This wreath and another smaller one, which was at present not on display, represented many hours of work by the Red Cross nurses at Eugenia’s hospital. But the wreaths had been Barbara’s idea. Indeed, she had revealed herself as a fairly good general in the amount of work and enthusiasm she had inspired other people into exhibiting toward making her entertainment for the American soldiers an unusual success. The paramount difficulty was that the Casino could hold only a limited audience and that the entire camp of American soldiers would have liked to have been present, as well as the adjoining French camp.
But at least Barbara understood some of the rules of the game, for she had left the selection of the audience entirely to the discretion of the officers at camp, only reserving the privilege of inviting Madame Castaigne and the staff of nurses and physicians at her own American hospital.
However, Madame Renane was Eugenia’s guest and, in a measure, the guest of the American hospital staff, and as Barbara was one of their Red Cross nurses, it was natural they should feel a kind of proprietary interest in the occasion.
The patients at the hospital, who were sufficiently convalescent, were also invited. Among them was Lieutenant Martin, who asked Nona Davis as a special favor if she would go with him and sit next him during the performance.
As a matter of fact, Nona would greatly have preferred accompanying Madame Castaigne and Mildred Thornton. Madame Renane was to be with them and remain with them until her part of the program, and Nona would have enjoyed the opportunity of knowing the great French woman more intimately. Nevertheless, she did not feel that she could refuse Lieutenant Martin, as he was still her patient and had not been out of doors except to walk for a few yards at a time.
So as to secure their places before the crowd of soldiers appeared, he and Nona started a little earlier than the others. On their way to the Casino, Nona became the more convinced that she might not have so agreeable an evening. For, however much he might be trying to conceal the fact, Lieutenant Martin was again not in a specially amiable humor, although recently he had been showing more self-control. Neither was he in sympathy with the prospect ahead of them.
“Seems utter nonsense to me, Miss Davis, this business of coddling solders and keeping them amused as if they were children who needed toys. Surely there is work enough to keep everybody occupied and we should all be tired enough to wish to go to bed when work is over.”
Nona shook her head.
“Nonsense, Lieutenant. I hoped you intended to reform since your illness and become a more popular officer. I had a talk with your Colonel and, although he seems to like you pretty well, I am convinced he believes your stern views are simply due to the fact that you are so young and have had so little experience of life. The Colonel is a dear himself; I nearly fell in love with him. Pretty soon you will be going back to work, so please promise me to remember that you yourself have not always been so averse to being amused, even to being coddled during these past weeks.”
And Nona laughed with a faint suggestion of teasing.