The Hive (23 page)

It had been like this when she was a child, she remembered suddenly. I used to lie like this until I couldn’t tell where my legs or arms were any more. Just like this. And she lay and stared at the window in her turn, willing her whole body to disappear, the way it had used to, so long ago, when she was a child.

‘If anyone wants me, tell them I’m in the dispensary, nurse.’ Susan hurried across the waiting hall towards the dispensary, and stayed there as long as she could, fiddling with her drug book and watching the hall through the patients’ hatch. She saw Daphne come in, and moved a little, so that there was no chance she would see her through the small square, and waited.

The dispensary was busier than usual, with the three pharmacists hurrying to deal with the long queue of patients bringing prescription cards from the diabetic clinic, and when Daphne came in, the senior pharmacist said snappily, ‘Well, Sister? What can I do for you? We’re a bit pushed this morning, and I’ve really no time to fill any forgotten orders now—you really must try to get your requisitions down in good time, you sisters——’

‘I just want a word with Sister Phillips——’

Daphne uncharacteristically ignored the rudeness in the woman’s voice, and stood awkwardly beside Susan near the hatch, ignoring the irritable glances of the girl who was trying to deal with a box of capsules beside them.

‘Pip?’ she said softly. ‘Can you come back to your office? I want to talk to you.’

‘Oh, I’m sorry, Daph—I can’t just yet. I must get this sorted out—the nurses are too bad, really they are—there’s a quarter grain of morphine unaccounted for, and I must try and see what’s happened—I suppose one of them just didn’t bother to come and find me to sign the book—I’ll have to keep a much closer eye on them—won’t it do later?’

She was running her finger down the list of entries in her drug book giving it intense and frowning concentration.

‘What happened to you this morning? And you weren’t at breakfast?’

The back of Susan’s neck reddened, as she kept her head down.

‘I said I wanted to get up early for a bath—and I took so long over it, I hadn’t time for breakfast—just a minute, Daph—Miss Velati, can you sort this out with me? I really can’t see where that quarter grain’s gone——’ She turned away from Daphne to the pharmacist beside her, and felt rather than heard her go.

After a moment, while the pharmacist checked the book, she turned to look through the hatch again. She saw Daphne move heavily across and disappear through the big doors at the end, and suddenly, tears rose thick in her throat.

‘It—it doesn’t matter, Miss Velati. I’ll—I’ll check with the nurses again. Look—can you let me have an amphetamine tablet? I had a bad night, and I’m dead on my feet——’

The girl looked up at her sharply. ‘I shouldn’t, you know. I’ll get shot if someone finds out——’

‘Please—I do feel grim.’

‘I must say, you look pretty rotten—well, all right, but for God’s sake don’t tell anyone I gave it you—and I can’t do it again.’

‘It’s very good of you to spare the time to talk to me, Mr. Jamieson,’ Dolly said. ‘I know how busy you are, but I think this is important. And I’m afraid there’s no one else I can really talk to but you.’ She smiled at him as he sat in his chair behind his desk, and said earnestly. ‘You see, sir, not everyone has the same care for the welfare of the hospital that I know you have——’

Jamieson looked at her closely, at the high colour, the brightness of her eyes, and smiled back, smoothly.

‘I can always spare the time for you, Sister. I know from experience that you are not one of those who like to chat and waste time for the sake of it—too much to do, hmm? Sit you down, now, and tell me what it is that’s on your mind.’

She sat down, and folded the ends of her apron over her knees tidily before leaning forward on the desk.

‘Well, sir, this is a very difficult thing for me. I—I have come to know of something that I think is very—dangerous. It’s a nursing matter, and in the normal way, I would talk to Matron about it, and it would remain simply a nursing matter.
But our new Matron——’ She shook her head, and then said with a nice display of awkward honesty. ‘Oh, dear. This is difficult. I’d hate you to think I was merely complaining about Matron, not only because I owe a respect to her position, but because you know that I applied for the post. I wouldn’t want you to think I was telling you this in a spirit of—well, disappointment.’

‘I’m sure you wouldn’t do anything so—unpleasant, Sister.’ Jamieson was alert now. Whatever this business was, he knew Dolly well enough to know she would not come to him with mere gossip. This was something real, and might well be of use to him. ‘Just tell me what it is, and we’ll see what can be done.’

‘Well, sir. It’s—look, let me ask you a question. Suppose you discovered that two of the doctors—the residents—were—not what they should be. That they were—well, to put it straight, that they were homosexuals? And they were both in residence in the Royal?’

He leaned back, and pursed his lips sharply. ‘Dear me, that is a difficult question. I’m not sure I can answer it. Certainly, I’d be very—concerned.’

She nodded. ‘I’m sure you would be, sir. It’s—it wouldn’t be a very good thing for the Royal, would it? Anything could happen—there might be a scandal of some sort, and that would be a bad thing for us, wouldn’t it?’

‘Indeed it would.’

‘Well, sir, I’m afraid we have that sort of problem here.’

‘Among the doctors, you mean? Or the nurses?’

‘Much worse than that, sir. Among the sisters. It does worry me, Mr. Jamieson. I mean, sisters are in a very—important position. They have young nurses under their charge, and well—I’m worried.’

‘You’re right to be, Sister, quite right. But surely, you should tell Matron, and let her deal with the matter?’

She sighed. ‘That’s the problem, sir. She knows.’

‘She
knows?
You’ve already told her?’

‘Not directly, sir, but she knows—and—she approves.’

His eyes lit up with malicious interest. ‘You surely don’t mean that she’s the same, do you?’

‘Oh, no, sir—at least—I don’t think so. It’s always a possibility of course. It might be the reason she doesn’t intend to do anything about the matter——’

‘Someone has told her, and she says she won’t do anything?’

‘It’s these group discussions of hers——’

Dolly launched into a detailed account of the previous evening’s meeting, pointing out carefully that the two sisters who were involved had been present at it, and what Elizabeth had said. ‘It isn’t that I want to go roundabout to things, sir,’ she said earnestly, ‘but I supposed this was the case, and I thought if I—well—brought the subject up at a group meeting, it would be a kind way to warn the sisters concerned, and warn Matron, without having to go directly to her with tattle. I’m in a very awkward position, you see, sir. I’m not the gossiping sort, and I hate the idea of telling tales like that. This seemed to me a good way to do it without starting a lot of trouble. Anyway, Matron understood what I was saying, well enough, and said quite straight out that she saw no harm in such—friendships. She said she would never send away any people like that who were on the staff, no matter what.’

‘Did she indeed,’ Jamieson said slowly.

‘Yes, sir. And there are plenty of people who heard her say it. And as I say, I’m worried. What can I do? I’m afraid that one of these sisters might—infect some of the young nurses, and there may be some scandal. Of course, if that happens, not only will it not do the Royal’s reputation any good, it might mean some nurses would leave. Would you let a daughter of yours live in a hospital where such goings on were tolerated? Of course you wouldn’t—and there’ll be others who’ll feel like that. We may find ourselves in a bad way, on the nursing side, if something isn’t done about this matter soon. I really don’t know where to turn for the best. I can’t say more to Matron than I have—so I hope you may be able to help.’

‘I don’t really see what I can do, Sister,’ Jamieson said slowly. ‘Even a consultant can hardly dismiss sisters over a matron’s head——’

‘But consultants could—ensure that there was a matron who would see her duty more clearly than—our present one seems to do,’ she said softly.

‘You’re asking me to make an official complaint to the Board?’

‘Oh, I really wouldn’t dream of advising you, sir. It’s up to you. I must say, if it weren’t that I’d applied for the post originally, and been turned down, I’d make the complaint myself, unpleasant though that would be for me. But I’m afraid the Board might not—well, they might think it was because I was turned down, you see.’

‘My dear Sister East, I’m sure we all know your worth far too well to think any such thing, but I do understand your unwillingness, and it does you credit. Look, Sister, leave this with me, will you? I’ll think about it all very carefully, and if you have any further—knowledge, don’t hesitate to see me. I’ll think about it very carefully——’

When she had gone, he sat for a long time. He had no cause as yet to object to Miss Manton, from his point of view, but she was a vigorous and intelligent woman with a mind of her own, not nearly as pliable as Miss Biggs had been. Under Miss Biggs’ rule, his wards had been the best staffed in the hospital, because, as was his usual practice, he had ingratiated himself with her as with all the senior nurses. It was possible that in future he would have a less easy time with the nursing staff because Miss Manton was the sort of woman she was.

He began to think about the committee meeting at which she had talked of French’s application for the beds, and wondered. Heston had told him that French and Manton were old friends. Did French have her in
his
pocket? If he had, it would be worth getting rid of Miss Manton, if possible, if only to appoint a Matron who would feel a similar loyalty to him, Jamieson. French was another Jamieson could do without. He was far too energetic and able altogether. It would be worth putting a stop in his way for the sheer hell of it, he thought. Really, Sister East had been very wise to come to him. There was plenty to think about in all this. And then he laughed aloud. How that woman wants that post, and how hard she’s trying to get it for herself! She’d make a very useful ally if she were the Matron.

He slipped through the door of the flat swiftly when she opened it.

‘Really, I feel like an undergraduate on a spree,’ he said, as he followed her into her sitting room. ‘I left the car in the road, rather than in the hospital car park, in case anyone saw it, and wondered what I was doing here so late, and I positively crept through the corridor from my office——’

He sat down and stretched his legs, and looked up at her with a small smile on his face.

‘Do you know, it adds a certain—spice—all this? I’ve always despised people who went in for illicit relationships, thought it was a waste of good time and energy, all the deviousness, and so on. But you know, I begin to see how amusing it can be.’

‘I’m glad you do,’ she said, and smiled back. ‘But you need have no further fears of being seen. I doubt very much that anyone will disturb us.’

‘Good.’

There was a moment’s silence, then she said abruptly, ‘You’d like a drink.’

He watched her pour them, and said softly, ‘You look—very attractive in that. The colour suits you.’

She was wearing a long green house coat that showed her body to advantage, and as she turned with the drinks in her hands, he could see that she was wearing nothing under it. She had a soft untrammelled look, and he let his eyes rest on her body appreciatively. She reddened slightly, and came towards him with the drinks.

He took his, and as she let go a little of the brandy spilled on his hand, and he smiled at her.

‘Nervous, Elizabeth? Not you, surely?’

She managed a little smile, and sipped her drink, looking over the rim of the glass at him.

‘Not nervous. Just—excited.’

He stood up, and put his glass into her hand.

‘Take these into the bedroom, Elizabeth. I’ll follow you in a moment.’

She turned and went, saying nothing, and after a moment, he took her telephone off its hook, and followed her.

Sister McLeod was making hot cocoa over the gas ring at
the end of the sisters’ corridor. She had another of her head colds, and really, she thought, it’s no wonder, all this central heating. I’ve told them before about the ventilation here, but they won’t listen.

Along the corridor, she could hear footsteps, and looked at her watch in surprise. Half past twelve. Who on earth could be prowling about at this time? Someone else with a cold? She peered out into the brightly lit corridor, and saw Daphne standing with her ear pressed against the panels of Susan’s door.

Holding her steaming cup carefully, she came out of the little kitchen, and padded along towards Daphne, curiosity making her walk with her head forwards.

‘Something the matter, Sister?’ she said as she came up to Daphne.

Daphne turned to look at her, and McLeod felt an almost physical shock. Her face had somehow fallen apart, as though the flesh were falling off the bones, and her colour was a thick yellowish grey that made her look positively ill.

‘Whatever is it? Are you ill?’ she said, and stooped to put her cocoa cup on the floor, before coming to put a protective arm round the other’s shoulders.

‘It’s Pip—Phillips. I think—I don’t know. I’m worried about her. I think she’s—ill, perhaps, I don’t know——’

She pushed on the door fretfully, and then bent to listen against the panels again.

‘But she’s asleep, surely?’ McLeod said, her face twisted with puzzlement. ‘It’s half past twelve. Sister Cooper! I’m sure there’s nothing wrong——’

‘She’s locked the door!’ Daphne’s voice rose higher, and McLeod shushed her so that she spoke more softly. ‘She never does that! I wanted to talk to her, you see? I wanted to talk to her——’ Daphne put out a hand, and almost shook McLeod by the shoulder, her face crumpling. ‘You must understand! I looked for her—all day, but she never came to lunch, or to supper, and she wasn’t here when I got off duty, and kept coining down to see if she’d come in—and then——Oh, I don’t know how I could have—I fell asleep, you see?’