Page 18 of The Spitfire Girls
Your immediate presence is requested at Hamble Airfield. We regret to advise that Commanding Officer Samantha Perry has suffered health complications and is no longer cleared for duty. We also require two more pilots to urgently join Ferry Pool No. 15 to train to ferry four-engine bombers. Ferrying those bombers is now imperative to the greater war effort.
Major Luke Grey
May stared at the urgent letter. She was so used to being at their civilian headquarters at White Waltham, where the majority of the ATA pilots were based, and she was settled in her role now. But if they needed her to move, then move she would. She knew only too well how few women had their Class V to train to fly those bombers, and if they didn’t get those planes to the front, they might never win this bloody war. Which meant she’d have to take Lizzie with her to the more advanced airfield whether she liked it or not. None of her own pilots were as experienced, and she knew Lizzie would pick things up quickly. Part of her wished she’d be training alongside them, but if she was taking over as commanding officer, she’d no doubt be buried in paperwork most of the time.
‘Is everything all right?’ Ruby asked.
May sighed. ‘Nothing’s ever all right these days. Gather your things, Ruby, and notify Lizzie that we’ll need her to accompany us. I’m transferring to the all-female ferry pool in Hamble, and I need our two best pilots with me.’
‘When?’ Ruby gasped, not bothering to mask her surprise.
May knew her protégé suffered a serious case of nerves when it came to believing in herself, but she could only hope that throwing her in at the deep end would be exactly what she needed. She folded the telegram and stuck it in her jacket pocket. ‘Today. And Polly? I’m going to reassign you. Once you finish training, you’ll be taking over Ruby’s role here at White Waltham as an executive officer.’
Polly’s mouth dropped open and May held out her hand, managing a smile despite the turmoil she felt.
‘Thank you,’ Polly whispered, as a huge grin crossed her face.
‘Congratulations,’ said May. ‘You certainly deserve the promotion.’
She watched as Polly and Ruby hugged excitedly.
‘Sanders, let’s get ready to go. And please tell the American for me that she’s no longer staying at the Savoy.’ May smiled at the idea of knocking Lizzie Dunlop down to size. ‘It’s time for her to put her money where her mouth is and show us what she’s made of.’ She was about to head back to her office, but then spun on her heel. ‘Oh, and Ruby?’ she asked. ‘Can you let Benjamin know we’re leaving and that I want him to join us, too?’
May wanted a flight mechanic with her that she could trust implicitly, who could anticipate what she needed, and Ben had been good to her from the very beginning. She thought about the way he was always there, as determined to keep them all safe as she was. He was a good man and a good mechanic, and if she’d been able to let down the tiniest section of the wall that she kept so carefully guarded around herself, she might have even admitted he was pleasant company, too. But she wouldn’t, not now, and maybe not ever.
‘You might be able to tell him yourself,’ Ruby murmured as Ben came running over. And not only was he running, he looked completely furious.
‘What is it?’ May called out. What on earth could have riled him so badly?
‘It’s the American. She’s just taken off without clearance for some sort of air display!’
May’s blood boiled as she looked up to see the Spitfire soar like a bullet through the sky above them.She’s taken a plane? Just like that? Without asking for permission?
‘How did she ...’ May stammered.
‘She ran out to help move the aircrafts,’ Ruby interrupted. ‘I told her to put the Spitfire somewhere safe, but I had no idea she’d do this. I’m so sorry.’
The plane flew low, rolling and then diving before being pulled up at the last minute and rocketing into the sky again.
‘She’s amazing,’ Ruby whispered.
Polly laughed beside her, their heads tilted back as they watched the sky. ‘Imagine having the balls to fly like that.’
‘Even if I wanted to, I wouldn’t have the confidence,’ May heard Ruby say with a sigh. ‘My Tom, he flies like that. I was always going to try those kinds of tricks, but he never seemed to think I was ready.’
May nudged Ruby hard. ‘Stop watching her as if she’s something special,’ she fumed. ‘Flying a plane like that might take confidence and ability, but it’s also reckless and inappropriate to show off,especiallygiven what’s just happened here.’
Ben touched her shoulder and she met his gaze. Clearly, he was as angry as she was, but he was shaking his head. She looked at Ruby, at the horror on her face that she’d done something wrong, and realised that she’d projected all her anger at the wrong person.
‘I’m sorry,’ she muttered. ‘It’s Lizzie I should be saying all that to. You know perfectly well why we’re here and how to be part of a team.’ Hearing her protégé speak as if she wasn’t as capable, though? It irritated her that Ruby’s fiancé, a man who was hundreds of miles from them, could still influence her so deeply.
‘Do you, ah, do you want me to get her?’ Ruby asked. ‘When she lands, I mean?’
‘What I want is for you to pull her down a peg,’ May fumed as she stormed off. ‘And remind her that this isn’t some jolly overseas experience, because we’re in the middle of a bloody war, in case she hasn’t noticed!’
Lizzie might have the fancy training and acrobatics in the air, but Ruby had skill and the quiet respect of the other women. Seeing her watch the American slack-jawed and in awe was more infuriating right now than Lizzie’s insubordination.
She’d been asked to take her best two pilots with her to train to fly four-engine bombers, but was she putting her own reputation on the line by taking Lizzie with her? If she couldn’t rein her in and she turned out to be a loose cannon, all hell would break loose – not just for her, but for all the women who flew for the ATA. One bad egg could affect the lot of them. But the four-engine bombers were the only planes that women were not cleared to fly outside of training yet, and if she didn’t take Lizzie? She gulped. Then she might be signing the personal death warrant of the men who were waiting for them; getting those big bombers to the front was the only way they stood a chance of winning the war, and she knew it.
