As they crept around the main building towards the nurses’ home, Tilly had a horrible thought. They would be locked out — the doors closed for the night at half past ten and they were way past that.
Fliss, of course, had it all worked out. She had told the other nurses to leave the front door unlocked. What she hadn’t planned on was Sister Muriel Wilkins coming off extra duty and collecting her bicycle from the rack outside the nurses’ home.
She didn’t say anything when she first saw them, but Fliss started apologising to cover their tracks. It had no effect at all.
‘Report to Matron first thing in the morning,’ she said. ‘I will inform her that you are coming to explain your reasons for being out without a special pass. Though I doubt that any explanation would satisfy her. No amount of wheedling is going to get you out of this. Now whatever clandestine arrangements you’ve made with your fellow nurses to get back inside, you’d better get on with them. And clean yourself up, Nurse Truscott.’
Tilly was not looking forward to her dressing-down by Matron, but it had been fun. Fliss knew how to enjoy herself and Tilly had to admit it was worth the risk of getting caught.
Chapter 5
It was several weeks into Ronnie’s apprenticeship at Saunders-Roe when, at the end of the working day, Ronnie shut down his machine, collected his coat from the locker room and headed towards the door and the outside world. A warm, early autumn evening greeted him and he felt the gentle touch of the late rays of the sun on his face. He strode through the yard and whistled to himself because things were going well. He was learning everything from the grass roots up. Those were the words of his mentor, Mr Farthing. Earlier that week he had been shown how to operate one of the riveting tools and had assisted in the metal construction of the frame of a seaplane. This was a part of his training that he was really enjoying. He was in a very good mood and decided rather than head straight home, he would take a walk along the quay.
It was a fine evening and the lowering sun on the horizon gave the water a silver sheen. The clatter of the shipyards, so prevalent at the height of the day, was dying down, and the seagulls raised their cries to screaming pitch as they greeted the fishing trawlers coming home with their catch. Ronnie inhaled the sea air. He felt the sting of the salt breeze on his lips and paused to look out across the bay. The Solent was busy with ships and smaller craft, and his eye was immediately drawn towards a huge ocean liner. It was theAquitania— he recognised her instantly. She was on her voyage out of Southampton to New York. Cars were parked along the quayside and people were standing in groups talking excitedly. A man with binoculars had the undivided attention of his friends as he described what he could see, the number of lifeboats and the people parading along the deck. Ronnie paused and watched the liner glide across his field of vision, seemingly soundless butcharged with enormous force. She was like a beautiful swan, wings lifted, powering through the water.
He was absorbed in watching this masterpiece of engineering when he heard a commotion at the edge of the quay. He looked towards the group of people gathered together, peering into the water, and heard several voices raising the alarm. As the shouts and calls for help reached his ears, he realised that something was terribly wrong. He ran towards the group and, as he got closer, saw a very distressed young woman surrounded by people who seemed to be in a state of panic. They were pointing down at the water. One man was trying to climb down an iron ladder and another ran off in the direction of a moored vessel, shouting and trying to get the attention of the crew on deck.
Ronnie heard the words ‘child’ and ‘can’t swim’. He peered over the edge and saw a tiny body bobbing in the water, disappearing and reappearing. He wasted no time, threw off his jacket and shoes, and immediately jumped off the side of the quay. As he hit the water, the impact nearly winded him and a surge of silence filled his ears. He kicked to the surface and drew a gasping breath, searching the water around him. The hull of a boat towered above him and shadowy figures pointed to his left. As his eyes dispelled the water blocking his vision, he saw what they were pointing at and he struck out with all his might towards the struggling child.
The water was lapping fiercely against the wall and the force of the flow was pushing Ronnie against it. He felt the razor-sharp barnacled surface scrape one of his hands and pushed himself away and closer to the child who was, miraculously, managing to keep his head above water. As he neared the floundering figure, he grabbed one of the child’s arms and pulled him towards him, frantically treading water to keep afloat. The child had a blank look upon his face, as if every nerve in his bodyhad frozen in fear and he was incapable of any expression. He held the child close and told him he was safe. The boy was white with cold and his lips were turning blue.
Ronnie could see the metal ladder rising above his head and one man calling to him, but he couldn’t hear anything that he was saying. Eventually the man pointed to something behind them and Ronnie turned until he could see the direction of the man’s gaze. A rowing boat was heading towards them. Ronnie was so relieved that he let out a sound. It should have been a shout, but he was so weak from battling the sea currents and supporting the weight of the boy that it was hardly more than a gasp.
The vessel drew parallel with them and Ronnie struggled to raise the dead weight of the boy high enough for the two men to heave him to safety. When they finally managed to get him inside the rolling boat, Ronnie lay back for a moment to regain his strength. It only took that moment. A sudden surge from a passing ship thrust him against the quayside wall and he struck his head. The world went away and his body floated in the wash. He never felt the abrasions caused by the grinding of his skin against the wall.
The next time he was aware of being alive was when his eyes flickered open and the white ceiling of a hospital room floated above him. The sounds of voices and the movement of someone beside him alerted him to the fact that he was no longer in the grasp of the cold sea but in a warm hospital bed. As he began to focus more clearly, he could see a white cap on top of a dark brown fringe and a pair of blue eyes that matched her uniform.
‘Ah, you’re finally with us,’ the nurse said.
‘Where am I?’ Ronnie asked.
‘You’re in Longford Hospital,’ the nurse replied. ‘You’ve caused us quite a few problems, Mr Locock.’
Ronnie looked at her, confused. How did she know his name?
As if she read his mind, the nurse added, ‘You came around briefly while you were in the ambulance. The crew asked your name, you replied “Ronnie Locock”, then you passed out again.’
‘How long have I been out?’ Ronnie asked.
‘A good few hours. Now, let me get you some water and then I’ll make you more comfortable. The doctor will come and check you out soon. He starts his rounds in about half an hour,’ she replied.
Chapter 6
Ronnie lay back on his pillows. The last thing he could remember was being overcome by a huge force of water. What was he doing in the sea? Slowly a series of confused images came back to him. Two hooded black eyes staring at him, a pair of arms reaching, a bearded face, someone talking to him, the slap of water against wood. A few hours, the nurse had said. How long was a few? Dot and Amelia would be worried.
The nurse came back with his water and called another nurse to help her raise him up so that he could drink it. He put a hand to his head and could feel a bandage.
‘Ouch, I feel as if someone’s hit me over the head with a crowbar.’ He winced.
‘Yes, you’ve got quite a gash there. You’ve had several stitches,’ the first nurse said, helping him drink. ‘Just little sips.’
‘How can I get a message to my family?’ Ronnie asked. ‘They’ll wonder what has happened to me.’
‘We can soon solve that,’ the nurse replied. ‘Nurse Mason, bring a pen and some paper, would you, please? We’ll take your full name and address, and get a message to them. You’ll be with us for at least another day or two. The ambulance men said that you’d been pulled unconscious from the water. Hit your head on the harbour wall. The young woman who came with you in the ambulance said her son would have drowned without your quick action.’
‘Young woman?’
‘Yes, the boy’s mother. The boy is fine. Some water inhalation, but after a thorough check over he’s been discharged. She said to tell you how grateful she is and she’ll be back to thank you personally tomorrow.’
