she’s as right as can be expected when her husband’s buggered off and left her with hardly a penny. He thinks she can live off air alone. No wonder she’s so thin. My mother feeds her up as much as she can, but Kath’s got her pride.’ She suddenly came to a halt. ‘Sorry, you probably don’t want to know that sort of thing.’

Alice shook her head. ‘Don’t worry, she told me something of the sort when I was there, and I could see she was underweight, and so was Brian.’

Joe sat up and looked at his sister. ‘Mattie, I don’t think you should say things like that about your friend. She’s not here to defend herself.’

Alice leant back a little at the tone of his voice, but Mattie wasn’t deterred.

‘You weren’t there to see how upset Kathleen was, Joe. She was much better by the time you got home, and Brian was on the mend because Nurse Alice was kind to him. I’m only saying what anyone can see for themselves.’

Joe’s frown deepened. ‘It’s her business though, Mattie. You wouldn’t like it if anyone talked about you behind your back or said things about Gillian.’

‘I should hope not!’ Mattie tugged at her collar to loosen it. ‘It’s not the same, is it? Lennie gives me plenty to live on and Gillian is healthy as a horse.’

‘Really, I don’t want to upset anyone,’ said Alice hurriedly, feeling caught in the middle.

‘That’s enough, now, Mattie,’ Joe said, though he looked directly at Alice who felt the weight of his disapproval. ‘I’m sure Kathleen wouldn’t thank any of us for airing her dirty laundry in public.’

So that’s what he thought, Alice realised, that she went around gossiping about her patients. ‘I can assure you …’ she began, but he looked away.

‘I’m sure you acted for the best,’ he said, and then moved so that he was on the other side of the group, leaving Harry, Mary and Edith in the middle, mixing their shandies.

Alice felt a warm anger flushing her cheeks but was determined to hide it. Who did Joe Banham think he was, accusing her of something like that?

‘Want one?’ Mary asked Alice.

Alice almost had to grit her teeth. ‘No, that lemonade was enough, thanks.’

‘Mattie, how about you?’ Mary offered.

Mattie shook her head ruefully. ‘I’d better not. I’m feeding Gillian and some folks say it don’t do her any good.’

Trying to shake off her annoyance, Alice nodded in approval. She’d come across plenty of mothers who thought nothing of having a drink while feeding their babies, but she agreed that it wasn’t good for them.

‘Then I’ll take you back, Mattie,’ said Joe, getting to his feet. ‘Those buses will be getting crowded now these crowds are thinning out. You might as well come back with me and let Harry and his new friends get on with it.’

Mattie pulled a face but agreed. ‘I wouldn’t mind staying a bit longer, but I can always do with a hand, what with the pram and everything.’ She nodded towards where a big silver pram was parked under a neighbouring tree. ‘Bye then, Alice. Thanks again for looking after Kathleen like that. We won’t forget it.’

‘Only doing my job,’ smiled Alice, but she felt slightly resentful that Joe could just end the conversation so abruptly – and sounding so self-righteous, too. Who did he think he was, to pass judgement like that? She could feel herself blushing at the injustice of it but she held her tongue. She didn’t really know these people, after all. It wasn’t her place to cause trouble, and she’d probably never see him again anyway.

Mattie and Joe set off towards the pram and Alice pulled herself closer to the others, accepting a top-up of lemonade and a piece of fruitcake. She wasn’t going to let the incident ruin what had been a lovely afternoon. Poor Mattie to have such a killjoy of an older brother.

Joe Banham fumed silently as he stood on the lower floor of the crowded bus, having made sure Mattie got a seat and the pram was safely on board. It wasn’t just the press of people, or the heat, or the fact that some of their fellow passengers had clearly had more than a single mug of shandy while out enjoying themselves that afternoon. He was used to all that. No, it was the way that nurse had looked at him. It had made him uncomfortable and he didn’t know why.

He’d been surprised that the nurse Mattie had spoken so highly of had turned out to be so willing to listen to gossip. He had thought someone in such a profession would be above that sort of thing. Didn’t they have standards, a code of conduct or suchlike? Should he report her? No, he was being stupid, it wasn’t as bad as that – and yet, he’d reacted to her expression and the few things she’d said in a way that disturbed him. He could tell that she disapproved of him as well. Mattie had said she wasn’t hoity-toity like some of them but he wasn’t so sure. She probably thought she was above him and his family. Plenty of nurses came from good backgrounds and Alice Lake had probably been raised to have the best of everything; a far cry from growing up on Jeeves Street. Well, he was having none of it. He’d worked extremely hard to get his scholarship and had passed his exams at the technical college with flying colours. He was second to none and he wouldn’t stand for some toffee-nosed nurse looking down at him. She had no right. Just because she had a smattering of new freckles on her nose and bright blue eyes, she probably thought she could get around anybody. Well, it wasn’t going to work with him.

He brought himself up short. He hadn’t realised he’d noticed those details about her – they’d only been sitting together for a matter of minutes when it came down to it. It was silly to get worked up about such a small incident on what had up till then been a fine day out. Mattie often found it difficult to get anywhere beyond walking distance if it meant manoeuvring the pram onto public transport and he’d been pleased to help his sister. The trip had been worth it for that alone. He was damned if he would let thoughts of that blonde nurse ruin the occasion.

CHAPTER SIX (#ulink_73170582-a33f-5331-bf04-0044cdcf2fe8)

July 1939

‘A word, Alice, if I may.’ Fiona Dewar popped her head out of her office doorway just as Alice was walking by. Alice wondered how she did it – was it just luck, did she already recognise her footsteps, or was the superintendent even smarter than they thought? Alice quickly racked her brains for anything she might have done wrong over the past few weeks. Surely she wasn’t going to be blamed for helping Edith and Mary defy the curfew? That was all over and done with.

‘Nothing to worry about,’ Fiona Dewar said, catching the change of expression on the young nurse’s face. ‘I have something I wish to speak to you about, that’s all. Take a seat, do.’ She herself sat down behind her desk, quickly restacking a pile of papers out of habit.

Alice did as she was asked, her mind racing. She touched her Queen’s Nurse badge at her throat, as she often did when anxious.

‘Well, now.’ Fiona sat back in her chair. ‘We have been approached by a local primary school – St Benedict’s, maybe you know it? Just on the other side of Kingsland High Street. You’ll have cycled past it, I’m sure.’

Alice frowned and then nodded. ‘Yes, I know the one. A big brick building, not far from the market.’

Fiona beamed. ‘Got it in one. It’s just opposite the entrance to Ridley Road but along a bit. If you haven’t done so already, you’ll most likely be treating some patients who attend there.’

Alice nodded again. ‘I don’t think I’ve done so yet.’ Then she stopped. ‘No, wait, I have treated the younger brother of one of the pupils there. From one of those really crowded terraces behind the High Street. I went there last week.’

The house had been almost falling down around their ears. Alice had had to strain her eyes to work out who was human and what was furniture, the light was so dim in the front room, despite the sunshine outside. The referral had come from Dr Beasley, often called Beastly Beasley by some of the nurses behind his back, as he didn’t seem to possess an ounce of compassion. Mary could do a horribly realistic impersonation of him. Alice wasn’t surprised that he had failed to warn her of the depths of this family’s situation. It was the most dire she had yet come across.

The patient was hardly more than a baby but already he was showing signs of rickets. Alice had struggled to know what to say to start with. The little boy was sweating, restless, and when she gently touched his limbs he recoiled as if it caused him pain.

‘He always does that, Nurse,’ said the mother, as she tried to restrain a slightly older child – a girl, Alice thought, but in the murk it was tricky to tell. ‘He wouldn’t crawl nor nothing. His dad says he’s just lazy.’

Alice hadn’t been able to prevent her eyebrows from rising. ‘I’m not sure that’s right,’ she said as steadily as she could. ‘It could be a symptom of rickets. Do you know what that is?’

‘Oh, that.’ The mother paused. ‘Yes, me granddad’s sister had it, made her short as anything. I hope that isn’t what Frankie’s got, poor little mite.’ She turned to shoo away the girl. ‘What can we do for him, Nurse? It’s horrible to see those what’s got the bandy legs. The other kids won’t half take the mick. I don’t want that.’

Alice had sighed. The textbook answer would be: keep him outside in the sunlight as much as possible, without putting weight on his legs. There was as much chance of that as teaching him to fly, as there was scarcely room to swing a cat between the rows of the terrace, and the back yard stank from the privy shared between all the houses. Then she should suggest improving the child’s vitamin intake with bone soups, fresh pasteurised milk and green vegetables, especially spinach. That was unlikely to happen either.