Anyway getting back to the story, Mattie is home on leave for Christmas and this is long snippet of her time back home. This
"Mattie! Mattie!"
Mathilda had missed the way her own
name had sounded. She had been serving
as a nurse for six months and every one called her "Nurse Harrington"
or "Sister Harrington" even though they weren't suppose to. Before
that she was "Miss Harrington" at her training school, even her own
bunk mates called her "Mathilda," no one ever called her by her
childhood nick name. Until she heard that familiar call she wouldn't have not
have realize how much she missed it.
Mattie turned to the familiar call. "Georgi,
what are you doing here?"
"Come to welcome our brave hero
home."
Mattie blushed at being called a
hero and reminded her younger sister she was not a hero. To that Georgiana
called her older sister "her hero" with a mark of pride in her voice.
"No Mrs. Gardner, is that
safe?"
"This is hardly London Mattie,
no Zeppelin raids and we are nowhere near the sea shore to be attacked by the
German Navy. I doubt they even know Derbyshire exists."
It was rather odd for Mattie to hear
her younger sister talk so flippantly about
the war. To Georgian it must be all gallant stories in the newspaper and the
very white washed letters from Marcus who had been in France since the early
part of 1915. Georgiana did her part by knitting socks and wrapping bandages
but she was hardly old enough to actually serve in any capacity. However, looking
Georgiana her younger sister by four years she scarcely the girl Mattie had
left when she went off to training. Georgiana had lost all her childhood plumpness
and was now eloquently slender with her soft honey blonde hair and perfectly
green eyes she looked to be a model in a magazine. Mattie felt rough and rigid
compared her younger sister's delicacies.
"I am glad you packed light
this buggy was atrocious getting down here if you had packed more I dare say I
don't know if I could handle the ride back."
"You have learned to drive the
buggy?" Even though Georgiana had written to Mattie about this Mattie
still sounded surprised.
"We must all do our part,"
Georgiana responded sounding more adult than Mattie was used to.
"Well I am only here for three
days."
"Three days? That is hardly
enough time to do what I want to do."
"Like what Georgi."
"Oh I don't know, but all sorts
of things." Then Georgiana instantly changed the conversation to
discussing the men in her older sister's life before they got home, to which
Mattie had to disappoint her sister with no men being in her life. Georgiana
was rather frustrated as she had read stories in magazines about patients
falling in love with their nurses. Mattie explained that anything of the sort
would get her dismissed from her position, but Georgiana didn't want to hear
that. "Maybe someone has fallen in love with you even if you can't fall in
love with him?"
"No and if you are going to be
talking about such nonsense I'd rather drive the buggy, at least then I could
fake distraction and pretend not to hear you."
"Oh come on Mattie,"
Georgiana was always good at sounding desperate but not in a whining way.
"Please tell me something of your life. I am fifteen years old and this
war seems to be lasting a life time."
Mattie went on to describe how she
was on her feet all day, cleaning chamber pots, washing sheets and changing
bandages of wounds. She began how she would have hold me down when their legs
had to come off because of gangrene but before she really started Georgiana cut
her off saying she still wanted to eat her Christmas lunch.
"I am sorry Georgi, that is my
life as a nurse."
"It doesn't look that way in
the magazine or on the recruitment posters."
"I am sure it doesn't"
Mattie said under her breath."
Being a nurse wasn't what Mattie had
expected either. She had expected the hard work and long hours and she truly
did like being of use to all those around her but it was not what she thought
it would be even after her months of training. She couldn't imagine how callous
her hands would get, or how sore her lower back would be after standing, and
the blisters she would get from the impracticality of her boots. For now she
tried not to think of all the wounds she had seen, the gashes, the burns, and
all the horrors a body could go through and still stay alive. It was hardly
what she predicted nearly a year and half ago but if she had to chose it all
over again she would because for the first time truly in her life she felt of
use.
"Have you heard from
Leopold?" Georgiana asked pulling Mattie out of her thoughts.
"He is engaged to an Ethel
Phillips and plans to marry next time she gets leave."
"You say that so casually I am
rather surprised."
"What to do you mean?"
"You know very well what I
mean. He was your first kiss and for awhile it seemed as if you two would get
engaged. I am just surprised how casually you now mention him. I thought you
cared for him."
"Do you think I am the type of
girl who would go around kissing boys she does not care for. I did care for
him, I do care for him, but not enough to marry him."
"And Kelby, do you care enough
about him?"
"Georgiana, I think you have
been reading too many magazines. I think I will have to warn Mrs.
Gardner."
"You wouldn't?!"
"I would if you keep meddling
in my love life."
"I don't meddle. I am just
wondering, you hardly write, I just want to know what's happening."
Mattie began to protest that nothing
was happening and that she and Kelby and her were just friends, and Georgiana
rolled her eyes stating that she had heard Mattie say that a thousand times. Georgiana
was young but she knew how Mattie looked at Kelby and she knew how Kelby looked
at Mattie and it was more than just friendship. Mattie refuted that saying that
there was a war going on and that nothing could happen between them. She then
shut the argument down by mentioning that mother and father would never allow
it. Georgiana could see Mattie was saddened by this last remark and tried to encourage
her sister stating that Kelby was in the medical core, and was sure to move up
the rank.
Mattie glumly responded "he was
a corporal and now he is a sergeant, but it wouldn't make a difference if he
was an officer as mother and father would only see him as a stable hand."
"It seems such a waste."
Georgiana sighed and Mattie could only agree.
Kelby Foster, was following his
desire to work in the medical field, he had told Mattie many moons ago that he
had wanted to pursue becoming a doctor when the war was over. Mattie hated
thinking that it wouldn't be enough, Kelby would never be rightfully for hers,
her parents wouldn't allow a marriage between them that was certain. Mattie
still remembered when mother discovered Daphne and Shane's relationship and the
disgust that was in her voice.
Before the war everyone talked of
the progress being made and how the world was changing, now all that seemed to
change was the growing death tallies and the new weapons that were designed to
kill someone else. Mattie could have never understood the brutality of it, it
felt to be in human in the mindless shelling and worse the use of mustard gas.
Mattie tried again to push these thoughts away as Marcus, her only brother was
a pilot in the war, and Kelby was risking his life as well in the medical core.
She told herself it was Christmas and felt it was no time to think of such
destruction, it was time to be thankful you survived another year and to hold
love ones close. It was good to be spending Christmas at Southerton, it felt
distant from the war and maybe for a day or so she could forget about all she
had seen day in and day out at the hospital. Maybe for a moment she could
remember happier times.
Mattie was relieved to see the roof line of Southerton peak out from the tree
line. It felt to be years since she had been to the place that had always been
her solitude against the world. Mattie loved everything about Southerton but
what she probably loved most were her backwoods and her proximity to Cranston
Court. She hoped for one good day that she could take a walk through her woods
and visit Cranston as if it were times of peace again. She longed to see
Cranston and its mistress, Lady Adelaide. She hadn't seen her friend since she
left for training.
Georgiana then asked after Marcus,
Mattie responded that she hadn't heard from him since the first of December,
and he wasn't sure he would be able to get leave for Christmas. Georgiana
mildly whimpered that it wouldn't feel like Christmas without Marcus.
"No, but remember he just
returned to his unit, he doesn't have seniority anymore?"
Georgiana almost giggled. "You
speak so practical. What happened to my sister?"
"Nothing, it just hard to
remain so hopefully naïve when one sees everything I see every day."
"Well you are home now and I
demand you put all war talk behind you."
"I will try."
"There is no try only do."
"You sound like Sister
Bennet," Mattie teased with her sister.
Did you know you were suppose to only call nurses "Sisters" if they had actual medical training. Most of the volunteer nurses in World War I were considered civilians and were left to do menial tasks not to do actual medical work. However, in times of crisis lines could be blurred. Besides reading Testament of Youth I have found the blog Edwardian Promenade to give a great overview of this in their "WWI Wednesday: Becoming a VAD" and though I would never cite Wikipedia in a paper I liked their page on "Voluntary Aid Detachment."
