Authors: Lily Baxter
Poppy's War (40 page)
She made her way to the nurses’ station, waiting patiently for the sister to finish writing up her notes. ‘Yes?’ The sister’s demeanour was not encouraging.
‘I’ve come to take Pilot Officer Carroll home.’
The sister pointed her pen at a bed in the far corner where the curtains were drawn. Slowly, Poppy crossed the floor, acknowledging the cheeky remarks of the less sick male patients with an attempt at a smile. She hesitated, clearing her throat. ‘Guy?’
With a rattle of brass rings the curtains opened and
Guy
stood there, thinner, paler, but his smile was enough to make her feel light-headed. ‘H-how are you?’ she murmured, glancing over her shoulder to see if the man in the next bed was listening, but thankfully he was lying with his eyes closed and appeared to be sleeping soundly.
‘Poppy. You came.’ He drew her to him and she tilted her face, thinking he was going to kiss her on the forehead as he had always done in the past, but his mouth sought her lips in a kiss that was tender and yet filled with desire and longing. A round of applause from the rest of the ward made him release her with an apologetic grin.
‘Give her one for me, mate.’ The man in the bed opposite raised himself on his elbow, blowing a kiss to Poppy.
‘Find your own girl, mate,’ Guy said, laughing. He snatched up a brown paper parcel from the foot of the bed and slipped his arm around Poppy’s waist. ‘Let’s get out of here, darling Poppy. I’ve got so much I want to say to you.’
Before she realised what was happening they were in the narrow corridor leading away from the ward. Guy stopped outside the sister’s office and took her in his arms. ‘If I’ve overstepped the mark please tell me. I’ve been away for a long time and if it wasn’t for Algy I wouldn’t have dared to think that you cared for me.’
‘You’ve known all this time?’
‘It’s what kept me going in the long hours when I
was
floating about in the drink with nothing but my Mae West for company. Eventually I was rescued by a French fisherman. It’s all a bit hazy after that but I ended up in a German field hospital.’
‘I thought you were dead,’ Poppy whispered, close to tears. ‘We all did.’
‘I was as good as for a while apparently, but I don’t remember much about that. When I began to recover it was the thought of you waiting for me and not knowing I loved you that gave me the will to survive. I had to come home and tell you that I love you with all my heart and have done for a very long time. My darling girl.’
Ignoring the two nurse probationers who were in the sluice next door and had stopped washing bedpans to stare at them, Poppy slid her arms around his neck. ‘I’ve never loved anyone but you, Guy.’
He kissed her again, holding her to him as if he would never let her go. ‘I thought I’d lost you when I saw you with that erk, but I was a jealous fool. I’m going to spend the rest of my life making it up to you.’
She laid her finger on his lips. ‘Is that a promise?’
‘It is. Most sincerely and from my heart, Poppy. It’s a promise.’
This ebook is copyright material and must not be copied, reproduced, transferred, distributed, leased, licensed or publicly performed or used in any way except as specifically permitted in writing by the publishers, as allowed under the terms and conditions under which it was purchased or as strictly permitted by applicable copyright law. Any unauthorised distribution or use of this text may be a direct infringement of the author’s and publisher’s rights and those responsible may be liable in law accordingly.
Version 1.0
Epub ISBN 9781407071145
Published by Arrow Books 2010
2 4 6 8 10 9 7 5 3 1
Copyright © Lily Baxter 2010
Lily Baxter has asserted her right under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 to be identified as the author of this work
This novel is a work of fiction. Apart from references to actual historical figures and places, all other names and characters are a product of the author’s imagination and any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental
This book is sold subject to the condition that it shall not, by way of trade or otherwise, be lent, resold, hired out, or otherwise circulated without the publisher’s prior consent in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is published and without a similar condition including this condition being imposed on the subsequent purchaser
First published in Great Britain in 2010 by
Arrow Books
Random House, 20 Vauxhall Bridge Road,
London SW1V 2SA
Addresses for companies within The Random House Group Limited can be found at:
www.randomhouse.co.uk/offices.htm
The Random House Group Limited Reg. No. 954009
A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
ISBN 9780099550983
