Page 9 of The Spitfire Girls
‘Next, please,’ she heard Doc request as she hastily pulled her clothes back on, not wanting the curtain to be drawn back to reveal her half-naked body to the rest of the girls.
Once dressed and back out in the room, Ruby took in the wide-eyed expressions of the other girls and felt pleased she’d got it over and done with. She cast a quick look at Polly and smiled, hoping she could tell that it hadn’t been so bad.
‘Miss Sanders, would you please follow me,’ May requested.
Ruby jumped to attention and followed the woman she hoped was about to become her commander as she walked outside.
‘Yes, ma’am,’ she replied hurriedly, falling into step beside her.
‘No need for such formalities – we all work together here, and I’d prefer you to call me May.’
Ruby nodded. ‘I appreciate that. And you’re to call me Ruby, of course.’
‘Well, can I start by saying how pleased I was to receive your application,’ May said, her expression hard to decipher as she stopped a short distance from the building and turned to face her. ‘My only disappointment is that you didn’t think to make contact with us earlier.’
‘I should have, I know, but you all seemed so ...’ Ruby took a deep breath. ‘What I’m trying to say is that I honestly wasn’t sure if I was good enough, after hearing how talented you all are.’ She sighed. ‘I’m here now, though, and I’d very much like to be of assistance.’
‘Indeed,’ May said, seemingly unconcerned by her falter in confidence. ‘I’m going to sit down and talk more closely with the other recruits, but I wanted to talk to you more directly and out of earshot.’
Ruby’s heart beat a little faster. ‘I’m not sure what I’ve done to deserve any special attention,’ she said, but the moment the words left her lips she wondered if she’d been singled out because she was about to be sent home. ‘Oh gosh, did I fail somehow already? Is that why you want to talk to me?’
‘No! Oh no, it’s nothing to worry about,’ May said, finally cracking a small smile. ‘Ruby, whether you believe it or not, you’re one of the most capable and experienced pilots to apply in quite some time – well, on paper, at least. That’s why I processed your application immediately.’
Ruby let the words sink in, surprised. ‘I’m more than happy to fly with you now, if you need to see my ability,’ she offered. ‘I have no interest in overselling my skills as a pilot. I mean, I’ve only been flying for a few years and ...’
‘Stop,’ May interrupted her. ‘I don’t want to hear you underselling yourself.’ She gestured back towards the brick building. ‘Those girls in there – they’ll make great pilots if they have the will to succeed, and one or two of them have flown before. But it’s going to take time to train the rest of them, time we don’t necessarily have. One of the girls doesn’t even have a licence to drive a car yet, and another has left her job as a professional ballet dancer to join us. They want to be here and I want to have them, but I need someone to join our Class II or Class III ferry pool that I can rely on.’ She sighed. ‘Almost immediately, in fact.’
‘You don’t have enough pilots in that division?’ Ruby asked, confused.
‘Wedidhave enough, and now we don’t,’ May said, her disappointment clear. ‘I’ve lost two of them just today. One is pregnant and had to be sent home, and the other simply didn’t have the nerve for it. We don’t have many girls leave once they’ve finished their training, so here’s hoping today isn’t the tide turning on my programme.’
‘So you don’t, well,loseany in the air?’ Ruby asked, stumbling over her own tongue. Fear gripped her at the realisation that this wasn’t flying for fun.
May’s eyes met hers, and the commander tightened her lips. ‘No – well, at least not yet. We’ve been lucky so far and I pray every day that the odds stay in our favour. We have to fly planes back from bases when they’re marked as unserviceable, just to get them back to the wrecker’s yards, and we have to fly every day without instruments or radios, so all my girls need to be vigilant and capable. We’re a country at war, which means we’re in danger every time we fly.’
When Ruby signed up, she’d known the risks; but hearing that no woman had yet died in the sky with the ATA was heartening, even if the lack of instruments and radios wasn’t. She cursed the familiar, nervous shake of her hands and she clasped them tightly, hoping May hadn’t noticed.
May took a step closer, studying her face. ‘Tell me why you want to fly for us, Ruby. What made you write to me after seeing our advertisement?’ Her expression was serious. ‘Is it your sense of duty, your love of flying, or both?’
‘Honestly, I read the advertisement and it hit me right here,’ Ruby replied, fist to her heart. ‘Flying is what I love most in the world, and since the war I’ve been grounded. The closest I get to it is reading my fiancé’s letters about his work as an RAF pilot, and I’m sick of sitting around when I could be doing something truly useful, whenIcould be doing my part to help our boys instead of sorting mail and making cups of tea. Flying to me is like breathing, it’s just ...’
May’s smile had a warmth that had been missing until then. ‘You just want to get back in the damn plane, am I right?’
Ruby laughed. ‘I suppose it takes a pilot to know one.’
May held out her hand and grasped Ruby’s, palm to palm, fingers warm against hers.
‘Ruby Sanders, will you do me the honour of joining the ATA? I want you up there flying every kind of plane we have before those other girls are even in a Moth, and within a few months I’d like to put you forward for Class V conversion so you can fly those four-engine bombers that every RAF squadron is so desperate for. Your record is impeccable and I believe that you’re exactly what we’ve been looking for.’
‘You’re certain? Gosh, I feel like I should be asking for your autograph,’ Ruby stammered, hardly able to believe the conversation she’d just had.And a four-engine bomber?‘Are you sure, are ...’
‘I’m no different to you,’ May cut in. ‘The only difference is that I’ve been doing this for longer and I was one of the first in the sky. Before long you’ll have equalled my number of flights, and I’ll be the one asking for your autograph.’
‘I ... I’d love to join you,’ Ruby managed, finally voicing her answer even though her knees were knocking and she wanted desperately to tell May all the reasons sheshouldn’tbe hiring her. ‘Whatever you need me to do, the answer is yes.’ She folded her hands together, excitement building as she thought about the adventure ahead. Part of her couldn’t wait to write to Tom and tell him all about her new base, the uniform she’d be wearing and the ferry pool she’d been assigned to, but the other part was nervous about sharing her news with him. She’d already written to him when she’d been accepted, but his reply hadn’t reached her yet and she felt anxious, especially in light of what his mother had said.
‘Is there anything I can do to assist today?’ Ruby asked.
‘Just walk tall,’ May said, as they headed back towards the building they’d been in earlier. ‘I don’t want anyone getting all fussy about your height.’
