In Love and War (34 page)

Elsie shook her head. ‘No, thank you, Gerda. I'm fine.'

‘Goodnight, miss.'

‘Goodnight, Gerda.'

The door closed again, leaving Elsie sitting in a pool of lamplight. The shadows in the room deepened but her thoughts were miles away. Perhaps she might be allowed to return to Paris and the rue Saint-Roch? It might be worth putting out some feelers when she returned to work next day. There must be something she could do that would satisfy her need to be proactive and useful. The Mead women, she thought wryly, were not used to sitting back and doing nothing. Ma was a soldier's wife and she would have urged her on. Elsie rose slowly to her feet and went to her room.

She went to work next day determined to make changes. There had been a woman driving the bus that took her from Cromwell Road to Whitehall, and a woman conductress had taken her fare and issued her with a ticket. The Red Cross and St John Ambulance had posted advertisements everywhere, calling for young women to join the Voluntary Aid Detachment as nurses, cooks, clerks, laundresses and motor drivers, but Elsie knew that this involved months of training or qualifications that she did not possess. She had not had the opportunity to learn to drive like Marianne, and she was not a trained nurse, nor was she a typist and she would not know where to begin in a laundry room.

She sat at her desk, toying with the idea of applying for a job in the munitions factory at Woolwich, but she did not want to make weapons that would destroy lives, even if the bombs and shells were aimed at the enemy. She chewed the end of her pencil, frowning at the print on the document in front of her, until eventually she received a sharp reprimand from her supervisor for daydreaming. It was not much of a dream, she thought, focusing her eyes on the page. She just wanted to do something useful, and above all she wanted to return to France. The meeting with Jens and Yannick had made her think even more of Valentine and Hendrick and their heroic efforts to save lives. She wanted to be worthy of them, but she was at a loss as to how to set about it.

At lunchtime she was in the crowded canteen, toying with a bread roll and staring into a bowl of brown Windsor soup, when she saw Edith Lomax approaching her table. ‘It's Miss Mead, isn't it?'

Elsie half rose from her seat. ‘Yes, Miss Lomax.'

‘Do you mind if I join you? The canteen seems rather busy today.'

‘Please do.' Elsie shifted her chair a little to the right, and Edith took the seat next to her.

‘How are you getting on now that you're back in London?'

Elsie stared at her in surprise. ‘It's all right, Miss Lomax.'

‘You're surprised that I have such information at my fingertips,' Edith said, smiling. ‘I've had good reports about you, and it's my job to know everything. I understand how you feel now.'

‘You do?'

‘I was young once, and like you I thought I could change the world, or at least do something to make a difference. I imagine that being deskbound is no substitute for the involvement you experienced previously.'

‘I was grateful to be given my old job,' Elsie said tactfully.

‘But it's not enough.' Edith tasted her soup and pulled a face. ‘Dishwater. I know food is scarce but this is a travesty.' She pushed her plate away and broke her roll into small pieces which she buttered carefully. ‘You'd like your old job back in Paris?'

‘Oh, I would,' Elsie said earnestly.

‘But I'm afraid that's not possible. It would be too dangerous for you and for Marianne to send you to Paris.'

‘She's not in trouble, is she?'

‘Far from it, but I can't allow you to return there. However, I might be able to arrange for you to have an interview with a friend of mine. You've heard of the FANYs, no doubt.'

‘The First Aid Nursing Yeomanry? Yes, of course, but I'm not a nurse.'

‘Can you drive a motor car or ride a horse?'

‘I'm afraid not.'

Edith eyed her thoughtfully. ‘But you're bilingual, that might help, and no doubt you could learn to handle a motor vehicle, given the right training.'

‘Are you suggesting that I learn to drive so that I can join the FANYs?'

‘Exactly.' Edith pushed her plate away. ‘I think I might try the cottage pie, although it will be more potato than anything.'

‘Do you think there's a chance I might be able to get this qualification?'

‘It could be arranged. I hate to see a promising young woman held back by something that could so easily be remedied.' Edith Lomax rose gracefully to her feet. ‘Leave it with me, Elsie. I have contacts and I might be able to help. You're no use to me if your heart isn't in your work.' She strolled off to join the queue at the counter, leaving Elsie staring after her.

It all happened so quickly. After a brief interview, which she thought she had failed miserably, Elsie received a letter telling her that she had been accepted as a probationer in the First Aid Nursing Yeomanry, and given instructions to attend a Royal Army Medical Corps camp in Surrey for her initial training. But first she had to purchase her uniform from Gamage's store in Holborn. This took all the money she had managed to save from her wages, but she did not begrudge a penny of it.

She arrived at the camp in Surrey on a blustery morning in late January. The sentry studied her papers and directed her to an office where she found three other new recruits, all looking as apprehensive as she was feeling. To her astonishment one of the girls leapt to her feet and embraced her. ‘Elsie! I can't believe it's you.'

‘Rosemary?' Elsie stared at her in disbelief. ‘Have you joined up too?'

‘I'll say I have. Isn't that a scream? You and I – back together again after all this time.' She turned to the other two girls. ‘This is my old friend, Elsie Mead, can you believe it? We shared a room at the beginning of the war.'

‘Who would have thought it?' The elder of the two girls stood up, proffering her hand to Elsie. ‘How do you do? I'm Angela Braithwaite.'

Elsie shook her hand. ‘Elsie Mead. I'm pleased to meet you, Angela.'

Angela dragged the other girl to her feet. ‘And this shrinking violet is Daisy Coleman. Say hello, Daisy.'

Daisy shook her off with a mild protest. ‘Really, Angela, I can speak for myself.' She shook Elsie's hand. ‘How do you do, Elsie? I think we must all be a bit crazy to be here in the first place, but welcome anyway.'

Slightly dazed, Elsie allowed them to usher her to a seat. ‘I can't believe you've signed up too, Rosemary.'

‘I was tired of working in the Baker Street office, and I wanted to do something a bit more exciting. I'd heard of the FANYs, of course, but I thought they were all stuck-up toffs.' She shot an apologetic smile in Angela's direction. ‘Sorry, no offence meant.'

‘None taken, darling,' Angela said carelessly. ‘I'd have joined up sooner but for the stupid rule that one had to be twenty-three. Twenty-one I could understand, but I don't think that being two years older makes any of us wiser or more competent.'

‘Don't get on your high horse,' Daisy said, laughing. ‘You'll get used to Angie, girls. She flies off the handle and gets very militant, but she's a jolly good sort really.'

‘We were at school together,' Angela added, as if this explained everything. ‘Cheltenham Ladies' College.'

‘Really?' Elsie looked from one to the other, not wanting to admit that she had no idea whether that was a good or a bad thing.

Rosemary slipped her arm around Elsie's shoulders. ‘So what have you been doing since I last saw you?'

‘I've had an office job,' Elsie said vaguely. ‘Nothing very exciting.'

‘I can't wait to start training,' Angela said enthusiastically. ‘And then hopefully we'll be sent on active duty.'

‘It's four months' probation, don't forget.' Daisy sat down with a sigh. ‘I'm afraid the war will be over before we can do anything really useful.'

Angela opened her mouth as if to argue but she closed it again when a military man burst into the room. He snapped to attention, glaring at each of them in turn. ‘Good morning, ladies. I'm Sergeant Pepper and I'm going to be your chief instructor for the next two weeks. Just think of me as God and you won't go wrong. Don't think this is going to be a picnic on the Downs. You are going to work harder than you've ever worked before. Now who among you can drive a motor vehicle?'

Elsie and Rosemary shook their heads but Angela leapt to her feet. ‘I can, sergeant, and so can my friend Daisy. I've raced at Brooklands.'

Sergeant Pepper gave her a steady look. ‘I don't think that's going to be much help when you're driving a field ambulance in the Flanders mud, miss.' He clapped his hands together. ‘Leave your luggage here, ladies, and come with me. We'll start right away.'

That evening, seated round a camp fire outside their tent, Elsie's hands were shaking with fatigue as she sipped her tea. Every bone in her body ached and her head was spinning from the information that she had tried to absorb during the day. Rosemary was groaning softly as she tried to make herself comfortable on the frozen turf, but Angela seemed oblivious to the cold and the torments of the flesh as she recounted stories of her exploits at mountaineering in the Scottish highlands, and captaining the hockey team at Cheltenham. Daisy sat back with her eyes closed and allowed it all to wash over her.

‘I can't see why we have to have riding lessons,' Rosemary complained, rubbing the small of her back. ‘We're not going to be riding horses at the front.'

‘I suppose we might have to,' Elsie said reasonably. ‘I mean, there might still be horse-drawn ambulances and carts over there. We don't know what we're going to face.'

‘Everyone should know how to ride.' Angela took a packet of cigarettes from her jacket pocket and offered them round. ‘What? None of you smoke? I bet you will after you've been at the sharp end for a month or two.' She struck a match and lit her cigarette. ‘I can't wait to see action, although I'm not keen on the blood and guts business. I'm not a nurse, as I told Sergeant Pepper, and I'm not a cook. I doubt if we'll use half the things they're trying to teach us.'

‘It's bandaging tomorrow,' Daisy said with an impish smile. ‘You'll probably make your patient look like an Egyptian mummy.'

‘I never pretended to be good with my hands.' Angela tossed her head and pins flew in all directions as her long red hair escaped from the confines of a chignon. ‘Blasted hair,' she said angrily. ‘I wish now I'd had it bobbed like yours, Elsie.'

Rosemary ran her fingers through her soft brown hair and smiled. ‘Elsie's a whizz with a pair of scissors. She cut my hair ages ago and I've kept it short ever since. It's so much easier.'

Daisy leaned forward, opening her eyes wide. ‘Will you cut mine for me, Elsie? I love Irene Castle's bob, but Mummy made such a fuss when I suggested that I might copy it. She can't see me now, so there's nothing she can do about it.'

Elsie shrugged her shoulders. ‘If you two have some sharp scissors and a comb, then I'm willing to give it a go, although I'm a bit out of practice.'

‘You do yours though.' Rosemary reached out to tweak a lock of Elsie's hair. ‘It always looks as though you've been to a professional coiffeuse.'

Daisy delved into her handbag and pulled out a pair of scissors and a comb. ‘Do it, please, Elsie.'

‘Me next,' Angela said eagerly.

Elsie had just finished cutting both heads of hair when Sergeant Pepper strode over to them. ‘Lights out in ten minutes, ladies. You're in the army for the next two weeks so you have to obey the rules. Douse the fire and leave everything as you would wish to find it in the morning. You'll be up at six and there'll be a drill before breakfast. You'll need to be fit before you can go on active duty and it's my job to see that you are, and that means each one of you, Miss Coleman. No excuses.'

‘Blooming cheek,' Daisy muttered as he walked away. ‘Why does he always pick on me?'

‘Because he can see what a lazy little thing you really are,' Angela said, chuckling. ‘Not much escapes Sergeant Pepper's beady eye.'

‘Heaven help us.' Elsie scrambled to her feet. She passed the comb and scissors to Daisy. ‘I'm not sure about the drilling, but I'm looking forward to learning to drive. It can't be that difficult.'

‘No, no, no.' Sergeant Pepper slapped his hands on the dashboard of the military truck. ‘Take your foot off the clutch slowly, Miss Mead. This is a motor vehicle not a bunny rabbit. It's meant to glide into action, not jump like a kangaroo.'

‘Sorry, Sarge.' Elsie tried again, this time with more success. She had mastered the art of bandaging and passed the tests in first aid with flying colours. Her cooking skills were exemplary, once she had got used to cooking on a paraffin stove or over a camp fire, which pleased her greatly as this was one thing she did better than Angela, who seemed to excel in everything. Rosemary and Daisy struggled when it came to using a firearm, but Elsie discovered she had a good eye and when she conquered her initial nervousness about handling a gun she managed to hit the target most of the time. Angela, of course, was a crack shot, having grown up on a country estate that hosted shooting parties. Daisy never quite understood that she had to keep both eyes open when aiming, while Rosemary was so nervous that her hand shook uncontrollably and she rarely hit the target. Elsie loved horses and took to riding easily, and Daisy excelled when it came to horsemanship. Rosemary was afraid of horses, but she showed promise when it came to changing a tyre and the general maintenance of a motor vehicle. Somehow all four of them managed to complete their two weeks' initial training, and on the last day they waited eagerly to learn if they had achieved Sergeant Pepper's exacting standard.