On the orders of Max, Maria began to cut away at the Captain's shirt, checking his face constantly and hoping that he would respond to the sounds around him or to her touches. His torso and arms were peppered with shrapnel marks but it was the angry red burn stretching from his left elbow to his neck and face that made her gasp.
"We need ice!" She cried out to whoever was listening. Oh please Lord, let him wake.
"Not yet, my dear." Frau Schmitt responded calmly, placing a comforting hand on Maria's arm and displaying the matronly authority that she had gained as a young woman in the war. "Clean the blood away with this" Maria accepted the cloth being held towards her "but don't get any water on the burns."
"It's alright, Captain" she whispered as she timidly wiped the blood away from his chest "you're going to be just fine." His eyes were closed and a puckered red burn shot across them. Maria prayed that they would open again and bit back the terror that this thought provoked as it suddenly threatened to engulf her. Oh where is the doctor? Why hasn't he come?
In the background somewhere behind her she could faintly hear Max speaking weakly to Franz in a low and laboured whisper. The words 'car' and 'fire' were audible to her but there was little else that needed to be said. Another male voice then entered the room behind her and before she could think further, the Captain was being pulled away from her by the Doctor and Franz.
"No, what are you doing?!" She objected, flinching at the way they held him and moved at speed towards the grand staircase. They acknowledged her protest with pointed looks but did not respond so she followed them. "Be careful with him, please." It was unbearable.
"My dear, come with me." Frau Schmitt distracted her as she grasped her arm and the two women raced ahead to the master bedroom on the upper floor. "Run a lukewarm bath." With that, Frau Schmitt left Maria alone to carry out her task.
Maria looked around large, bright, unfamiliar room for the ensuite door. Her head pounded as she darted across the room, almost tripping over the Captain's slippers as she did so. She turned the enamelled taps to full blast and ran back into the bedroom. "Doctor, the bath is running lukewarm."
"Very good," the doctor replied evenly as he and Franz placed the Captain on the bed "now add some of this."
Maria's eyes widened as he handed her a glass bottle of eucalyptus oil. "Won't this sting him terribly?"
"A little, but it's for the best." The Doctor smiled warmly, noting the look of worry in her eyes. When the Maria's back was turned, the doctor looked quizzically at Franz.
"The Captain's governess." Franz explained, only to be met with a look look of surprise from the doctor.
The minty herbal scent of the eucalyptus oil wafted through to the bedroom as the two men carried the Captain through to the bathroom. Maria anxiously gripped her apron as she watched them lower the partially clothed Captain into the bath. Franz, the doctor, and Maria watched his face closely for a reaction as his body touched the water. There was no response.
Then suddenly there was a deep anguished groan from the captain as the water hit his injured arm and torso. Maria was at his side immediately, grasping his hand from the oil-slicked water.
"Captain, I am Doctor Haas." The doctor spoke calmly as he reached into his bag. Maria observed him carefully as he filled a pipette with oil. "You've had a little accident in your car and I need to take a look in your eyes." He paused as he inspected the pipette. "Fraulein, please could you steady him as I take a look?" Maria nodded, not taking her eyes away from the Captain. "This may be uncomfortable, Sir."
Uncomfortable didn't even begin to cover it and Maria knew this from the hesitation in the doctor's movements as he moved to open the captain's left eye. Her heart pounded so hard against her chest that she was sure the Captain would hear it. She gripped his hand a little tighter as the doctor moved closer.
Nothing could have prepared her for the gut-wrenching cry from the Captain and the way his body thrashed in the water as the doctor held his burnt eyelids open and administered the castor oil. Maria bit her lip to stop her tears as he grasped her hand so tightly that she lost feeling in her fingers. As the doctor moved to his other eye, the Captain's entire body stiffened as he curled onto his side. The movement splashed water all over Maria and the floor. Franz began to run more bath water.
"There there," she whispered softly to the Captain. She watched as he gritted his teeth, his face and body contorted in pain. "This will soon be over, Captain." She prayed that it would be.
Frau Schmitt entered the bedroom with her arms full of clean towels. "Herr Detweiler is settled in his room. The poor man full of guilt and he has a nasty graze to his cheek." She shook her head slightly and looked over to where Maria leant against the closed bathroom, door. "How is he?" Her voice softened.
"Brave." Maria whispered. Her eyes were red and she had obviously been crying.
"That's our Captain, my dear." Frau Schmitt smiled sadly, as she turned to close the curtains against the night sky. "He will need you and the children more than ever now." She switched on the bedside lamps.
Maria's eyes widened in horror "The children..."
"... are all settled in their beds. Dear Leisl saw to that."
She darted towards the door, heart pounding "I must see them.."
Frau Schmitt held Maria's arm gently. "Let them rest, my dear. They will have a lot to digest tomorrow."
Before any more could be said on the matter, the Captain appeared in the bathroom doorway with his arms draped around the shoulders of the doctor and Franz. Maria gasped at the sight of him standing and leapt towards them but then hesitated, not really knowing what to do. She stood back, wringing her hands, as he was placed on the bed and tucked in.
"All dressings, apart from those on his eyes, will need to be changed once a day." The doctor explained to Maria and Frau Schmitt. "I will return in one week to take a look at his eyes." He placed two jars of pills on the bedside table "These are to be taken three times a day for the pain. And these twice a day to minimise the risk of infection." Maria nodded, her eyes obviously full of fear. "For now, he needs to rest. Somebody should be with him at all times."
"Yes doctor," Frau Schmitt answered, "be rest assured that we will have all in hand and will call you if there are any changes. Fraulein Maria will take care of him this evening as the children are in bed." She turned to Maria with that usual knowing look in her eye. "Fraulein, why don't you go and change your dress and come back here when you are ready? If we leave your dress to soak tonight, all will be well in the morning."
Maria looked down at her blood-spotted dress and nodded, quite unsure of why Frau Schmitt had assigned her to be the first carer. It was almost as though the housekeeper could read her mind sometimes. "Thank you, Doctor." She shook the doctor's hand solemnly. Before she left, she took a last look at the bandaged Captain, who was propped up stiffly against the pillows. "I won't be too long, Captain" she said softly before leaving the room.
Although she couldn't be sure whether he was sleeping or awake as his eyes were obscured by bandages, Frau Schmitt she was certain that she had detected the faintest of smiles on his lips as Maria spoke. 'Yes,' she thought, 'he needs her more than ever.'
AN: Thank you for your reviews and follows and apologies for doing this to our captain! The medical treatments are (I hope) historically accurate as they are taken from my copy of A. Millicent Ashdown's 'Complete System of Nursing' 1934.