Page 69 of The London Girls
I was riding straight and then ...Her mind felt like a sieve, unable to piece together the moments that had left her on the ground.
She searched for her torch, barely able to see as she shuffled across the road. Eventually her foot connected with something hard and she bent to collect it, grateful to discover it was what she’d been looking for. She turned it on, banging it against her leg when it didn’t immediately work, and then suddenly there was a pool of light around her, illuminating the crash.There was a tree.It all came rushing back to her then: the explosion that had sent her careering sideways, the fallen tree trunk she’d seen too late; swerving across the road, her front wheel clipping the trunk and sending both her and the motorcycle flying up into the air.
Ava’s breath caught in her throat, rasping as she hurried to inspect her bike. She wiped at her face, eyes stinging as she hauled her motorcycle up, her light positioned between her teeth now, and desperately tried to start it. But it was a waste of time; the front wheel was pushed back into the frame, and even if she could have started the engine, she never could have ridden it. It was a mangled mess.
She hauled the motorcycle off the road, arms screaming in pain as she used all her strength to move it, hoping it would look salvageable come morning, and she checked the satchel across her body, sliding her hand inside to make sure the document was still there. Her head was spinning and she lifted her hand to it, wondering if perhaps she’d hit it. When her hand came away sticky with blood, she realised there was a good reason for how woozy she felt. Her head had started to pound and she was finding it difficult to balance, let alone walk, her ears still ringing and making it almostimpossible to think. She stood in the dark, her light turned off now for fear of being seen from the sky as more booms echoed out, more than she’d ever heard before, and she tried to ground herself, tried to keep her feet steady as she focused on breathing in and out.
You deliver those documents, even if it kills you.
Ava had never forgotten the words relayed to them during their training, and as she set off down the road on foot, her canvas satchel firmly across her body, bombs falling behind her and wreaking havoc on the city she loved, she wondered if it was to be her last dispatch. Every time she was sent out with a memo, she knew she was carrying an order or piece of information considered crucial to the war that was highly time-sensitive; they all knew they were risking their lives every single time they set out. She’d just been lucky up until now.
She forced her legs into a run, like a newborn foal trying to gain its balance as she stumbled along, determined to do her job even if it took her all night. How much time had passed? She wracked her brain, trying to remember where she’d been, how long she’d been riding for before the crash.
Devonport. You were trying to get to the shipyards at Devonport, in Plymouth. You know the route like the back of your own hand. You can do this.
She stopped a moment, turning her light on to get her bearings again. She was a long way from her destination, but so long as she could walk, if she could just keep moving, she could still make it before morning.I’m not going to let anyone down. I can do this. I’ll hitch a ride with a passing vehicle as soon as one comes along.
Another boom sounded out so loudly that she felt it reverberate through her feet, the ground shuddering with the force of it as she propelled herself forward again, as she refused to accept defeat. But in that moment there was something scaring her more than the bombs; she could smell smoke, and it was becoming thick inthe air, filling her nostrils, sending a shiver down her spine as she realised what was happening.
London wasn’t just being bombed. It was on fire.
If ever there was a night she was in danger of losing her life, it was tonight.
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
FLORENCE
SIX HOURS EARLIER
‘So, what is it you wanted to show me?’ Florence asked Olivia as they walked along an unfamiliar street just outside London. She glanced at her watch, worried they wouldn’t make it back in time.
‘It’s easier to show you than try to explain,’ Olivia said. ‘We’re just about there.’
They kept walking, and Florence kept wondering, and when they finally stopped outside a large house, it was the sound of children squealing and laughing that she noticed first. ‘I’d forgotten what it was like to hear children,’ she said. ‘It’s been such a long time.’
She remembered now how quiet it had seemed when large numbers of children were sent to the countryside for safekeeping, but after so long she no longer noticed it. Until now.
‘Where are we?’
‘We’re somewhere special,’ Olivia said as she opened the door with a key. ‘This place saved me after Leo’s passing, and if I’m not wrong, you need some help getting back to your life, just like I did.’ She paused. ‘Leo would hate to know that he was the cause of you giving up when you were so good at your job, and if I’m honest, itbreaks my heart knowing you haven’t been back since that night. I only hope that, in coming here, you might change your mind and realise just how needed you are.’
Florence wanted to reply, but the words stuck in her throat, so instead she quietly stepped inside after Olivia. She stood, surprised to see children sitting down, drawing and playing, some in wheelchairs, and others she could see through the window playing and running outside.Is this an orphanage?
‘I haven’t been entirely honest with you, Flo,’ Olivia said as she waved to some of the children. ‘I haven’t been with my parents all this time. I actually spent a week here helping out before I came to your place for dinner.’
Florence didn’t know what to say, other than to assure Olivia that she didn’t have to explain herself. What was it with people in her life keeping secrets from her?
‘Is it an orphanage?’ she asked, looking around.
‘Of sorts,’ Olivia said. ‘But all of these kids hopefully have a parent or family member who will come for them, eventually. Some of the parents are still in the hospital recovering, some they haven’t been able to locate yet, so their kids are sent here to be cared for and to receive schooling. These are children who stayed behind in London instead of evacuating to the countryside.’
Florence smiled. ‘You said to me once that before the war you wanted to be a teacher.’
Olivia grinned back. ‘I did. I also thought I’d be a mother, but with what happened to Leo ...’ Her smile was tinged with sadness now. ‘Anyway, I want to be surrounded by children, and this feels like the best way to honour my own dreams and my marriage. I can’t be a mother, but I can make a difference in the lives of these children.’
A girl of about seven came racing up when she saw Olivia, holding on to her leg and then twirling around in excitement.It was then that Florence noticed the girl’s arm was heavily bandaged.
‘What happened to her?’ she asked.
