Rosie James - Front Line Nurse

‘Well, we can’t be liked by everyone in this world, can we, Angelina?’ the superintendent said cheerfully. ‘And make no mistake, you are dearly loved by all the rest of us.’ Now then—’ she looked down at the folder on her desk ‘—we shall naturally find you suitable accommodation after you leave here, and I am sure that it will not be difficult to find you work so this is what I want us to talk about. Do you have any particular wishes? You are a very competent girl in so many ways, dear – so, for example, I am certain you would be welcome to learn a trade in one of the hotels or guest houses. You might even like to learn more about cookery because you seem very happy in the kitchen helping Mrs Haines. Apart from washing up and keeping the place clean, she’s told me that you are quick at peeling vegetables and very good at rubbing up short crust pastry!’

‘Yes, I do like being in the kitchen,’ Angelina said. ‘Mrs Haines has taught me a lot.’

‘Or maybe you would like to think about office work,’ the superintendent went on. ‘Perhaps Mr Garfield knows of someone who could do with a young clerk.’ She glanced at Angelina quickly. ‘Of course, everyone has to start at the bottom and you will not earn very much at the beginning.’

‘I wouldn’t mind that, Miss Kingston,’ Angelina said.

‘Of course, there are still a few months to go yet, before we need take any action, but do any of my suggestions appeal to you, Angelina? Or do you have thoughts of your own?’

Angelina took a deep breath. ‘Miss Kingston, I know exactly what I am going to do with my life.’

The superintendent looked up, unsurprised at this. Angelina had had her feet very firmly on the ground from the moment she had taken her first steps.

‘Go on.’

‘I am going to train to be a nurse,’ Angelina said emphatically, and without stopping for breath she went on. ‘I have been thinking so much about it, and talking to Greta, and she’s told me that St Thomas’s have a nurses’ training school and that anyone can apply and I know I’m a bit young but next year I shall be going on fifteen and that’s how old they’ll take you and I know I can be a good nurse because I’ve helped in the medical room for a long time now, haven’t I? Nancy is a ward sister at the hospital now, and she could tell them about me and explain that I work hard and that the sight of blood doesn’t upset me – I know what to do with damaged knees and bumped heads – and I don’t mind cleaning up sick—’

Emma Kingston raised her hand and smiled. ‘Well then, I think we shall have to make some enquiries about this Angelina, and if you think it is really what you want.’

‘I know it’s what I want, Miss Kingston!’ Angelina said. ‘I’ve read all about Miss Florence Nightingale and what a wonderful woman she was and I can’t wait to learn everything and wear a nurse’s uniform and—’

‘You may have to wait a while, my dear,’ the superintendent said, ‘because you are still very young. But this is certainly something to be thinking about, isn’t it?’

Angelina looked away for a moment. ‘There is something that is worrying me, Miss Kingston,’ she said, ‘and it’s about Ruby. You see, she has no idea that I’ve got to leave next year and she’s going to be upset. Do you think she could leave at the same time and then we could go and live together? And I could go on looking after her, couldn’t I?’

The superintendent glanced at her folder again. ‘Well, we don’t know how old Ruby actually is,’ she said, ‘but we are fairly certain that you and she are about the same age. So I think that what you suggest could be possible, and I, personally, would be happy that you would be around to keep an eye on her. But of course, she would have to be prepared to support herself, and it may be difficult to find work for her. She is a very sensitive young girl.’

Angelina was overjoyed. She couldn’t bear to think of Ruby crying herself to sleep without their teddy bear to cuddle.

Emma Kingston stood up. ‘Well, you’ve certainly given me something to think about, Angelina, so we will leave this for the moment’

Angelina stood as well. ‘I feel really excited that you agree with my plan,’ she said. ‘Even though I am going to miss you all, miss everything when I go. Everyone has taught me things. I mean, people like Mrs Haines, and Nancy when she was here and now Greta – and Miss Jones who is so sweet and kind to all of us and very patient. She was the one who taught us cross stitch and do those patterned squares that we sewed up to make a blanket for the doll’s cot, and she helped Ruby to draw all the flowers that are in the nature books. Ruby loves flowers, knows the names of every one of them.’

‘Ah yes,’ Emma Kingston said. Maria Jones, one of Mrs Marshall’s ‘finds’, had been here for many years on and off, and was always ready to step in when needed.

Before they left the room, Angelina said sadly, ‘Once I do leave, I don’t suppose I shall ever see much of Mr Garfield again or Mr Alexander, either. He’s usually at college now, of course, but he’s always made me feel I was someone special. When I was small I was in love with him and used to pretend that I was Cinderella and he was my Prince Charming.’

The superintendent’s eyes softened. From the moment that Angelina had seen Randolph Garfield’s son it had been obvious that she was enchanted. Each time he’d come to the orphanage, the handsome young lad treated her with the sort of attentive and gallant behaviour typical of a well-bred male of the upper crust – even when he’d brought his pretty and vivacious girlfriend Honora Mason with him. It was enough to turn any girl’s head.

Emma Kingston pressed her lips together. She herself knew what it was to care deeply for someone who would never be within her reach.

As Angelina opened the door for Miss Kingston to go in front of her, she said, ‘Do you know, of all the orphans, it’s going to be the tiny ones I shall really miss – the 4- and 5-year-olds. I would like them all to come and live with me!’

‘Well, you may have tiny ones of your own one day, my dear,’ the superintendent said, ‘and I am sure you will be a wonderful mother.’

‘Oh, I am never going to get married,’ Angelina said firmly. ‘Not now. Not since I’ve decided to become a nurse.’

‘Well, try and be patient about that, my dear,’ Miss Kingston said. ‘You are still very young, and you might have to wait a while for your dream to come true. But whatever you do, Angelina, I have no doubt about one thing – you will always be the one right there in the front line.’

In his bedroom at the priory, Laurence Dunn rose slowly from his knees, crossed himself, murmured a silent prayer and yawned. It was barely daylight, and looked to be another cold, grey morning. Another day like yesterday, and the day before, and the day before that.

Sighing, he washed and shaved – taking great care not to nick his skin – then brushed his teeth, and got dressed, the ritual performed in exactly the same order every day. Because routine was the best thing. There was comfort in routine – as there was in doing one’s duty. And he was satisfied that he had certainly done his – no, was still doing his. He celebrated Mass twice every day at the priory, heard regular confessions, led the nuns in prayer, visited the sick and dying in the parish and had been a trustee at the orphanage for many years. It was he who made sure that every child who passed through the place during his time knew the Ten Commandments by heart, all the thou shall not do this or that, and those other things. Thanks to him, every orphan knew how to behave in life. That was something to take away with them, surely? And Laurence Dunn admitted that he thoroughly enjoyed being part of the orphanage, especially since it had become the Garfield.