Aether Spirit

Chapter 1-2

“Women’s quarters are this way. They stick us at the end as far away from the soldiers’ barracks and prisoners as possible.”

Nanette didn’t look at Claire as she talked. Claire trotted behind her and dragged her trunk on its little wheeled clockwork cart over as much stone-paved path as she could find. By the time they reached the squat, two-story building on the opposite end of the fort from the battle front, Claire’s arms ached, one from pulling the trunk and the other from holding her umbrella aloft against the driving wind and stinging raindrops.

Claire sensed the waves of resentment coming from the dark-haired nurse who led her to the women’s quarters, so she didn’t ask for a tour of the fort. It seemed pretty self-explanatory, and she was good at finding her way around. Once Nanette left her to their shared room—an unfortunate happenstance that the only empty female bed was with such a reluctant roommate—Claire unpacked as quickly as she could. She hadn’t brought much, having had to sneak out of her mother’s house in Boston, now shared with her least favorite aunt. She’d had to keep her whereabouts a secret from most of her friends and acquaintances, who would have ratted her out to her family, especially her aunt and brother. Her family wanted to stick her in an uncomfortable marriage with a man she hardly knew.

Hell, she hardly knew herself. Her memory held huge gaps from her life from when she’d been sixteen to when she’d come aware on a neuroticist’s couch in Vienna when she’d turned eighteen.

The only thing she was sure of was that the man she dreamed about—but whose face she never saw—had existed, and she wanted to find him again. She hadn’t encountered him in her mother’s circles in Boston, so she thought he must have gone to be a soldier of some sort. She believed in the underlying order of the universe, hence why she put herself in a position to be sent to the front. She had faith she’d find him, whoever he was, if she put herself in the right place. The grant award had seemed a long shot, but she’d gotten it, so he must be here.

Of course she couldn’t start up something romantically with one of her patients, but she knew she’d recognize him when she saw him, and she’d feel all the love and affection he’d been keeping for her these six years.

Or maybe she was just a silly girl with a dream. Either way, she’d be helping people, which was all she’d ever wanted. Her neuroticist had told her to focus on that, not finding the man she missed but wasn’t sure why.

She changed out of her wet clothing and into her work blouse and skirt. Hanging her clothing in the wardrobe allowed her to bring her attention to what she was doing. But thoughts swirled around in her head like the icy raindrops that had plagued her on the wagon ride from the station to the fort and after. She’d been lucky in that she’d arrived with a shipment of medical supplies, so she was able to get to the fort that day, unlucky that the freight wagon’s covering was for boxes, not people.

And the unenthusiastic welcome from Doctor Chadwick Radcliffe hadn’t helped. She guessed that even with his apparent expertise, he’d had to fight hard to stay in his position, or perhaps he was an interim chief. As much as the Union States may embrace the idea of emancipation, they didn’t necessarily espouse the principles of equality necessary for a dark-skinned man to be accepted as a medical chief of a major fort, and she brought potential controversy with her. She wondered if he’d trained in Europe. They certainly seemed more welcoming over there, although there was still plenty of racism.

Still, she’d been more than kind and didn’t think she’d given him any reason for his coldness.

Not cold, exactly, but fearful. Why was he afraid of her? He certainly hadn’t been happy to see her, but nothing about what she was there to do should inspire fear, and she’d been approved by the previous director. She was there to help Radcliffe. In fact, his antipathy to her had been almost visceral, his emotions too strong to sort it out. This led to one conclusion—he, like many, had been traumatized from his time at the front. Or he was afraid she’d damage his patients. She’d have to spend more time with him to reassure him. There was no sense in getting turned away until after she’d found her hero, whoever he was.

“Oh, there she is.”

Claire turned around to see Nanette and two of the other nurses waiting in the front hall of the quarters.

“Hello,” she said. “Thank you, I’m settling in nicely. Is dinner this way?”

“You’re not going unescorted, are you?” Nanette asked. “It would be very forward of you.”

Claire pressed her lips together so her upper one wouldn’t curl in disdain at the idea that a woman couldn’t go to dinner by herself. This was a war zone, not a society matron’s house, for goodness’ sake.

“Are you waiting for someone?” she asked. “Perhaps I could tag along.”

“Yes, but only three men are coming. You’d look a strange odd one out.”

One of the other nurses, a blonde, tittered. “More than you already do. What kind of woman wears spectacles?”

“Well, thank you for your advice, but I’m going to head along. Perhaps I’ll find my own escort on the way.”

She thought she heard one of them say, “Not likely.” She told herself she didn’t care, that the pricking in her eyes was from the rain. How could she have made a misstep so soon?

It doesn’t matter, it doesn’t matter. But she knew from experience it did. Alienating the nurses at a hospital was a one-way ticket to failure.

When Claire walked out of the front door, the inviting smells of the dining hall beckoned her. Relieved that her destination was upwind so she wouldn’t have to wander around completely lost, she opened her umbrella and stalked into the rain. Whatever she did, she wouldn’t allow a grumpy doctor and resentful nurse to deter her from meal time.

The more emotions she soaked up, the hungrier she got, and she had missions to fulfill, both personal and professional.