Chapter 77

After that it was all go. A bevy of nurses came into the room and, with the utmost care, transferred Mark to a wheelchair with a support for his leg. He and Victoria thanked the nurses profusely for their kindness, not to mention their coffee, and Victoria asked that her special thanks were passed on to Sue. An ambulance took him and Victoria to the aircraft.

Waiting for them were Jerry Stephens and a sergeant. "Well," said Jerry, "goodbye to you both. I'd like to have met you in happier circumstances but I'm confident that the treatment you're going to get, Mark, will make your leg as good as new, even though it may take a while. This is Sergeant Williams who will accompany you all the way to your next bed. He's got a supply of the local anaesthetic for your leg and he's also got my report to give to your surgeon at the ROH."

Sergeant Roberts shook hands with them both and then directed the cabin staff as they carried Mark's wheelchair aboard.

"Victoria," said Jerry detaining her, "in that report I've mentioned the neurasthenia and the symptoms of guilt that he is showing. I have stressed how important it is that you should be available to him at all times. Whether it'll work I don't know but I hope so."

"Thank you, Jerry. You have been quite marvellous and a friend. Don't worry. We'll manage." She stood on tiptoe and kissed his cheek. "Au revoir, I hope."

"Me too. Au revoir."

The flight home and the journey to the hospital were uneventful. Frances was there to meet them. She only got the chance to kiss Mark and squeeze his hand. Rather as she expected Victoria was quickly shooed from the private ward to which Mark was admitted as the medical team went into action. She went back to find her mother.

The two women hugged silently and then Victoria could no longer contain herself and sobbed into her mother's shoulder. Frances held her saying nothing until the storm passed when she led her to a chair.

"Tell me everything, darling," she said. So Victoria did.

"It's this neurasthenia bit that's got me worried," she said. "James, Peter Instead, Corporal Skinner all tried to cheer him up and tell him it wasn't his fault but he won't let it go. Jerry Stephens who looked after him at El Adem says they don't really know much about it clinically and just recommends love and patience. I can do the first but I don't know how long I'll be able to keep up the patience and then the love may suffer."

"I doubt that, darling."

"So do I, Mummy, but if I start getting impatient he may take it wrong."

"True but there are two lots of parents who will be on your side, not to mention Serena who, I suspect will very quickly put him in his place if she feels she has to."

"That's one of the dangers, Mummy. Apparently, if you tell them to snap out of it they go further into themselves and get all hurt."

At that moment the surgeon came into the room.

"Mrs Bowers?"

Victoria stood.

"We've done a series of X-rays, the results of which will be through shortly. We're then going to operate. That will probably take five hours. He's not going to come to for a couple of hours after that and then will be so full of pain killers that he's really not going to be compos mentis before tomorrow morning when we will want to do more tests to confirm that we've got everything right. I suggest therefore that you go home now and get a decent night's sleep and come back in at about ten tomorrow."

"That's very thoughtful of you," said Victoria. "I'm sorry. I don't know your name."

"Brian Steadman."

Victoria held out her hand. "How do you do, Mr Steadman."

He took her hand looking slightly nonplussed.

"Mr Steadman, I feel sure you've read the notes that Wing-Commander Stephens wrote."

"Yes, of course."

"In them I believe he mentioned neurasthenia."

"Yes."

"What is the best care for it?"

"Frankly, Mrs Bowers, I don't know. I'm an orthopaedic surgeon and know little of psychiatric matters."

"Thank you for being honest with me. Wing-Commander Stephens said that it was a bit of a mystery too but suggested that lots and lots of love and patience were important. I would add that on both occasions that he was told that he was going to be shipped home, once when he was still concussed and one when he'd got over it, the look of anguish on his face caused me a lot of unhappiness and worry. It was only when I was able to reassure him that I was coming home with him that he relaxed."

"Yes, of course, Mrs Bowers, but we'll be very busy with him and you really won't get an opportunity to talk to him."

"I appreciate that. I just want to be holding his hand to reassure him when he comes to, drugged though he may be."

"I appreciate your concern but I really don't think your presence would make a lot of difference at that stage."

Mr Steadman, how many wounded soldiers have you dealt with before?"

"Um, none."

"And so you have no idea what it's like to be blown up on a mine?"

"No."

"Can you imagine the shock?"

"No, but..."

"And the terror?"

"No."

"So put yourself in his position. Who would you most like in the world to be by your side?"

"My wife. You win, Mrs Bowers."

She smiled happily at him, which turned any remaining hardness of heart to liquid. There was no triumph in the smile: just gratitude and friendliness.

"So," she said, "I ought to be back in about seven hours?"

He nodded.

"May I say goodnight to him?"

Steadman could not help but smile. "Yes, Mrs Bowers, but please only that. Not a long chat. We want to get started."

"Of course you do and so do I."

"Come along then."

"Back in a few minutes, Mummy."

"Yes, darling. I'll be waiting."

She was as good as her word. "Be a good boy, darling," she said to Mark. "I'll be here when you come round. I love you." She kissed him warmly, squeezed his hand, winked and smiled at Mr Steadman and vanished.

"Right, Mummy," she said, "if we look slippy I could have a bath and about five hours sleep, not that I'm that tired. There was a wonderful nurse at El Adem last night."

She told Frances everything on the way home. She gave Anthony a tight hug and told him that Frances would tell him everything.

"Can I borrow the car?" she asked.

"No, darling. I need it. I'll take you in."

"Oh Mummy, that's not fair on you."

"My choice. I'll wake you in five hours."

"Mummy, darling, you're an angel."

"Very occasionally," said Frances and kissed her goodnight.

Everything went to plan. Mr Steadman had clearly spoken to the receptionist and Victoria was sent straight up to Mark's ward where a nurse escorted her to Mark's bedside. She was holding his hand when he came to and was able to give him a drink.

Mr Steadman was pleased with the tests and said that Mark could be moved to the BMH Millbank in forty-eight hours for routine nursing. He would visit and continue to monitor his progress.

Mark spent six weeks at Millbank and it was during this time that he gave evidence for the Board of Inquiry to a major in the Directorate of Army Legal Services (DALS). He and Victoria had discussed it at length. She was adamant that he told everything from the time of his arrival at Benghazi to the time of the accident. "The truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth," she quoted at him. He was not convinced and told his story once more without reference to the preceding four months but the major did a bit of extra delving.

"You said you didn't want to have a public row with Major Johnson. Who else was present?"

"The Company Sergeant-Major, Mr Winstanley, the OC's driver, Lance-Corporal Jones, and his radio op, Private Huggins.

"But would they have heard?"

"Almost certainly. Voices would have been raised."

"You said you were tired. Why?"

"I hadn't slept for forty-eight hours."

"Why not?"

"There was no opportunity."

"Oh come, Captain Bowers, you must have had a watch system."

"No."

"Why ever not?"

"Because the OC would not do turn and turn about."

"Why ever not?"

"Because he said he wanted to be alert during the day when most things were happening and that I could catnap. Then we also had a night move immediately before the day of the incident."

"All right but surely you've gone for forty-eight hours without sleep before."

"Yes."

"And did it affect your judgement?"

"Not that I'm aware of."

"So why this time?"

Mark stared at him, his mind in a turmoil. He was being invited to be disloyal to Johnson and yet he had done nothing to deserve that loyalty. On the other hand other witnesses would no doubt allude to the relentless effort that Mark had put in over the previous four months.