Hope - Lesley Pearse [231]
Everyone he spoke to was appalled; many said they’d never understood why she’d been moved away from the reception ward where she was so valuable. Dr Anderson said he would look into the matter and showed deep concern for Hope. To his great disappointment Bennett couldn’t find Truscott; it seemed he’d ridden over to the French base camp the day before, and it was not known when he would return.
But by then Robbie had spread the story of how Hope had dragged him to safety under fire, and been wounded herself. As Bennett left the hospital that day, he had the supreme satisfaction of seeing Mr Russell, the war correspondent for The Times, at Robbie’s bedside. He was listening intently to Robbie’s story, which Bennett had no doubt would include Hope’s merits as a nurse, and how she came to be up at the trenches that day.
It was a very hot night in early May when Bennett’s suspicions were finally aroused that Hope was holding something back from him. There had been heavy fire from the French trenches all night, and Bennett woke to find her sitting at the open door gazing out into the darkness.
He joined her at the door, and in silence they watched the sky lighting up with cannonfire for some time.
‘You would think that with so much firing Sebastopol would be razed to the ground by now. Will we ever be able to go home?’ Hope said suddenly, and her words sounded so bleak.
‘We ought to have made the assault on the town as was planned,’ Bennett said, putting his arm around her. ‘But Lord Raglan seems to have bowed to the wishes of the French, and I suppose as they have so many more men than us, maybe that’s wise.’
‘I don’t care what it’s all about,’ she said brokenly. ‘Too many have died, and for what? Will the outcome of this war do anything for anyone?’
Bennett couldn’t answer that. At the back of his mind was the spectre of the streets of Portsmouth, Plymouth and other ports all full of limbless men begging. It would be the same in Moscow, Paris and Constantinople. Hope was right, what good was it doing anyone?
He looked at her and saw she was crying, and it struck him to the heart because she was so beautiful, even in tears. Her dark hair was tumbling on to bare shoulders, for she wore only a flimsy white petticoat, but as one hand wiped the tears away, the other rested on her stomach, almost protectively, and he sawfor the first time that it was no longer flat.
He had been glad when he’d noticed she’d gained some weight while they were apart, for that meant she had been getting enough to eat. It had never occurred to him there might be another reason.
Bennett knew all the theory about pregnancy, but in practice his personal experience merely encompassed the end result, when the baby came into the world. And usually a doctor was only called when there were complications.
Immediately he wanted to round on Hope and ask why she hadn’t told him, but somehowher dejected stance gave him that answer. She didn’t want to be sent home without him, but neither did she want to stay here in this cruel madness.
He did what his heart told him to do. He stood up, then reached down, picked her up bodily and carried her to the narrowcamp-bed. Then he made love to her.
Bennett hadn’t attempted this since she’d come up to the camp, however much he’d wanted her, for her arm was sore and she’d seemed so tired. Nowhe put all thoughts of his own desire to one side and thought only of giving her pleasure, and their baby inside her.
Kneeling beside her, he kissed her again and again, delicately pulling her petticoat down to expose her breasts, which he saw and felt were much fuller and heavier. As he kissed and suckled at them she began to respond and slowly he drew the petticoat from her until she was naked.
Stroking and kissing every inch of her, from her feet right up to her neck, delighting in the scent and silkiness of her skin, he lingered on her belly, licking