They walked to Lucy’s house, the groom having run along to join in and link his arm through Lucy’s. It was a picture-perfect moment for Scarlet, seeing her friend with her new husband, knowing how they’d met and for how many painful days they’d seen Lucy caring so much for a man without knowing his name or whether he was already promised to another.
Once they were at the house, with Lucy’s family and other friends filling up the interior and heading straight through to the large table that was being set for a feast, Scarlet waved Ellie over and they made their way outside. There was a seat in the garden, and Scarlet sat down in it, wishing her dress wasn’t so tight around the middle. Everything was starting to feel a little snug, although she hadn’t only the baby to blame. Since they’d been home and with more food than they’d had in France, she’d been making up for lost time and enjoying every meal, and it wasn’t doing her figure any favours. Ellie sat down next to her.
‘This is for you,’ Scarlet said, reaching inside her brassiere for the letter that had spent most of its life close to her body. ‘I’m so pleased that I never had to find your family to give it to them.’
Ellie did the same, holding out the letter that she’d held for safekeeping. ‘Do you ever wonder how we made it? I mean, did you ever truly imagine it could be that bad?’
Scarlet leaned against her friend, dropping her head to her shoulder. ‘Never. Not for a moment.’
‘Do you ever think about how many men we lost?’ Ellie asked her, her voice quavering. ‘On our watch?’
Scarlet put her arm around her and squeezed. ‘I have certain patients who haunt me, I suppose they always will, but most days I think about the ones we saved. I have to think happy thoughts, especially after Thomas.’
‘Do you still blame yourself?’ Ellie asked.
Scarlet didn’t sit up; she didn’t want to look at Ellie and let the emotion hit her hard, as she knew it would, so instead she kept her head on her shoulder. ‘I don’t think that’s something I’ll ever move past, but I try not to think about it.’ What she did often think about was that letter she’d written to Thomas, the one she’d let be taken by the wind, never to be posted to him. Then, she’d thought nursing would be fun, that it would be nothing more than character-building, that she’d find Thomas and they could get on with being married and living happily ever after. She’d been so wrong. But then again, when she looked at James, everything felt somehow right, as if she’d lived the journey that had been made for her.
‘I feel like we started out as girls and somehow became women, even though that sounds so silly and we didn’t exactly behave like typical teenagers back then.’
‘But we were girls, in a way,’ Scarlet said, her gaze settling on a pretty robin perched on the fence. Sitting there, looking out at the garden, it was almost possible to believe that the war had never happened. In the city and the streets where she worked, the war had touched everything; there was evidence everywhere of what they’d been through, what London and all her people had suffered. But not here, in this quiet garden. ‘I was so certain that I knew what I wanted, what my future looked like back then.’
‘And now?’ Ellie asked.
‘It’s a different kind of future,’ Scarlet replied, shifting to look at her friend. ‘I’m content, but I’m still . . .’ She wasn’t sure how to finish her sentence.
‘You’re still haunted by what happened, aren’t you?’ Ellie said.
‘Yes,’ Scarlet agreed. ‘Yes, I am.’
‘I think we all are. I honestly don’t think anyone could have seen what we saw and not be kept awake at night thinking about it,’ Ellie said as she unfolded her letter. Scarlet watched as she stared at the words. ‘When we wrote these, we had no idea what we were about to face, but we knew there was a chance we wouldn’t make it home.’
‘Girls!’ a breathless Lucy called out to them from the door. ‘I’ve been looking everywhere for you.’
Scarlet touched Ellie’s shoulder and then tucked her little folded-up letter into her hand, holding it tight. ‘We were just reminiscing.’
‘Well, come and reminisce inside,’ Lucy said. ‘The food is almost ready, but Jack and I are going to have our first dance now.’
Scarlet smiled to herself. Trust Lucy to already be in her husband’s arms. It was lovely to see her smiling again, after everything that had happened to her, after all they’d been through.
‘Come on,’ Scarlet said to Ellie. ‘We have men to dance with.’
‘I’m missing Rose,’ Ellie said, frowning. ‘It’s the first time I’ve left her.’
‘And her grandmother will be in heaven having her all to herself,’ Scarlet scolded. ‘It’s high time you enjoyed a few hours out with your friends. We might not all be together again for a while.’
They followed Lucy in, watched as Jack pulled her into his arms, dipping her back and kissing her. Scarlet had studied him, seen the way he looked at Lucy. She knew there were men who’d have been repulsed by Lucy’s burns; they were horrific and they would mark her for life. But Lucy had saved Jack; she’d been his lifeline when he’d woken up not knowing who he was or where he was from. She deserved him like no woman had ever deserved happiness before, because she was Lucy. She was the nurse who’d braved fire to save another’s life, and they were all lucky to have her in their lives.
‘Hello, beautiful.’ James surprised her, catching her in his arms from behind and whispering into her ear. They stood there, Scarlet leaning back into him as Lucy enjoyed her first dance as a married woman. All the furniture had been pushed back to make way for the happy couple. Scarlet waved at them, and when they laughingly asked them to join her, James twirled her around so they could dance, too.
‘Are you happy?’ he asked, murmuring against her cheek, his skin pressed to hers.
‘Yes,’ she answered, honestly. ‘I am.’ She wasn’t stretching the truth, either. She would forever shoulder some responsibility for Thomas’s death, warranted or not, but she was happy, and she needed to stop feeling guilty and let herself enjoy her future. If James had pushed past it, then so could she.
‘Good,’ he said simply.
Scarlet curled her arms around his neck, held her new husband close. Past his shoulder she could see Ellie dancing with Spencer, holding him tight. Anyone looking at them all now would have no idea what they’d been through, how far they’d all been pushed. She shut her eyes and listened to the steady beat of James’s heart. She’d found her happy place, and she only hoped they’d never have to face another war ever again.
Scarlet looked up when someone tapped a spoon to a glass. She’d been leaning past her husband to chat to Ellie and Lucy since they’d all swapped chairs after the meal, but it seemed the groom was ready to make a speech.
‘On behalf of my lovely new wife,’ Jack said, his American drawl making Scarlet smile, it sounded so smooth, ‘I’d like to thank you all for joining us today.’