The War had ended, but it had left its mark on the hundreds of suffering soldiers who lay stretched out in rows in what had once been the town hall. Anne Darnley walked down a row of groaning men who had been brought in last night.
These were the last of the wounded. The war no longer called men to the battlefield, and many had gone back to their families and what was left of their homes. But these men were from places too far away to go back to in their present condition, and Anne was doing the best she could to get them well enough to travel.
Anne put down the basin of water she had brought beside one of the beds. The soldier who lay on it was young and smiled when he saw her. His leg had been shattered in an explosion, and the doctor had had no choice but to amputate it. But the young man had accepted it with great bravery. Carefully, Anne unwrapped the bandage around his leg and cleaned the wound. Relieved to see that it had not festered, she bound it up with clean dressings.
"You are like an angel, Miss Anne. So sweet and gentle. I wish you would always be there for me," he said wistfully.
"You are much better now, and will soon be back with your own family, Major Harrison. And I'm sure they will take care of you better than I do," Anne replied with a smile.
"I will be glad to go back home. It has been so long since I left. But I wish you would come back with me. Would you consider… Marry me, Miss Anne," he said with a sudden burst of courage as he took her hand.
But then, his face took on a confused expression as he saw the wedding ring on her finger. She did not usually wear it when tending to the injured, as she feared it could become lost. But today, she had slipped it off the chain where she usually wore it around her neck, and back onto her finger.
