SPOILERS!!!
The narration in the novel switches between Lucy and Dorothea.
Lucy and Charlie embark with the rest of officers and soldiers and their wives. Lucy makes friends with Adelaide, who is Charlie's best friend's wife. She is older than Lucy, but from the first they get along. I have to say that Lucy surprises me as she proves to be more determined and resilient as I thought. She is friendly to the other women and is willing to help when she can.
After weeks on the ship, they finally reach land, and it is here when things become harsher. Lucy, though, is happy. Charlie is everything she dreamt of, and she can't be happier. In Varna they have to sleep in tents, and Charlie and Lucy share theirs with Bill and Adelaide. There is a bout of cholera, and Bill comes down with the disease. Many die from the disease, but Bill recovers.
It is then when Lucy starts missing her family, and she writes a second letter to her father, hoping that Dorothea can write back with advice how to deal with cholera. Shortly afterwards the men are sent to Crimea, and even though the women are banned from going, Lucy and Adelaide dress up as men and sneak into the ship.
It is in Crimea where fighting becomes serious. There is a terrible battle, and Adelaide and Lucy are worried. Charlie returns to say they are fine and Bill is driving some prisoners, but when he comes again, he is crying, saying that one of the prisoners shot Bill in the head, and he is dead. Adelaide is shattered, and so are Lucy and Charlie. After they bury him, Adelaide has nothing to do in Crimea and decides to go back to her children in England. She asks Lucy to return with her, and Lucy considers the option, but Charlie begs her not to leave him alone, so she stays.
Things go from bad to worse after Adelaide goes away. Fight continues, and Lucy realises that the other women snub her, and they tell her that her husband is a coward. When he was supposed to charge ahead with the other men, he stayed back, and Lucy remembers that his uniform was not as dirty as other soldiers. And when there is announcement of another battle, Charlie refuses to go, so Lucy has to lie and say he is sick. Things between her and Charlie go from bad to worse. What she discovers is the reason why he and his family are estranged. He tells her about having an affair with the wife of his father's friend, and also his drunkenness, but what destroyed all possibilities of reconciliation was when he agreed to ride with his little sister, Susanna, on his new horse. The horse got startled and Susanna fell and died. This is a burden that he has carried since then, and he asks Lucy never to talk about Susanna again.
Things are strained between them. He is moody and snap at her, and Lucy realises that Dorothea was right, and she should have waited instead of rushing into this marriage. Charlie joins his men, and word comes to her on Christmas Eve. A Russian sniper has shot Charlie, and he is dead. Lucy is devastated, and she is sorry that Charlie died when things were so tense between them.
In England Dorothea feels terrible for the way that she treated Lucy. When she reads her letters, she writes to her, and decides to write to her every week, but we know that Lucy didn't get the letters. Dorothea hears that Miss Nightingale is looking for nurses to go to Crimea, and she applies for a post. Yet, when she mentions her sister and how she would like to see if she is well, they turn down her application, saying that they need nurses who are committed to the cause and can't be distracted. Dorothea is very sad. Then around November she learns that they need more nurses and she applies again, and she is accepted. Before going, her friend, Mr Goodland, tells her not to go because she wants to marry her, but Dorothea turns him down. He is someone she has no romantic feelings for, and she is determined to go to Crimea.
On the ship she makes friend with 65-year-old Elizabeth Davis, who has had a very intense life, and the two women become close. When They arrive in Crimea, they stay in a hotel, and Dorothea asks if any of the officers' wifes has run into her sister, but none has any information. Days pass without any change, and Dorothea grows restless, so she finally decides to take matters into her own hands, and she decides to travel to the war conflict on her own.
I am enjoying the book terribly. It is so good, and I love how these two women face this time in history with such bravery and determination.
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