Tilly and Deirdre finished making their patient comfortable and were on their way to take their tea break when Sister Harrison called them over to the empty bed they had made up previously.
‘What do you call this?’ Sister Harrison said, tugging the under sheet.
Tilly blushed and Deirdre glanced at her with an ‘I told you so’ look.
‘Did you not listen to any of your training?’ Sister continued. ‘The comfort of our patients is paramount. They are suffering enough without having to put up with a badly made bed.’
‘Sorry, Sister, it won’t happen again,’ Deirdre replied.
‘I’m sure it won’t, Nurse Miles, especially after you have emptied all the bedpans and then thoroughly cleaned the sluice room. Off you go now, both of you.’
‘But, Sister, we were just off to tea,’ Tilly protested.
‘And now you’re not,’ Sister replied. ‘Not until you’ve finished the sluice room.’
‘Actually, that side of the bed was Tilly’s, not mine,’ Deirdre piped up.
‘It makes no difference, Nurse Miles. Being a nurse involves teamwork. Any joint task is the responsibility of both of you. Now that’s the end of the matter.’
Sister walked away from them and they made their way to the sluice room.
‘I told you that you should have paid more attention,’ Deirdre said.
‘I told you so is not making it any easier, Deirdre. Look, I’m sorry, all right. I’ll do the sluice room by myself. You go off and have tea.’
‘And run the risk of another dressing-down, no fear,’ Deirdre replied. ‘Just remember that you got us into this. If I’m paired with you again, you better have your mind on the job. I’m not getting into trouble for your lack of concentration. I intend to pass all my assessments and I don’t want you dragging me down.’
The punishment duty was carried out by the two of them with very little further communication. Tilly didn’t mind that; she’d had enough of working with Miss Perfectionist Miles.
When Tilly got back to the nurses’ home later that day, Fliss took no time in commenting on Tilly’s appearance.
‘You look as if you’ve lost a pound and found a penny,’ Fliss said. ‘Bad day?’
‘You could say that,’ Tilly replied. ‘I’ve been on gynae for long enough. Sister Harrison is a harridan and my partner is a highbrow snitch with no sense of humour. We got sluice-cleaning duties today and she blamed it all on me. I don’t know what she’s got against me, but she seems to do everything she can to make working with her difficult. The thing is that she’s not that good a nurse — she’s always relying on me to make decisions when we’re partnered together. I’ve got her out of a sticky situation more than once.’
‘Sounds like there’s a bit of jealousy going on there. What’s her name? I’ll look out for her on the duties list,’ Fliss said.
‘Deirdre Miles,’ Tilly replied. ‘Not that you could avoid her. The duty list is like Sister Harrison, immoveable.’
‘Useful to know, though,’ Fliss said. ‘Now, cheer up. Let’s not dwell on the more tedious side of nursing like awkward nurses, bumptious senior staff and whingeing patients. Let’s get out and spend some of our hard- earned money. It’s Saturday night, and we deserve some relaxation and fun. There must be something going on in Ryde on a Saturday night. All we have to do is find it.’
‘I don’t know anything about the night life in Ryde. If we were in Whippingham, we could go to the village hall. There’s always something going on there on a Saturday night. I was never allowed to go, though — my sister said I was too young,’ Tilly complained.
‘Well, your sister’s not here now, so you’re free to choose what you do. Unfortunately, at this time of year, the Pavilion is closed. I know. How about a fancy cocktail at the Hunter’s Den. There will probably be a trio there on a Saturday night. Or at the very least, a pianist. Come on, let’s get on our glad rags and hit the town.’
Tilly wasn’t sure about cocktails. It all sounded like an expensive night out to her but once Fliss got an idea into her head there was no stopping her, so the Hunter’s Den it was.
Chapter 4
The Hunter’s Den was an exclusive bar in the Royal Castle Hotel. Tilly had never been to such a place before. Her older sister, Dot, had once described how she’d spent time in such places when she was about Tilly’s age, working as a companion to an old lady holidaying in Eastbourne. She’d said that they were the sort of places that the idle rich spent time in, overpriced and out of reach for ordinary people. Nevertheless, Tilly was excited and intrigued to be entering one.
Fliss strolled in as if she were totally at home. Tilly gasped as the room opened up before her. It was like entering a fluffy white cloud. Everything was in shades of cream with gold trimmings. The bar was spacious with a scattering of Lloyd Loom easy chairs, placed around circular tables. There were huge palms around the edges of the room, reaching up towards the ceiling, and a pianist sat at a baby grand piano, playing some non-intrusive jazz music that suffused the air with an elite atmosphere. An ambience that, to Tilly, smelled of money. The women were all dressed in up-to-the-minute fashions, some of them wearing elbow-length gloves and waving cigarette holders in a seductive manner. Everything about them said ‘look at me’. The men wore tuxedos and some sported neat moustaches.
Tilly felt somewhat underdressed, but Fliss showed no signs of any such discomfort and walked up to the maître d’ in a swathe of confidence.
‘A table for two,’ she said.
‘Are you requiring dinner this evening, ladies, or just drinks?’ the maître d’ enquired.
