The inside of the two-storey building she was taken to was almost as cold as the outside. ‘I’ve no idea which are your quarters. There are lists pinned to the wall. Find your name and wait in there.’
With a swirl of her coat the unpleasant woman left her to her own devices. Ellie shivered in her wet clothes but refused to be cowed. Being here was her choice, she was going to make the best of it and not allow anything to depress her.
She found her name on the third list. The dormitory, if that’s what it was called here, was easy to find and was even colder than she’d feared. There were five beds either side, arranged head to foot against the wall, and a large black stove in the centre. The iron bedsteads were stacked with three flat brown squares which presumably made up the mattress. On top were four blankets and two rough cotton sheets held together by a fifth folded blanket. The pile was finished by a lumpy pillow – there didn’t appear to be a pillowslip for this.
She was first in so could choose which bed she wanted and decided on the one nearest the door. It might be beneficial to be able to exit first in some circumstances. As she was on her own there was no need for modesty. She stripped to the skin, dried herself with the towel she’d brought with her, and then hastily dressed again. This time she put on the one skirt she’d brought with her and her lisle stockings. She wasn’t sure what to do with her wet slacks and long johns, they certainly wouldn’t dry in here at the moment.
She draped them over the end of the bedstead and put her knapsack on the floor beside it. There was a locker which doubled as a bedside table, a mat and a couple of hooks behind each bed – surely there was more storage space than that for each of them?
Her belongings went in the locker. She didn’t want to get anything personal out until she was sure she wasn’t going to upset anyone by having the place she’d selected. Her clothes looked untidy over the bed so she hung them on the hooks.
Her stomach rumbled loudly. She’d had nothing to eat today apart from the picnic Mabel had provided. She might as well explore the building as she was going to freeze to death if she remained in here much longer. Even with her flying jacket, scarf and gloves on she was perishing.
The floors were stone, a reminder of their Victorian past. The bathrooms were no more than functional and when she turned a shower on only cold water emerged. Hopefully there would be hot in the mornings and evenings when they wanted to wash.
To keep the blood flowing she marched briskly up and down the long corridor until she was tired and then retreated to her dormitory. There were no chairs; the floor was too cold to sit on and she didn’t dare unpack the mattress or bedding so she could use the bedstead as a seat.
There was kindling, newspaper and two hods of anthracite. She wasn’t going to remain in the cold for another minute. Perhaps she should light the stove despite the fact she’d been told it mustn’t be done until five o’clock. There was ice forming on the inside of the windows, her breath steamed in clouds in front of her, and she couldn’t feel her extremities. Then she noticed that the long johns and slacks were rigid – the wet patches had frozen solid.
She had to remove her gloves to get the stove going but it was worth it. Half an hour later the cast-iron was red hot and she was beginning to thaw out. When the other girls arrived, instead of finding a damp and dismal dormitory, they would walk into somewhere a little more cheerful.
Having broken one rule, she decided she might as well make her bed so she had somewhere comfortable to sit. If she was going to be put on a charge it might as well be for two things instead of one. She’d already blotted her copybook, according to the unpleasant corporal, by arriving on her own. So much for wishing to make a good impression in her new life.
If only she had something to eat and a hot drink everything would be tickety-boo. The strange three-piece mattress proved to be as uncomfortable as she’d feared, but at least there were plenty of blankets. She stretched out on her neatly made bed and dozed off.
She was woken by the sound of girlish voices approaching. Now she was for it – but she didn’t care, she was warm and everyone else in the dormitory would be as well. She would be unpopular with those in charge but she was sure the other girls would be pleased.
Their voices echoed down the empty corridor. For a horrible moment she thought they were going into a different room but then someone tentatively pushed open the door.
‘Golly, it’s lovely and warm in here.’ The speaker rushed in followed by the others. Ellie might as well have been invisible as they all ignored her. Her eyes filled. She slumped back on the lumpy pillow and put the blanket over her head.
Someone poked her none too gently. ‘You shouldn’t have lit the stove or made up your bed. You will have us all on a charge because of your selfishness.’
Ellie sprung out of bed expecting to be surrounded by a circle of accusatory faces. Instead there was just one girl, the rest were smiling at her. This gave her the courage to stand up to the bully.
‘I arrived more than two hours ago and I was damned if I was going to freeze to death whilst I waited for the rest of you to turn up. Instead of moaning, you should be grateful the dormitory’s warm.’
The girl, about her own age, but taller
