Hope - Lesley Pearse [196]
‘Don’t worry about me,’ Hope said quickly. ‘I expect I’ll be taken to wherever the base camp will be, and I’m sure they’ll have a hospital set up by the time you get there.’
The following morning Bennett stood by the ship’s rail watching as the French disembarked from their ships with customary efficiency. A group of them were already raising their flag in the sand. When their ships had moved on, the English would go ashore too.
Calamita Bay was a long sweep of coast with a narrow sandy beach, and a large lake beyond. Fine rain was falling, so visibility was poor, but Bennett believed Sebastopol to be some twenty-five to thirty miles further down the coast. It looked a Godforsaken place, just windswept scrubby grass for miles. He wondered idly how long he’d have to wait to see his first Russian. He supposed that in their grey uniforms they’d be quite hard to spot.
His thoughts turned to Hope. She had stayed in the cabin to mend a shirt with a ripped seam. He hadn’t the heart to tell her that he couldn’t take a change of clothing, it would only worry her.
He had been blessed in finding her. He couldn’t think of even one other man who had a wife to equal her. She was brave, adaptable and uncomplaining, all the virtues an army wife needed. But there was so much more to her than that; she was funny, passionate, kind, fiery when pushed too far, and so beautiful too. Those dark smouldering eyes, full lips and smooth flawless skin had captivated him right from the start; he didn’t think he’d ever tire of looking at her.
It was a new experience to be envied by other men. He could almost hear them thinking, ‘Howdid he manage to get a woman like her?’ At school and at university he’d mostly been ridiculed by his peers. He wasn’t handsome, not good at games or riding, he studied too hard, and he had never managed to acquire sophistication or a way with the ladies. Somewhat fortunately, an army surgeon wasn’t expected to have these singular talents, but it felt rather good to see other men supposing he had them because of Hope.
She was exceptional: her natural poise, charm and nursing skills had won her respect from even the biggest snobs among the officer class. Yet her real beauty lay in that she was unaware of her own worth. She didn’t have any idea that half the regiment called into the hospital at Varna with trivial complaints, wanting only to bask in her attention for a minute or two.
Bennett smiled to himself remembering how she had clambered up into the top bunk with him before daybreak today without a stitch of clothing on. At least that memory would keep him going for a few days!
It was late afternoon before Bennett disembarked from the ship, one of the last to leave. He stood on the beach, waving and blowing kisses to Hope as the ship sailed away.
All day he’d forced himself to pretend enthusiasm for the march, making jokes about how bored he’d been on the ship and that he needed some exercise. But in reality his heart was in his boots. And now she was gone it was going to be so hard to pretend to be confident and optimistic.
It was still raining, many of the men were suffering from diarrhoea, and Bennett didn’t think any of them were fit enough for a long march.
An hour later, when all the ships were just specks on the horizon, it was discovered the tents hadn’t been unloaded. The lake had turned out to be salt water too, and there was no fresh water anywhere.
Then the fine rain became a fearful storm, and because the men had been made to leave their packs on board, they had nothing but their greatcoats and a blanket to cover themselves with.
There was no shelter anywhere. The men huddled together miserably in torrential rain, unable to sleep because they were so wet and cold.
Bennett was relieved when dawn came, for it had been the most miserable night of his life. It defied belief that something as basic as shelter had been forgotten. He thought the officers responsible should be court-martialled.
The sun came up as they began the march, quickly drying out the men’s clothes, but there was still