"Oh, I'd love to and thank you for asking me. When will that be?"

"About the end of August. Good, I'm so glad. Now do you want to do any shopping? I'll have little Duert this afternoon and you can go into town. Corvinus can take you and drop you off by the shops, and do take a taxi back."

So Rose got into the blue dress again and was driven to the main shopping centre and after Corvinus had begged her to be careful and to be sure and get a taxi back, she set off; Noordeinde and Hoogstraat and Lange Voerhout, she explored them all thoroughly, the money she had had no chance to spend burning a hole in her pocket. Finally she found what she wanted; a soft pink crepe dress, very simply cut with a lower neckline than she had ever had before, long sleeves and a calf-length swirling skirt. It was rather more than she had expected to pay but she was feeling reckless and it would do very nicely for the hospital ball next winter. Very satisfied with herself she found six Delft blue coffee cups for her aunt and a silk scarf patterned all over with little Dutch figures for Maggie, and by then it was time to find a taxi and go back to the ter Brandts.

She felt sad on her last day as she packed her case; she had been happy and she had made friends who would remain her friends, not just disappear after a few months. Even if she never saw them after the promised holiday she would know that they were there. As for Mr. Werdmer ter Sane, she wouldn't see him again, something which didn't matter at all, she told herself. The feeling of something lost must be because she was sorry to be leaving Holland.

; She put little Duert to bed as usual on her last evening, had her usual amicable exchange with Nanny and went to dress. The pink was just as pretty in her own room as it had been in the shop. She pinned up her hair, did her face with care, and then went downstairs. The ter Brandts were in the drawing-room in all the elegance of black tie and silvery chiffon and pearls.

"Oh, very nice," observed Christina, 'pink suits you and such a pretty dress--where did you get it? "

They swept her along between them and got into the car and somehow between them made her feel confident that she didn't look so bad after all.

They went to the Royal in Woorhout, long established, fashionable and very, very expensive. It was almost full and they had a table in the window with a splendid view of the restaurant around them. Rose, drinking the dry sherry the doctor suggested, looked around her. It was an elegant place and being a Sat.u.r.day evening there would be dancing; hence the black ties and well-dressed women, she supposed.

She ate her way happily through spinach tart lets chicken a la King, an enormous confection of ice cream, chocolate and whipped cream, and drank the champagne in her gla.s.s. The evening, as far as she was concerned, was nothing short of heaven, with the three of them skimming over any number of subjects in a light-hearted manner. They were drinking their coffee when she glanced across the restaurant and saw Mr. Werdmer ter Sane sitting at a table quite close by. There was a girl with him; a beautiful girl with dark hair curling around her shoulders, wearing a red dress with one sleeve and the other shoulder bare. She was laughing a lot but Mr. Werdmer ter Sane wasn't: he was smiling certainly but he looked, even at that distance, tired and withdrawn. He looked up and saw Rose and stared at her, unsmiling, so that she went very pink. The doctor, happening to glance at her, saw the look on her face and followed her gaze. His own remained impa.s.sive as he lifted a hand in greeting. Christina had seen him too by now.

"Sybren's here," she declared, 'with that Mies girl. " She caught her husband's eye and went on brightly, " This place is full tonight, isn't it? It's lovely at Christmas time. Rose, and at New Year, everyone wears their very best dress and we dance for hours. Do you go to many dances in London? "

Rose was forced to answer her; she had got her blush under control and said in her quiet way, "Well, not many--the hospital ball of course, but you see, I'd need a partner..."

The doctor steered the talk away from the pitfalls ahead.

"Well, will you get a few days leave?" he asked kindly.

"I did mention to Miss Timms that you hadn't had anything like the off-duty you're ent.i.tled to..." He led the conversation back to trivialities and presently when they got up to go called a casual greeting to his friend as they pa.s.sed their table. Christina greeted him too ^although she didn't stop and Rose summoned a stiff little smile, puzzling as to why she should feel so shaken at the sight of Mr. Werdmer ter Sane; after all they had bidden each other goodbye; it was a pity he hadn't been able to finish what he had been saying when he was called away. And he had looked at her so strangely across the restaurant, as though he was annoyed to see her again.

Perhaps he was, she reflected soberly, after all, he had never really liked her as a person even while he had conceded that she was a good nurse.

In the car she said wistfully, "What a beautiful girl that was..."

"With Sybren--very beautiful." Christina's voice was dry: "She's to be seen in all the best places..."

Saying goodbye the next day was difficult; Rose kissed little Duert's chubby cheek, kissed Christina, was kissed by Dr. ter Brandt, bade farewell to Nanny and Sally and got into the car with Corvinus. She felt as though she were leaving some of herself behind, although she told herself robustly that it was no more than an episode which in a few months would be forgotten.

Going through the gate to the plane she told herself that she would start forgetting now, only it wasn't as easy as that; Mr. Werdmer ter Sane's face, with that look of annoyance, superimposed itself on her more prosaic thoughts about Miss Timms, St. Bride's and the likelihood of holidays.

She had chosen to take a morning flight; she reached St. Bride's just as first dinner was over so that several of her friends were crowded into the staff nurses' sitting-room, drinking tea. They fell upon her with gratifying pleasure, plying her with strong tea and a flurry of questions: there was no time to answer them all; they rushed back on duty and she was left to unpack, get her uniform ready for the next morning and then go down to the office to report to Miss Timms.

She was surprised to find that lady unusually gracious.

"You have done well. Staff Nurse," she was told.

"Both Dr. ter Brandt and Mr. Werdmer ter Sane have spoken highly of you, indeed Mr. Werdmer ter Sane has written to Mr. Cresswell in glowing terms and has asked me if I will allow you to make up the off-duty you have had to give up while you were in Holland. I think I can see my way to allowing you four days' leave. Staff Nurse. If you will go and see Sister c.u.mmins and tell her that you will be back on Thursday at one o'clock, there is no reason why you should not be free as from now."

So Rose flew back to her room, packed a bag once more, phoned her aunt and dashed out to catch a bus to the station. She caught a train to Daventry with minutes to spare and spent the hour-long journey thinking of the things she would do in the next four days.

She was in time to catch the late afternoon bus to Ashby St. Ledgers.

It was packed and she knew most of the pa.s.sengers by sight so that they chatted and the short journey pa.s.sed quickly. The bus was a local one and the driver obligingly stopped ^whenever anyone wanted to alight, so that progress through the village was slow. They pa.s.sed the church and the Coach and Horses and the Gate House where the Gunpowder Plot had been hatched, and finally drew to a halt on the corner of a narrow lane. Aunt Millicent's cottage, standing aslant to the village street, looked peaceful and picture-book pretty, its thatched roof in perfect order, its stone walls whitewashed. Rose bade the driver goodbye, picked up her case and went the few yards down the lane to the gate. The path to the cottage was brick with not a weed in sight, and bordered by a lavender hedge along its entire length. There was a wide stretch of gra.s.s to one side of the cottage leading to the kitchen garden at the back and Rose had no doubt that the beans and peas and potatoes were growing in an orderly manner; they wouldn't dare to do otherwise under Aunt Millicent's eye.

She was suddenly happy and ran up the path to the door and pushed it wide open.

"I'm here, Aunt Millicent--Maggie..."

Both ladies came into the narrow hall to welcome her, each in her own fashion.

"Nice to see you," said her aunt.

"You look tired, my dear, I'm glad they let you come home..."

Rose hugged her, it was nice to hear Aunt Millicent say that; she felt a sudden urge to burst into tears, luckily prevented by Maggie's urgent, "Now you sit down this minute, the pair of you. I'll bring a nice tray of tea and you can sit for half an hour. Worn to the socket you must be-- all very well that man praising you to the skies, a lot of good that does if a body's worn to a thread."

She bustled away to the kitchen and Rose asked, "What man? And do I look so awful?"

"Tired--I said so," observed Miss Curtis.

"Mister Werdmer ter Sane wrote to me--he seemed very impressed with your work; said you'd been invaluable and regretted the loss of your free time. I had a charming letter from Mevrouw ter Brandt too." She smiled as they sat down opposite each other in the low-ceilinged room.

"You've earned your holiday. Rose."

Maggie came in with the tea then and since she was almost one of the family, she fetched a cup for herself and listened while Rose told them the more interesting bits about her stay in Amsterdam and The Hague.

Presently she went away, albeit reluctantly, to see about supper and Rose sat back in the shabby armchair that was so comfortable, nicely filled with tea and several slices of Maggie's lardy cake.

"Were you homesick?" asked her aunt.

"No I didn't have time for that and by the time I did everyone was so nice that I felt almost at home. The ter Brandts were so kind..."

"And Mr. Werdmer ter Sane?"

"Kind?" She thought about it.

"Well, yes in a way. You see, I was the nurse there to do as he asked; I don't really think that he thought of me as a person, if you see what I mean."

"Married?" Aunt Millicent's voice was casual.

"No, but he's got a girl friend, I don't know if they are engaged yet--she'd been away but she came back to Amsterdam while I was there, she's like a fashion-plate--very, very pretty and not a hair out of place and when I saw her she was wearing a way-out dress--everyone was looking at her."

Aunt Millicent gave a snort.

"What does she do for a living?"

"Do? Oh Aunt Millicent, girls like her don't work. I expect she has loads of money, anyway."

"There's no accounting for tastes," observed Miss Curtis, a remark which might have meant anything.

The weather was heavenly; Rose in a rather faded cotton dress which had luckily been found in a cupboard in her bedroom, gardened under her aunt's stern guidance, helped around the house, and strolled through the lanes and fields round the village. Days had never gone so fast, the idea of St. Bride's and the narrow busy streets round the hospital filled her with a longing to stay where she was, but at least, she told herself, she would be coming back again; the cottage would still be there for years to come and she was sure of a welcome.

It was a pity she felt so unsettled though; she tried to get to the bottom of it as she hung out the sheets for Maggie before breakfast on her last day. She had almost finished when the gate creaked.

She whipped round to see who it was, struck with devastatingly final clarity by the knowledge that just for a split second she had hoped that it was Mr. Werdmer ter Sane. Of course, it wasn't; Henry, the boy from the village shop, was clomp 7 ing up the path with the day's news. He shouted a cheerful greeting and she answered him in a rather wispy voice, shocked at her own thoughts. She pegged the last sheet and then stood looking at it. All these days she had been wanting to see him again only she hadn't admitted it, even to herself. It was extremely foolish of her to wish it; even if they did meet again no good would come of it. Just for a moment common sense fled from her sensible head and day-dreams took over; supposing, just supposing, they were to meet again and he was glad to see her; looked at her as he had looked at the beautiful Mies, told her that he had missed her. Rose stood in the bright morning sunshine, lost in her dream.

It only lasted a minute or two; she picked up the washing-basket and started back to the kitchen door.

"You are daft. Rose." she muttered, 'you think you've fallen in love with him; ten to one if you met him again you'd turn and run. " A lie if ever there was one.

She hated leaving the next morning, the village lay peaceful under warm sunshine and lovely blue skies, it didn't seem possible that she was in the same world when she got out of the taxi at St. Bride's; the sun wasn't warm, it was hot, piercing the motionless air laden with petrol fumes, even the blue sky seemed to have shrunk. Rose went over to the nurses' home and unpacked and got into her uniform and went down to dinner in the canteen. All her friends were there and she cheered up under the warmth of their greetings, and regaled her with the latest hospital gossip. But half way through a particularly spicy t.i.tbit about the new surgical houseman and Mr. Cresswell, Sadie stopped and said, "Rose, you're not with us--what's the matter? You're distraite--not just fed up at coming back." She started to say something else but the look on Rose's face stopped her.

She finished lamely, "Oh, well, I dare say you are hating it all--it's beastly coming back... Let's all get together over a pot of tea after we're off duty and then we can hear all about Holland."

Rose cast her a thankful look.

"Okay, Maggie gave me a super cake, we can have that with the tea."

Sister c.u.mmins was glad to see her back and there were still several small patients left from before Rose had gone to Holland. There were a lot of new little faces too and she plunged straight into the busy routine. Half way through the afternoon Miss Timms sent for her.

"You enjoyed your leave. Staff Nurse?" she wanted to know.

Rose said that yes, she had, thank you.

"I am told," said Miss Timms with dignified geniality, 'by Dr. ter Brandt, that he and his wife wish you to pay them a visit later in the summer. This may cause some inconvenience on Sister c.u.mmins' ward but I feel that an effort must be made to accede to his request. You will let Sister c.u.mmins know the date as soon as possible. Staff Nurse, so that things may be arranged satisfactorily. "

She nodded her rigidly coiffed head and Rose made a speedy exit before Miss Timms could have second thoughts. The ter Brandts weren't coming to England for at least a month and they had asked her to go after that . a lot could happen in that time and Miss Timms could change her mind.

The afternoon and evening seemed endless but at last she was off duty, her shoes off, comfortably dressing-gowned, cutting Maggie's cake while mugs of tea were handed round. The cake eaten, and mugs refilled, someone asked: "Well, what happened in Amsterdam or wherever it was Rose? Did you meet anyone groovy? What were the hous.e.m.e.n like?

And what about that super specimen who came over here to fetch you? "

"Mister Werdmer ter Sane," said Rose; she was amazed how calm and indifferent her voice sounded while her heart thumped and thudded at the mere mention of his name.

"Yes, of course, I saw him--every day at first--little Duert was very ill and no one quite knew what would happen."

"Did he take you out?"

"Heavens no. I was the nurse, remember. Besides he's got a steady--a simply ravishing girl;.."

It was Sadie who said in a disappointed voice: "Oh, has he? I suppose he'd forgotten all about me--us, calling at his house?"

"No, as a matter of fact, he hadn't--he spoke of you--he certainly hadn't forgotten you, Sadie."

There was a burst of laughter.

"Good old Sadie, competing with the Dutch glamour girl." A voice from the back cried, "You should have gone instead of Rose." Everyone laughed again, but it was kind laughter; they all liked Rose. They were a little taken aback at her fervent, "Oh, I wish you had, Sadie." She wouldn't have fallen in love with him then, would she? She would have remained heart-whole, content to carve a career for herself in the nursing world, her simple sensible head clear of silly dreams about a handsome, aloof Dutchman, who she was pretty certain had already forgotten all about her.

But the ter Brandts hadn't forgotten her; the even balance of her busy days was disturbed by a letter from Christina ter Brandt; they had decided to come to England earlier than they had planned; they would be staying in London for a few days, and would she come to see them?

Dinner, suggested Christina, or failing a free evening, lunch and she would phone as soon as they arrived during the following week, so that they could plan something. The baby flourished and little Duert was as good as new and they all sent their love, and that included Nanny, Corvinus and Sally. There was not one word about Sybren Werdmer ter Sane.

Rose wrote back cautiously: she would love to see them all again but it depended on whether she was free; Miss Timms had already offered her leave when she wanted it and she wasn't going to spoil her chances for that. It was madness, she told herself over and over again, to see Mr. Werdmer ter Sane again, but nothing was going to stop her. She was sensible enough to know that it would do her no good; the quicker she forgot about him the better, only she was finding it singularly difficult to shake him off. Going round the ward, taking temperatures, adjusting drips, feeding the small creatures who couldn't for the time being, feed themselves, his face rose before her eyes a dozen times a day. It was most inconvenient, and such a waste of time, he would have consigned her to oblivion.

He might have wished to do so, but unwillingly enough, he had thought of her a good deal on a number of occasions. Why, he asked himself irritably, should a small plain girl, unfashionable as to dress and lacking in witty conversation, remain so persistently in his head to annoy him? And why, in heaven's name, did he cancel everything when Mr. Cresswell phoned him and asked him if he would be good enough to cooperate with him on a particularly tricky operation at St. Bride's and accept with alacrity?

He arrived at St. Bride's quite early in the morning and joined Mr. Creswell there, and the first person he saw, probably because he was looking for her, was Rose.

She had not known that he was coming; Sister c.u.mmins had told her that the toddler with cancer of the leg was to be operated upon by Mr.

Cresswell but she hadn't said a word about anyone else taking part in it. Rose knew that it was a difficult operation; very few had been attempted so far but if it were successful it should be a miraculous recovery for the child. Rose, who had been specialing the little girl, had just bathed and fed her when the two surgeons arrived. Mr. Cresswell's "Good morning Rose' was genial, Mr. Werdmer ter Sane gave her a tight-lipped greeting which instantly quenched the glow of delight which had enveloped her at the sight of him. She muttered something in reply, aware that she must appear gauche, the very last thing that she would wish to be, so that at once she became the very epitome of professional perfection, answering Mr. Cresswell's questions in a colourless and correct voice, which made him exclaim, " Good G.o.d, Rose, have you swallowed the poker? " A remark which brought her down from the heights of correctness to her usual sensible manner. She even replied to several of Mr. Werdmer ter Sane's civil remarks in her usual calm manner and sat on the side of the cot with the toddler on her lap while they gently examined her. Mr. Werdmer ter Sane had to bend very close so that his handsome features were only inches away and she could see the grey hair which grew as thickly as the fair. She closed her eyes so as not to see it, and he, looking up for a moment, stared at her face; she might not be pretty but the dark lashes sweeping her cheeks were some of the longest and curliest he had ever seen. He frowned quite fiercely so that when she opened them again it was to meet his beetling brows. She met his look with a calm she didn't feel; he disliked her even more than she had thought. No, dislike wasn't the word, indifferent described the stare he had given her.

They would operate in two days' time; there were tests to be carried out first and the parents had to be told of the risks and the chance of success.

"And you will bring the child to theatre," said Mr. Cresswell, 'and special her afterwards, that'll knock your off-duty for six, but you must be used to that by now. Rose. I'll see Sister c.u.mmins when she comes on duty and get things fixed up. We'll operate at eight o'clock and it'll take all of seven hours--perhaps more. What do you say, Sybren? "

"Seven with luck on our side."

The two men wandered off down the ward, and Rose, nicely thoughtful of their needs, sent the third-year student nurse after them to see that they had the coffee they would almost certainly expect. It had been a shock seeing Mr. Werdmer ter Sane again but she had no doubt that by the time they met again in theatre she would have come to terms with the situation. Two days would be ample time in which to pull herself together.

CHAPTER FIVE.

rose worked very hard at getting herself into a rational frame of mind, helped considerably by not seeing Mr. Werdmer ter Sane during the next two days. He came on to the ward but always while she was off-duty, so that she received his and Mr. Cresswell's instructions through Sister c.u.mmins. But while she was on duty at least she had little time to think about him, the toddler was ill, would indeed die if the operation wasn't successful, and over and above that, there were other ill children in the ward in need of constant attention. The student nurses worked hard but there were some treatments they weren't able to do so that Rose and Sister c.u.mmins had more than enough on their hands. On the evening before the operation Sister c.u.mmins, giving the report to Rose before she went off-duty for the evening, remarked that she would be glad when it was all over.

"I know we cope with all kinds of surgery, but this is going to be an all-day affair and even after that, Shirley will need to be specialed...I know Mr. Cresswell wants you to do that, but leaves us very short-handed." She frowned.

"I did suggest to Mr. Werdmer ter Sane that the specialing could be done by a third-year nurse, even a qualified nurse from another ward if I could borrow one, but he was adamant. You or no one. Well, I can't blame him, you're a good nurse and it'll be a feather in our caps--yours especially, if Shirley pulls through." She went to the office door on her way off duty.

"Your time off may have to be shelved for a day or two but you know that, don't you. Staff? I'll see it's made up to you."

There were two student nurses on with Rose until the night staff arrived. They went softly round the ward, settled the little ones for the night and she checked dressings and the very ill children. Shirley was already in a side ward and asleep, too young to bother about what was to happen next and too ill to mind. Rose was taking her temperature when Mr. Werdmer ter Sane came quietly in.

Rose finished what she was doing, aware that her heart was behaving badly again and thankful that in the darkened ward he couldn't see her face.

His "Hullo, Rose', was quiet and devoid of expression. She murmured back at him, fastened the cot side soundlessly and waited for him to speak.

She had no idea what he was going to say and was taken aback when he said, "Christina and Duert send their love and so does little Duert.

You know they are coming over soon? " And at her surprised nod, " I'm to tell you that Christina will phone you at the end of the week. She knows about Shirley and realises that you won't be free until then. "

Rose said, "Oh, yes. Well..." and found her head empty of words. The two days hadn't been enough, she doubted very much if two years would be enough either, even two hundred.

Mr. Werdmer ter Sane eyed her narrowly across the cot. Even in the dim light she looked rather plain for she was very tired and hungry for her supper. The thought pa.s.sed through his mind that his strange wish to see her again must have been born of imagination, she was just about the least glamorous girl he had ever set eyes on.

"Well, shall we go over your instructions for tomorrow?" he asked briskly, amazed that he had had some vague idea of inviting her out to supper.