Angel of the Somme: The Great War, Book 1 by Terri Meeker Read Free Book Online Page B

mustn’t hold his head—it’s injured! What do I do?”
    “Find something to put in his mouth,” Lily shouted. She gripped the far edge of the bed frame, using her body as a kind of belt to keep his bucking body in place.
    Rose looked at her, dumbstruck and horrified. “Something?”
    “A wooden spoon, a bit of leather. Anything!” Lily cast a glance over her shoulder to see if the sisters or the matron had spotted the commotion yet. The ward was dotted with white VAD scarves and no other staff.
    The captain continued to twist under her. She gripped the frame tighter. Though she’d seen seizures, she’d never been the one in charge before. Her heart thundered in panic.
    When she looked at Sam’s face, the sight stopped her breath. His eyes had rolled back inside his head and she could only see the whites of them as his head bounced off the pillow. What this must be doing to his injury, she couldn’t imagine.
    Rose had pulled off her scarf and was attempting to push it inside the captain’s mouth.
    “Not that, Rose! He’ll choke.”
    The captain bucked again and Lily threw her full weight on top of him. Not that it would do much good. He was much larger than she and well muscled. Try as she might, she wouldn’t be able to secure him for much longer. His legs drummed out a frightening rhythm on the bed sheets as he continued to seize—his body moving closer to the edge of the bed despite her best efforts.
    Suddenly, his seizure stopped. Not with a fading out—but in an instant. The whites of his eyes disappeared and he turned his clear blue gaze on her, blinking in surprise.
    Captain Sam had returned.
    “I saved him.” He wore a look of astonishment. “I think I saved him.” He spoke with absolute clarity, sounding nothing like his earlier, faltering self.
    Then his eyes closed and he lost consciousness before Lily could respond.
    She climbed off him just as heavy, running footsteps announced that someone had at last managed to raise the matron. Dread replaced Lily’s terror.
    “Status, Miss Curtis,” the matron barked as she skidded to a stop beside the bed.
    “Captain Dwight had a seizure incident, ma’am,” Lily said, stepping back.
    The matron pushed in next to the bed and gave the captain a critical assessment. “It appears to be over.” She pulled his eyelid open and studied his pupil reaction. She waved her hand in front of his face, but he gave no response. The matron flared her nostrils and leaned over to check his pulse and respiration, all business.
    “He’ll likely be out for a while. Did you make a note of the duration of the event, Miss Curtis? And what activity might have preceded it?”
    Since Lily had only just climbed off the man, she hadn’t quite had the time for notating a thing, but she knew better than to point that out to the matron. “I don’t know what caused it, ma’am, but I’ll be certain to mark the event on his chart.”
    “Fine. And upgrade his condition to SI.”
    “SI.?” Rose asked, her voice just above a whisper.
    “Seriously Ill.” The matron shot Rose an impatient glance. “Miss Curtis, I’d like you to take down the vitals and notify Dr. Raye of this personally. In the meanwhile, I’ll send Sister Newell over with Phenobarbital.” She turned to rumble off through the ward.
    Rose began to reattach her scarf with tear-filled eyes. “Sorry, Lily. I wasn’t much help to you.”
    “You did your best, Rose. That’s all anyone can ask for.” Lily turned around. “Gordy, did you see what caused the seizure? Was Captain Dwight doing anything unusual?”
    “Might have been he was trying to get at his mail.” Gordy cast a look down. A wicker basket lay on its side and letters were strewn about the floor.
    “That very likely was exactly the cause. Thank you.” Lily shook her head for missing the obvious. She bent over and scooped up the letters. She returned them to the second shelf of the captain’s bedside table.
    She retrieved his chart from