‘You need to win Finn back, too.’
I shook my head. ‘I think that ship has sailed, Val.’
‘Absolutely not,’ she said. ‘He likes you a lot. Any fool can see that.’
‘He does,’ Joyce agreed.
I laughed. ‘I’m not sure.’
‘I’m right,’ Val said. ‘You’ll see.’
Chapter 37
Elsie
1941
Jackson stood a little way in front of me, his eyes glittering with triumph. He looked taller somehow. More straight-backed. Defiant.
I wanted to walk away, but somehow my feet wouldn’t move. I looked over at the other nurses but they were still preparing the beds for the new arrivals. How had so much changed in my life in such a short space of time?
Jackson gave me a small, wolfish smile. ‘Shall we go and have a chat?’
I took a deep breath. ‘I have to wait for the buses.’
‘I think this is more important, don’t you?’
His complete lack of empathy made my fear recede and replace it with annoyance. ‘No, I don’t,’ I said. ‘People need my help.’
‘Help like how you helped Nelly?’ He looked past me into Nelly’s room and I found myself shifting slightly, hoping to block his view, even though he was taller than I was.
‘Nelly’s sleeping.’
‘Is she?’ He smiled that wolfish smile again. ‘Shall we get one of the nurses to go and check?’
I felt sweat bead on my forehead.
‘I have to go.’ I made to walk past him and he reached out and took my arm.
‘Come with me,’ he said in a low voice.
‘Jackson, I don’t know what you think you saw, but I promise you …’ I trailed off as he showed me he was holding the book.
‘Where did you get that?’
‘The good thing about being a porter is you can go anywhere in the hospital and no one asks why,’ he said. His tone was triumphant. ‘I took it from your bag in the staffroom.’
‘Jackson …’ I cursed my stupidity in leaving the book with its incriminating messages where he could get it.
‘I wondered why you kept sending the book to the Red Cross hut,’ he said. ‘But now I know. I read the messages you’d written at the back. They were sweet. Touching.’ He put his face close to mine. ‘Shocking.’
‘I didn’t write any messages,’ I lied. Again I glanced over at the other nurses but they were all busy and not even looking in my direction. ‘That wasn’t me.’ My protests sounded weak and unconvincing to my own ears.
‘Come on,’ Jackson said. He gave me a little nudge in the small of my back and obediently I started walking.
‘Where are we going?’ I said over my shoulder.
‘Basement.’
