The Red Cross girls with the Stars and Stripes

by Margaret Vandercook

Eugenia, who would have been apt to influence the younger girl, had she spoken to her, was only vaguely conscious of what was taking place. For naturally, Eugenia was absorbed in her duties as the superintendent of the new American hospital and wished to be absorbed in them until she had neither time nor strength for anything else. For if Eugenia were intensely occupied she was not so apt to be haunted by the thought of the possible fate of her husband. What could have become of him? There were many times when Eugenia believed that if she could only hear he were dead, she would be satisfied, even comparatively happy. There were so many other women learning to bear this burden. But the uncertainty was torture.

Nevertheless, Eugenia would not betray herself by revealing her unhappiness, believing that one of the first duties of war nursing is to put one’s personal sorrows out of one’s mind. Yet now and then a letter arriving from a friend, or from some person in authority who was endeavoring to discover what fate had befallen Captain Castaigne, Eugenia would sometimes be led to hope and then, at other times, to feel an even deeper despair.

So it was small wonder that, so long as Barbara and the other nurses did whatever was needed of them in the hospital and kept well, Eugenia was glad to know they were being helpful and also entertaining the soldiers until the time of their greater service. Certainly she would never have dreamed of feeling concerned over what any one of the original Red Cross girls might do. Eugenia believed she loved and understood them too completely.

There were other and different reasons why Mildred Thornton would not criticise her sister-in-law. In the first place, Mildred was reserved and not critical and was also occupied with her own experiences. Moreover, the very fact of being a sister-in-law made her too loyal both to Barbara and to Dick to think of resenting Barbara’s present behavior.

Therefore it was left to Nona Davis, as the only one of the four old friends to puzzle over and not altogether to approve of one of their original group. But this may have been partly due to the fact that Nona felt a little on the outside and was frequently lonely for Sonya during the first few weeks of this second coming to France to continue her Red Cross nursing.

Yet, whatever defense one might make, or whatever excuse be given, there was little doubt that Barbara was behaving strangely. Nor was it heir friendship with Mollie Drew nor with Agatha Burton which excited Nona’s unexpressed criticism. Nona herself had worked with Mollie and Agatha in Italy and had liked them fairly well. It was she who had introduced them to Barbara. But it looked at present as if Barbara Thornton were only using the friendship of the two comparatively unknown girls to further her own plans.

For, the slight acquaintance with young Lieutenant Hugh Kelley, which Barbara had started in idle fashion on board the train bringing them both through France, had apparently developed into a real interest. This was rather extraordinary in view of the fact that Barbara was married to Richard Thornton and was supposedly utterly devoted to him. Moreover, she had a baby and yet was behaving as if she were a girl again.

Sometimes Nona wondered if Barbara had ever explained to Lieutenant Kelley that she was Mrs. Thornton, not Miss Thornton. He had received this impression upon their first meeting and Barbara did appear so absurdly childish. However, it was just as well Nona had never felt at liberty to inquire, for as a matter of fact Barbara had deliberately continued the false impression, persuading Mollie and Agatha to assist her. At first the misunderstanding had struck her as amusing, later she had concluded that it would do no possible harm to go on with it, as a new friendship would keep her from being so lonely and unhappy over her separation from Dick.

As for Lieutenant Kelley, she really did not consider him, only she knew, of course, he was the type of man who always enjoyed a mild flirtation. And Mollie and Agatha made particularly agreeable friends at present, because they were comparative strangers and therefore would not criticise her, and also because they were interested in two of the American soldiers.

Mollie and Guy Ellis who had met in such an absurd fashion, had developed a surprising interest in each other for so short an acquaintance. But then these were war times and they were both in a foreign land.