Hope - Lesley Pearse [191]
‘He was one of the lucky ones,’ Hope said quietly, keeping her eyes down. ‘Not many pull through.’
‘She works too hard,’ Queenie interrupted. ‘Every day she’s there, early morning till late at night. That’s why Dr Meadows said she had to have a rest today. But if you asks me, the sooner we get going out of this place the better it will be for everyone. It ain’t an ’ealthy place.’
Glancing at Queenie’s animated face, Hope could see that she’d already got over the shock of her close shave in the woods. But just as Betsy always managed to use any incident to her advantage, Queenie did too. Even if it only meant getting a second glass of brandy, to her this was an opportunity.
The Captain chuckled at Queenie’s outburst, and Hope remembered then why she had liked him all those years ago. He hadn’t been stuffy then, he’d spoken to all the servants at Briargate as if they were his equals. She thought most officers, especially those in the cavalry, would be quick to silence someone like Queenie.
‘I think we should go now.’ Hope got to her feet. ‘Would you thank the men who helped us for me? I shudder to think what might have happened if they hadn’t come along when they did.’
‘No, you must wait for your husband,’ he said, getting up and nudging her back to her chair. ‘Haynes will be on his way back with him now. I know he won’t want his wife walking all that way after such an ordeal.’
Hope expected it would be an age before Bennett arrived. She asked for some water to wash the Turk’s blood from her hands, and tidied her hair, but she had only just sat down again with a cup of coffee when Bennett came bowling along with Trooper Haynes in a light trap.
The Captain had gone away, leaving the two women with his servant Mead, but as Bennett leapt down from the trap, his face a study of deep concern, Captain Pettigrew returned.
‘Mrs Meadows was very courageous,’ he said, introducing himself and shaking hands with Bennett. ‘I think the Turks underestimated Englishwomen. But I shall make certain they are punished. I don’t think they are soldiers, it’s more likely they are men from the town out on a thieving mission.’
‘I’m fine now,’ Hope said as Bennett felt her pulse and fussed round her. ‘It was Queenie who got the worst of it. But I’d like to go back now.’
Queenie insisted she’d never felt better, and her face brightened still further when the Captain asked Bennett if he’d like a glass of something.
‘I would normally,’ Bennett replied, glancing at Hope. ‘But I’ve had an exhausting day at the hospital, and I must get Hope back to our camp before it gets dark.’
‘Hope!’ the Captain said reflectively, looking at her quizzically. ‘Now, there’s a good name for a nurse! You didn’t tell me where you were from, Mrs Meadows. Do I detect a Somerset accent?’
‘You do indeed, sir,’ Bennett answered for her. ‘Thank you for taking care of the ladies, we must go now.’
The following morning Bennett was at the dilapidated town hospital checking to see what improvements had been made, when Captain Pettigrew rode up on his chestnut horse.
‘How are Mrs Meadows and her maid?’ he asked as he dismounted.
‘They both seem fine,’ Bennett said, flattered that a lordly Hussar had the good manners to come and check on her. ‘My wife was a little withdrawn last night, but that’s to be expected after such a shock. Has the man she stabbed received any medical care?’
‘As much as he deserves! Sadly it wasn’t a mortal wound,’ the Captain said with a broad grin. ‘I’m on my way to find someone in authority in the town. The general view is that he should be flogged within an inch of his life, but as he’s a civilian we’ll almost certainly have to hand him over.’
‘It’s a poor thing when a couple of women can’t leave the camp without being molested,’ Bennett said indignantly. ‘Thankfully they were unhurt. But I very much