Chapter 6: The Hospital, 1920
Alec reluctantly walked up the steps of the Mile End Hospital for Servicemen. These places gave him the creeps now. He’d spent six weeks in one in 1915 after he’d been shot in the leg at Neuve Chapelle and he’d had his teeth gritted with frustration the whole time, initially at the pain and then with his determination to get back to the front. The smell of carbolic soap and misery dragged him back there. The long hallway was empty, but there was an office on the left of the main door and he knocked and opened it without waiting. “Good afternoon. My name is Carter. I spoke to the matron this morning and she asked me to call in. Is she about?”
The older woman behind the desk looked up. “Yes, if you’ll wait a moment, sir, I’ll tell her you’re here. Please, do s
