The Liverpool Nightingales, page 7
‘Come along,’ said Miss Merryweather, ‘I’ll show you to your dorm. The uniform is already waiting for you in there.’
‘Thank you,’ said Maud, struggling to keep up with the woman who was already half-way up the stone stairs.
When they reached the next landing they had a choice of galleries right and left. Maud was shown to the left and then they stopped immediately in front of a varnished wooden door. Looks like Alice was right, thought Maud, I am to take the first room. Then she leant over the balustrade and looked down to the floor below and realized that you could see everything from up there, and you could probably hear what was going on as well. The place was open and at this time of day it stood so still and so quiet.
Turning around, she saw that Miss Merryweather had the door to the room open and so she went in. It was small but it looked like it had everything she would need: a single bed, a small chest of drawers and a hanging space. There was also a little window that Maud went straight over to, and as she looked out she felt very high up in the world, higher than she’d ever been. In fact, her attic room in the big house had been much higher, but it had no window, that was what made the difference.
‘I’ll let you get sorted,’ said Miss Merryweather, preparing to leave the room. ‘When you have the uniform on, come down to my room, the one by the front door. We will have a chat and then I will escort you around the hospital. Your duties on the ward will start tomorrow.’
Once Maud was left alone she sat on the bed listening to the silence and staring at the uniform that was hanging up in front of her. It was, of course, just like Alice’s – dark-grey with a full skirt and a fitted bodice. It looked huge, hanging there; it seemed to dominate the room. On top of the chest she saw the snowy white lace cap, almost identical to the one she had worn as a maid, so at least that looked familiar, and she had been instructed to bring some hairpins to secure it – again, very familiar. As was the white starched apron that lay folded beside it.
I’d best get cracking, she thought, opening up the bag and unpacking her few belongings, finally taking out the book, her own copy of Notes on Nursing, and running her hand over the cover before setting it down square and neat on top of the chest.
The uniform felt a bit stiff when she pulled it from the hanger and it seemed to resist her every move as she wrestled with it to dress. But at last she had it on and after she had run a firm hand down the skirt to straighten out the last crumples it felt reasonably comfortable. When she fastened the white apron tight round her waist the whole thing felt even more familiar and she knew that she was ready for work. Even as she descended the stairs, she felt like a housemaid still, but she relished the thought that, when she tapped on the door to Miss Merryweather’s room, she wouldn’t be answering a bell or required to stand with her eyes lowered and to repeat ‘Yes, ma’am’ and ‘No, ma’am’.
The chat that she had been invited to attend turned out to be more of a lecture, but Maud was glad of the time that was taken to try to explain the important requirements for being a nurse and what kind of duties she would have to undertake. It felt like Miss Merryweather had learnt them off by heart and that she was eager to demonstrate her knowledge as she whistled through all of the detail very fast indeed.
‘So, Nurse Linklater …’ she said, and Maud felt surprised and pleased to be given her title straight away, so much so that she found herself sitting up a bit straighter in the chair across the desk from the superintendent.
‘So, Nurse Linklater, let me just fill you in a little on my own background. I am proud to be able to say that I spent some time at St Thomas’s Hospital in London, which is where Miss Nightingale’s first training school is situated. The training here follows the same pattern as that of St Thomas’s. You will be with us for twelve months, working in the hospital. Miss Nightingale is very clear that all nurses must be trained in a hospital and nowhere else. At the end of that time you will then choose whether you stay in the hospital, work in the district, or work as a private nurse in the homes of those who can afford to pay.
‘I don’t know if you are familiar with any of Miss Nightingale’s writing or her thoughts on the requirements for a nurse …?’
Maud tried to say that she had read and reread Notes on Nursing, but Miss Merryweather was unstoppable.
‘Well, all applicants need to be sober, honest, trustworthy, truthful, punctual, quiet, orderly, clean and neat. Are you all of those things?’
Not waiting for a reply, she continued, ‘Miss Nightingale is clear that women who come to train as nurses must have a vocation and must be ready to learn. Can you read and write to a good standard?’
Again, not waiting for a reply she ploughed ahead, ‘The sanctity of our calling is paramount, paramount. And if you are found to be lacking then I, as superintendent, have been given the power to dismiss any of you probationers. You will have experience on all the wards of the hospital, medical and surgical, male and female. You will also attend a series of lectures given by one of our renowned surgeons, Mr James Fawcett. You have missed the first of the lectures but you must attend all others.
‘Miss Nightingale has deemed that all probationers should acquire fundamental nursing skills including the application of dressings and leeches …’ Leeches, thought Maud, oh no, I didn’t think leeches would be involved. I thought the doctors would be doing that. ‘… the administering of an enema …’ Maud didn’t know what ‘anenemas’ were but felt sure that she would soon find out. ‘… the making and applying of bandages …’ That should be all right, she thought. ‘… and, of course, every nurse must ensure the constant flow of a clean air supply.’
Maud knew about the importance of air supply and light from her reading of Notes on Nursing.
‘Any questions, Nurse?’ said Miss Merryweather, sliding a piece of paper across the desk to her before Maud could open her mouth to speak. It will have to be all right, she thought, taking the pen that was proffered so that she could sign the contract.
‘Before you sign,’ said Miss Merryweather, holding up her hand, ‘I need to let you know that there will be no examinations. Miss Nightingale regards them as little more than memory tests. However, your performance on the ward will be assessed and reported monthly, and let me be clear right now, Nurse Linklater …’ and then she paused to give Maud a solemn look, ‘Miss Nightingale considers that the most important consideration is a nurse’s personal and moral character, so, do understand that this will be monitored alongside the practical tasks that you will be required to perform on the wards. And one thing that will not be tolerated is drunkenness. It will result in instant dismissal. All nurses are given full board and a daily allowance of beer. We can’t trust the water round here to be clean enough, not now we know for sure that it’s linked to cholera. And there was a cholera outbreak in Liverpool last year. So you have your allowance of beer, but if you exceed the allowance then there will be consequences. Drunkenness has been the most frequent of reasons for dismissal of probationers over the last five years and it will not be tolerated here in the training school,’ Miss Merryweather reiterated. ‘Are you clear?’
‘Ye—’ Maud tried to say but in fact she felt far from clear.
‘Now sign,’ said Miss Merryweather. And Maud did as she was told.
‘Right, first,’ said Miss Merryweather, standing up from her desk as soon as Maud had signed the paper with as much of a flourish as she could muster, ‘I will let you meet my assistant, Miss Elizabeth Merryweather, and then we will go on a tour of the hospital.’
Miss Merryweather was gone from the room only moments, not even enough time for Maud to catch her breath, before she was back with a small woman in tow.
‘This is my sister, Miss Elizabeth Merryweather,’ she said, and Maud saw instantly the contrast between the two women. Miss Elizabeth stood with her eyes lowered and a faint flush on her cheeks, her voice was very quiet as she introduced herself and then she looked up at Maud and held out her hand. Maud couldn’t help but smile at the woman as she saw the warmth and the kindness in her eyes. She readily took Miss Elizabeth’s hand, to find to her surprise that she was wearing a soft leather glove.
‘Pleased to meet you,’ said Maud, feeling very strange indeed to be greeted so warmly by someone who was indeed a lady, and then wondering why Miss Elizabeth Merryweather felt the need to wear leather gloves indoors. Clearly the woman had not just come in from outside and she was certainly not on her way out.
‘Pleased to meet you, Nurse Linklater,’ said the small woman very quietly.
‘Now,’ said Miss Mary Merryweather, turning her back on her sister, ‘let’s get you shown around the hospital. There are so many things that I still need to do today.’
Finding herself trotting along behind Miss Merryweather on a tour of the hospital seemed peculiar to Maud after all the time that she had spent as a visitor, and as they moved speedily through all of the wards she began to feel disorientated. There were so many new faces, so many patients, what seemed like miles of corridor, and all the time she just wanted Miss Merryweather to slow down and let her take things in at a much gentler pace, or at least let her try to get her bearings. But there was no chance of that. She had to do her best to keep up with the superintendent and in each new area she was introduced to ward Sisters, probationers, a few doctors, enough to make her head spin. She saw Miss Houston in passing as they whisked along one of the corridors, but there was no time to speak although Maud saw her smiling at them.
Then, finally, they were on the Male Surgical ward and she was being introduced to Sister Law, who looked her up and down with the usual scowl on her face. Maud didn’t think she even recognized her at first, but then she made some comment about how at least she would be able to legitimately use the sluice room and she knew that Sister knew exactly who she was. She saw Alice’s smiling face in passing, and Alfred was sitting up in his bed watching everything that was going on. He didn’t smile, but she had told him not to. She had said that she wanted to maintain a serious face and if she saw him grinning at her she wouldn’t be able to help herself from smiling or, worse, laughing out loud.
And then Miss Merryweather made a point of introducing Maud to Nurse Sellers. She introduced her as ‘our leading probationer in this intake’ and Maud felt a small shudder go through her as she saw Nurse Sellers smile with her mouth but not with her eyes, which she then lowered in what looked like mock humility. Despite Maud not wanting to jump to any judgements too quickly she was increasingly uneasy around Nancy Sellers. Just give her a chance, she reminded herself. You don’t know her properly yet.
By the time they had got through a full tour of the hospital, including the boiler room, the coal store and the mortuary, some of the nurses were getting ready to come off shift and it felt like the day was coming to an end of sorts. Miss Merryweather turned abruptly to Maud and told her that she had some business with Miss Houston, so she asked Maud to make her way back to the Nurses’ Home and wait for the other probationers to arrive.
Maud, of course, went straight back to the Male Surgical ward to find Alfred. It had seemed strange not being able to make her usual visit to him that day, the first time that she had missed chatting with him since he had been admitted.
She was still buzzing with excitement and information from her rapid tour of the hospital and wanted to share some of it with Alfred, but when she got back to the familiar place on the ward she found his bed standing empty. What? Could he have gone already? She had seen him that afternoon – how could he have been moved so quickly? And how could she be sure he’d made it to the Blue Coat School as planned? Her heart sank and in that moment she knew how important he had become to her. It had crept up on her without her even realizing it.
Then she saw that the bed had not been remade, and when she felt the sheet it was still warm. How odd. Just as she was starting to wonder, she saw him down the ward, walking along beside Alice. As soon as they saw her they both waved and Alfred began to trot towards her, his arm still awkward in the grey sling.
‘What are you doing up?’ Maud said at the same time as he asked, ‘How did you get on?’
They both laughed and he stood in front of her admiring the brand-new uniform that was just the same as Alice’s. ‘What are you doing up?’ repeated Maud.
‘Well, the doctor came along and he had a look at my arm and he said the swelling is going down and it is looking all right, so he suggested that I get up and about a bit and do some walking, ready for when they send me out.’
‘Did they say when that might be?’
‘Soon,’ said a voice from behind.
Maud turned to find Nancy Sellers, standing there looking like she hadn’t done a stroke of work all day even though they must have been busy on the ward, as they always were. There was no flush on her face, not one strand of hair was out of place and her uniform lay perfectly clean with the white cap straight and neat perched on top of her blond head.
‘I was with Sister today when the doctor made his round,’ said Nancy. ‘The boy is doing very well and he has put weight on. There really is no need to keep him any longer than a day or two. I hope he has somewhere to go, otherwise it will be the workhouse.’
‘He has somewhere to go,’ said Maud straight out though not sure of her ground. ‘He will be going to the Blue Coat School.’
‘Well, I hope you are sure of his place at that school. I’ve heard that it’s very difficult to get in there and they don’t accept any rag-tag.’
Maud wasn’t able to reply. From what she understood the place wasn’t confirmed yet so she had to keep quiet and witness the flicker of triumph in Nancy’s eyes as she picked up on the uncertainty. Then she watched with slow fury starting to burn inside her as Nancy walked down the ward, stopping by Sister and saying a few words to her, and then both of them looked down the ward in Alfred’s direction.
Maud tried to smile at Alfred but her face was tense. Seeing the worried look on his face she had felt anger swell inside her. She wanted to walk straight up the ward and punch Nancy Sellers right on the nose. Looks like that’s the end of me giving her ‘a chance’, thought Maud. I think my mind is made up.
Turning back to Alfred, she could see that he was still worried.
‘Look, I will go and see Miss Fairchild this evening,’ she said, trying to smile, ‘and make absolutely sure that the arrangements are in place. It will all be all right.’
‘You will need to be back by ten o’clock,’ said Alice, who had remained within earshot of their conversation, ‘otherwise the door will be locked at the front and you will be in for some trouble.’
‘That’s all right,’ said Maud. ‘It won’t take me long to get where I’m going. But I do need to go.’
‘Of course,’ said Alice. ‘We need to make sure that Alfred will be all right. We don’t want to see him coming back in here again, do we? Just one other thing as well: you will need to go back to the Home and change out of your uniform. If you’re seen out and about in it there will be hell to pay.’
It felt extraordinary to Maud to be knocking on the back door of the big house on the evening of the same day that she had walked out of there with her bag packed ready for a new life.
The door was opened by Cook. ‘Changed your mind already, Maud?’ she said with a puzzled smile.
‘No,’ laughed Maud, stepping into the warm kitchen. ‘I need to see Miss Fairchild, that’s all, about Alfred.’
‘Alfred?’ said Cook, looking even more puzzled.
‘The climbing boy …’
‘Of course, of course. Poor little mite. Best thing that was ever done in this house was rescuing him from that Bill Greer. How is the boy doing today?’
‘He is just fine.’
‘Well, that’s good,’ said Cook, heading over to the range where a number of pans were starting to boil over on to the plate all at the same time. ‘Don’t mind me. I’m battling with the range as per usual. You go straight through and see Miss F. She’s been missing you already.’
‘Maud!’ cried Miss Fairchild, opening the door fully as if greeting a long-lost relative.
Maud was taken aback – she had only said her goodbyes that morning – but as Cook had said, it seemed like the housekeeper was missing her.
‘Sit down,’ said Miss Fairchild, and then instantly a shadow of concern darkened her smiling face.
‘Is everything all right, Maud?’
‘Oh, yes, yes, everything’s all right with me, but they are asking questions on the ward about where Alfred will be going. It sounds like he will be discharged soon and one of the nurses thought that he was going back to the workhouse.’
‘What! But that is ridiculous. I went into the ward only this morning to speak to that Sister. I told her that he was definitely going to the Blue Coat School.’
‘Did you?’ said Maud. ‘That’s strange, so …’ and then she remembered who had been questioning her about the school. It hadn’t been Sister but that Nurse Sellers. Maybe she hadn’t known, maybe Sister hadn’t told her, but for some reason Maud began to feel fairly sure that Nurse Sellers had known full well that Alfred had a place at the school and for whatever reason she had just wanted to cause trouble.
‘So is it confirmed then?’ said Maud, slumping back in the chair as relief started to wash over her.
‘Yes, the gentleman that I know there managed to put Alfred’s name to the top of the list, he will be going … definitely. But Sister said that they would be keeping him another couple of weeks anyway. She wanted him to put even more weight on – did that nurse not say?’
‘No, there must have been some kind of mix-up, that’s all,’ said Maud, suddenly feeling tired out by the strangeness of the day and now, being back here, having to bat away the longing for her familiar bed in the attic and easy companionship of the people that she knew so well. In that moment she knew that it was not going to be easy for her to say goodbye and go back to the Nurses’ Home for the second time in one day.
