Man at War – Excerpt No. 241

9 May 2026

At his bedside there was an empty glass of water. That gave him an idea, but needed to be first and foremost discrete.

“Nurse,” Marc called out quietly to the back row.

On his second call, a younger nurse turned to acknowledge him. He held the glass in his hand and motioned to Mackenzie.

She understood his request and went to the back and grabbed a stainless-steel pitcher. The first thing he noticed about her was how those eyes matched the pitcher she carried.

Photograph of a Canadian Bluebird nurse in 1915 at a Casualty Clearing Station during the Great War. She is a young brunette with steel-grey eyes, wearing the standard blue uniform and white veil of the nursing sisters. She is holding a gleaming stainless-steel pitcher, standing beside a wounded soldier's bedside in a dimly lit canvas ward tent. Soft lamplight, medical equipment, distant mud and war atmosphere, somber yet compassionate expression, highly detailed, historical accuracy. Clothing and settings appropriate for 1915.

Disclaimer: This novel is an work in progress and readers may encounter grammatical errors and inconsistencies. Please view this a draft and not a published work.