Whispers of Love Read Free

provide comfort to your mother,’ her father reminded her.
    She looked from one to the other in dismay. Her parents both sounded so old and yet her father wasn’t even sixty. As far as she was aware he’d never had a day’s illness in his life and even though his hair had a touch of grey at the temples, his blue eyes were as clear and bright as her own. As for her mother, she was a fewyears younger than him and there was no trace of grey in her thick dark hair, and her rounded face was unwrinkled.
    It would be at least another ten years before they needed her to be there to look after them and until that day came she wanted to have a life of her own.

Chapter Two
    The wards at Hilbury Military Hospital radiated from a central core like the legs of a spider. The entire structure was of prefabricated, corrugated asbestos and tin and when it rained the noise inside was deafening.
    The hospital was custom-built and was situated on the outskirts of Liverpool. Apart from the doctors, nurses, clerks, orderlies and those who drove the ambulances, it was staffed by men from the Pioneer Corps. Until it became fully operational, local people were hired to undertake the cleaning and cooking.
    At first Christabel found the starkness, the noise as trolleys were wheeled around, and the constant bustle almost unbearable. The strong smell of antiseptic made her feel queasy, especially first thing in the morning.
    After the first few bewildering days of settling in, however, she gradually accepted it, even though it was vastly different from what she was used to.
    The rules were strict from the moment the new trainees arrived. All thirty of them assembled in the large lecture hall and were told that the next six weeks of intensive training weregoing to be very hard work indeed. They would be expected to attend lectures every day and there would be severe penalties if they were absent for any reason at all.
    At the end of the welcome speech the matron handed them over to the care of Sister Speakley, a grey-haired martinet whose steel-rimmed glasses gave her a sharp, owl-like appearance.
    â€˜Sister Speakley will be responsible for your physical welfare as well as your training so if you have any problems at all, then go to her and she will help you resolve them,’ Matron told them before she left the room.
    Sister Speakley took her place in front of the class and informed them in a no-nonsense tone that she expected high standards from all of them and that they must be neatly dressed at all times. She ended her talk by informing them that they would be sharing accommodation and there would be two girls to each room.
    Girls who already knew each other immediately paired up and the rest tried to select the person they thought would be most compatible. Christabel had never before had to share a bedroom with anyone, not even for a night, and when she found herself with a plump, bubbly, red-headed girl called Peggy Wilson she felt extremely apprehensive.
    In next to no time, however, they had settled in. She found that there was a surprisingly easygoing comradeship between the two of them and that she quite enjoyed Peggy’s company.Even so, she refrained from sharing too many confidences with her.
    War on Germany was officially declared within a month of Christabel’s arrival at Hilbury. This factor made those in authority extremely anxious to ensure that the new recruits worked hard to complete their training and qualify as auxiliary nurses, and also that they were prepared to sign an official form to say that they would stay on as permanent staff.
    Much as she wanted to do so, Christabel hesitated. She wasn’t sure that she could stay there – at least, not permanently – and she didn’t know what to do or say to Sister Speakley to explain the situation.
    Ever since she had arrived at Hilbury she’d felt nauseous each morning and although it wore off during the day she knew now for certain that she