A Flight of Golden Wings (16 page)

He was, therefore, pleased when he saw her waiting for the taxi at Lichfield.

‘Hi, Simon.’ Lucy laughingly started to thumb a lift. ‘You going to Ratcliffe?’

‘My next stop.’ He turned to the group of pilots – men and women. ‘Little Rissington after that, and all stops on the way to White Waltham.’

Four, including Lucy, hoisted up their parachutes and followed Simon to the plane.

At Ratcliffe, Simon decided to take a break and see if he could persuade Lucy to come out with him. Perhaps he’d take her dancing.

They’d just got out of the plane when he heard Lucy give a squeal of delight. Simon recognised the man she was waving frantically to – Dave Sullivan.

‘Do you know him?’ he asked.

‘Sure do. Thanks for the lift, Simon.’ Then she was rushing towards Dave.

The disappointment Simon felt was more than he would have expected. He’d seen Dave talking to Jack last night, but he’d never guessed that Lucy knew him as well.

That served him right. While he’d been hesitating, someone else had stepped in.

The summer months had flown by, and it was now the end of September. As Ruth looked back, she realised that on a personal level it had been a good few months. She now knew for certain that her love for Jack was strong and lasting, and Lucy had become a good friend. Because of the volume of work they had only been able to meet now and again, but both Lucy and Jack would be spending Christmas at her home. Her parents had met Lucy and were looking forward to it enormously. Things were going well for Gussie and Harry as he continued to return from his bombing raids. But as far as the war was concerned things were not encouraging.

In June Tobruk had fallen to Rommel’s Afrika Korps, with thousands of allied troops being taken prisoner. American troops were engaged in fierce fighting in the Pacific, and in August there had been an attempt to raid Dieppe, with disastrous results.

‘Ruth!’ The sound of Sally’s voice broke through her reverie. ‘Jane wants to see you.’

‘Right.’ She noticed that Sally was looking very pleased about something. ‘What’s going on?’

‘You won’t find out if you stand there.’

That was enough for Ruth and she hurried to Jane’s office. Sally was very steady and usually calm. It took something really special to stir her up like that. Ruth knocked on the open door.

‘Come in, Ruth, and sit down. Has Sally told you?’

‘No, she just said I should get in here quickly.’

‘Well, I’ve got good news. You and Sally have been recommended to go on a course for the four-engines.’

Ruth gasped in surprise. ‘You mean try for our Class 5 rating?’

‘You’re going to do more than try. You are going to succeed.’ Jane leant forward. ‘The choice of the first pilots to convert to four-engines has been given careful consideration, and we are sure that you and Sally are the most suitable candidates. Some men still believe that women can’t handle the big planes. We’re going to prove them wrong!’

‘We certainly are!’ Ruth couldn’t stay in her seat. ‘When do we start?’

‘The day after tomorrow. You will go to Leavesden. Captain Anders will be your instructor, and he’s on your side. He believes that women
can
fly the large bombers.’

Ruth nodded. ‘I like him, and he’s one of the best instructors in the ATA.’

‘I agree, and we’re also going to train some flight engineers.’ Jane gave a satisfied nod. ‘Now, back to today’s
business. I’d like you to take the Anson, pick up pilots from Lyneham and return them to White Waltham.’

After thanking Jane, Ruth couldn’t get out of the office quickly enough. She had been chosen! It was hard to believe.

Sally was waiting and they grinned at each other, then the full import of what they were about to do hit Ruth. ‘Wow!’ was all she could say.

‘Wow, indeed!’ Then Sally sounded a note of caution. ‘This isn’t going to be easy, Ruth. If we don’t make it on the four-engines then that will be the end, and the doubters will say, “I told you women weren’t strong enough.”’

‘We’ll prove them wrong,’ Ruth declared with complete confidence. She picked up her parachute. ‘But first, I’ve got some pilots to collect.’

One of the pilots waiting for the taxi was Gussie. Ruth was bursting to tell her, but decided to wait until later when there weren’t so many people around. She wasn’t sure if anyone else knew about this yet, but Jane hadn’t told them to keep it a secret. She hoped Simon and Jack were around when she landed at White Waltham.

She was in luck. They were both there checking in when she went to do the same. She pulled them out into the corridor to give them a bit of privacy. ‘I’ve been chosen to go on a conversion course for the four-engines.’

The two men looked at each other, then back to her, but said nothing.

‘Class 5!’ She spread her arms out as wide as they would go. They didn’t seem to be getting the message. ‘Big bombers!’

Suddenly she was lifted off the ground by Jack and spun
round. ‘We know, honey, and that’s great. Don’t take any notice of us, we’re just teasing.’ He put her down again.

Simon kissed her cheek. ‘Congratulations, Ruth, you’ll do just fine.’

‘What am I missing?’ Gussie rushed up to them. Ruth told her, and her friend erupted with pleasure. ‘Wonderful! Do well and that will give the rest of us a chance later on.’

Ruth grimaced. ‘There’s no pressure then.’

But during the winter as one delay after another held up the training, the pressure built. Ruth had only completed six of the required solo landings when the Halifax had problems and the course was stopped. She worried about the time it was taking, and doubts crept in as to whether the idea of women flying the large bombers had been abandoned. Sally was confident that it hadn’t.

Ruth tried to relax over Christmas, and having Jack and Lucy with them helped. Her parents were in their element making a fuss of their guests.

Sally proved to be correct, and in February 1943 the course resumed, and Ruth finally completed the required solo landings. Handling large planes did not prove to be too difficult. With a flight engineer on board, all they had to do was concentrate on the flying. They had proved that women were capable of doing this, and the way was now open for more women to progress to the large aircraft. It had been a long haul due to the many delays, and now it was over, Ruth felt quite drained.

Jack was in Perth on a priority delivery, and Ruth longed for him to be with her. She wanted him to hold her in his
arms and just talk in his deep, soothing American voice.

Sally wandered into the Mess and sat beside Ruth. ‘We’ve just heard from Gussie and she won’t be back tonight. She’s grounded by bad weather and she’ll try to complete the delivery tomorrow. It’s a priority again.’

‘Jack’s on one of those as well. Blast!’

‘We ought to celebrate our new rating.’ Sally spoke gently. ‘Tricia and Rob would have expected it. Let’s you and I do something crazy.’

Sally was quite right, Ruth realised. Neither of those lovely friends would have expected them to be gloomy after their achievement. She sat up straight. And it was an achievement to be proud of. ‘I agree. What shall we do?’

‘We’ve got tomorrow off so why don’t we go to London and dance until we drop? We could spend the night at the Savoy and have breakfast in bed before coming back.’

‘That’s a wonderful idea,’ Ruth laughed, ‘but hardly crazy.’

‘Ah, but who knows what we’ll get up to while out on the town!’

‘True,’ Ruth agreed. ‘We’ll have to go by train because I haven’t got enough petrol for the car.’

‘As it happens, there’s an RAF truck going to London. I’ve already cadged a lift.’ Sally winked at Ruth. ‘We’re not the only ones looking for a night out.’

‘That’s terrific.’ She stood up. ‘When is it leaving?’

Sally consulted her watch. ‘In about fifteen minutes.’

‘What? We can’t be ready by then!’

‘Of course we can. You keep an overnight bag in your locker, don’t you?’

‘Yes … but I haven’t got a dress in it.’

‘Neither have I, and it doesn’t matter, everyone will be in uniform, Ruth.’

‘So they will.’ Ruth pulled a face. ‘I’ve almost forgotten what it’s like to go out all dressed up and looking feminine. Do you think anyone will ask us to dance when they see the stripes and wings?’

‘Let’s find out, shall we?’

They both made a dash for the lockers and had just collected their bags when a voice shouted that the truck was leaving.

‘I’ll just leave a note for Gussie in case she gets back and wants to join us in London.’ This was hastily written and left with ops.

When they climbed into the back of the truck, it was crowded with a mixture of ATA pilots and servicemen. They were the only women and Sally was already joking with the men. Ruth had never seen her in such a relaxed mood, but she obviously felt she had earned a bit of fun. And she was right. Ruth squeezed in between two men and smiled, now ready for a good night out and a little flirting. This was another thing she had almost forgotten how to do, but would soon get the hang of again. And she’d forget Jack for a while. Since his sister had talked to him, he’d become more affectionate and relaxed with her. When they were alone together – which wasn’t nearly often enough – he held and kissed her, but as soon as their passion mounted, he stepped back. It was damned frustrating. Sometimes she wished she didn’t love him quite so much. Still, she couldn’t change her feelings for him, and didn’t want to. He was
everything she wanted in a man, and if he drove her mad at times, then that was just the way he was. Whatever he did was because he felt it was the right thing to do, and she couldn’t argue with his motives.

When they arrived in London, the first thing they did was book into the Savoy Hotel. They were busy and only had a twin room free, so they took that.

After dumping their bags and freshening up, they had a meal in the restaurant and then went to the American Bar for a drink.

‘Do you know where we can go dancing?’ Sally asked the barman.

‘Try Covent Garden. They hold dances in the Opera House sometimes.’

‘Really?’ Ruth was surprised and turned to Sally. ‘Let’s try that. We can walk from here.’

They quickly finished their drinks and were on their way.

There was indeed a dance being held there and, when they stepped inside, the place was packed. They’d hardly set foot in the door when two army officers moved in on them. One was Major Alan Brewster and the other Captain Pete Hammond, both in the parachute regiment.

‘Told you it wouldn’t matter if we were in uniform, didn’t I?’ Sally managed to whisper before they were swept on to the dance floor by the men.

Pete was Ruth’s partner. He was tall with polished manners, but he was clearly a strong man. No doubt they had to be ultra-fit to jump out of planes and be ready to fight. Ruth glanced around at the sea of uniforms and studied some of the faces, everyone intent on having a good
time. She couldn’t help wondering what many of them had seen and done. They were ordinary people being called upon to do extraordinary things.

‘You don’t talk much, do you?’ Pete remarked dryly.

‘Oh, I’m sorry.’ She smiled up at him. ‘I didn’t mean to be rude, but I couldn’t help looking at the crowd. There must be servicemen of many nations here tonight.’

‘Including the Yanks. That’s why we moved in as soon as we saw you. Our American friends have a way with the ladies.’

Ruth bit back a smile. ‘So I believe.’

He held her away from him so he could examine the gold wings on her jacket. ‘Air Transport Auxiliary. I’ve heard about the women pilots, but you are the first one I’ve met. What do you fly?’

‘Anything that needs delivering.’

‘You mean trainers?’

She shook her head, but didn’t have a chance to answer as Sally and Alan danced up to them.

‘Would you believe it, Pete, these little girls fly fighters and bombers! Isn’t that something?’ Then they danced away again.

‘Four-engines?’ When she nodded he was clearly impressed. ‘But aren’t they heavy to handle?’

‘Women are quite capable of flying them, and we do have a flight engineer on board to help us with the undercarriage and any controls that are out of the pilot’s reach.’

Amusement flickered across his face as he asked, ‘Ever jumped?’

‘Not yet, but I wouldn’t hesitate if I had to.’ She looked
up at his face. He had nice grey eyes and was handsome in a tough way. ‘How many times have you jumped?’

‘Too many.’

The dance ended and they went to find Sally and Alan. They caught up with them at the bar. They spent the entire evening together and had a thoroughly good time. The officers were excellent dancers and had a wicked sense of humour. Ruth and Sally hadn’t laughed so much for ages, and it did them both the world of good.

‘Where are you staying?’ Alan asked when it was time to leave.

‘The Savoy.’

‘Right, we’ll walk you back.’ When he saw they were about to say it wasn’t necessary, he said, ‘And it’s no good you protesting.’

Ruth and Sally thought the least they could do was buy them a drink at the hotel. The soldiers wanted more, but on receiving a firm refusal, they took it like gentlemen.

They walked into the bar laughing, not at all eager for the evening to end.

The sound of a familiar laugh made Jack glance towards the door. Seeing Ruth on the arm of an army officer shook him so badly that his first instinct was to leap out of his chair and tear her away from him. He took a deep breath. That wasn’t the way to handle this. After all, he was the one who kept insisting that a firm commitment between them would be wrong at this time. She was free to do whatever she liked.

They were at the bar now and having too much of a good time to notice him. What a blasted fool he was. He’d been so sure she wouldn’t look at anyone else. Arrogant sod! He could think of more colourful expressions to describe his stupidity, but that would achieve nothing. He closed his eyes briefly as he marshalled his thoughts. He was going to have to make sure she didn’t want to turn to anyone else for her pleasure. And the best way to do that was to make her his – in every sense of the word. She was a well brought up girl who didn’t sleep around, he knew that well enough – and he’d respected her for that.
But seeing her with someone else had shaken him, and called for drastic action on his part, or he was going to lose her.

His mouth twisted in a wry grimace as he thought, Ma, you tried to make a gentleman of me, but I’m about to throw all that teaching out of the window.

He stood up and walked towards the bar, and stopped right behind Ruth. ‘Hiya, honey. Had a good time?’

She nearly fell off the stool she was sitting on, and he steadied her as she spun round.

‘Jack, what are you doing here?’

Not the most encouraging greeting, but he let it go. ‘I saw the note you left for Gussie, so I thought I’d come and join you.’

Ruth was still flustered. ‘I thought you were stuck with a priority delivery. How did you get back?’

‘The weather was rough, but I managed to complete the trip. I got a lift part of the way, and finished the journey to White Waltham by train.’ He gave a forced smile. ‘Aren’t you going to introduce me to your friends?’

‘Sorry.’ Sally made the introductions.

Jack shook hands politely and bought them all another drink. He stood so close to Ruth that their bodies were touching, and he knew the soldiers had got the message. He was also aware that this irritated Ruth because she kept glaring at him, but he didn’t move.

They talked for about an hour, and then Pete and Alan prepared to leave, thanking Ruth and Sally for making their evening so enjoyable.

Jack walked with them to the door where the captain faced him. ‘Ruth is a lovely and talented girl. You’ve made
it plain that she belongs to you, though I’m not so sure she feels the same about you. You’d better sort that out, mate, because if you don’t, I’ll be back. I know where to find her.’

‘You won’t need to do that. I’ll get it “sorted”, as you say. It’s sure nice to have met you both.’

Alan and Pete grinned as they shook hands with Jack. ‘You too. Take care of those girls. They’re something special.’

‘They sure are.’ Jack watched them march away, then turned and went back to the bar.

Ruth was furious. ‘What the blazes do you think you were doing?’

‘Doing?’ He shot Sally a glance of mock surprise. ‘Do you know what she’s talking about? I was perfectly polite. I bought them drinks and even saw them on their way.’

Sally smothered a laugh. ‘Oh, Jack, you’re incorrigible, do you know that? You smiled, but your attitude said, “Hands off, buddy, she’s mine.”’

Sally’s American accent was so bad that Ruth saw the funny side of Jack’s actions. In a way it showed he cared about her, although he never put it into words. She yawned. ‘Where are you staying, Jack?’

‘Here.’

‘I thought they didn’t have any vacancies? We could only get a twin room.’

‘They found me one. Sally can have the room to herself. You’ll be sharing mine.’

‘I beg your pardon?’
Ruth lowered her voice, not wanting anyone else to hear, relieved that Sally was occupied ordering a newspaper for the morning. ‘You dare
come here radiating disapproval because I’ve been dancing with a charming man – and that’s all I’ve been doing – then you have the nerve to
tell
me I’m sharing your bed! Well, you’ve had a wasted journey!’ She took a deep breath to steady herself. ‘You are a complete mystery to me, Jack.’

He watched her storm away, collecting Sally on the way, and leave the bar. He gave a snort of disbelief at his crass conduct. He’d really loused that up! She was furious with him, but not as angry as he was with himself. If he didn’t do something to redeem himself in her eyes, he was going to lose her. He had come to this country to fly planes, not fall in love. But that’s what he’d done, and there was no point trying to run from that fact. Goodness knows he’d tried hard enough to do just that. And as for her not understanding him – join the queue, he thought. His family had never understood his restlessness, and the way he shied away from making a commitment. He had a dislike of being tied down in any way. That’s why the freedom he felt in the air was right for him.

This self-analysis was all very well, but it wasn’t solving his immediate problem. Wandering over to the bar he sat on a stool and beckoned the barman. ‘Would it be possible to get some flowers – preferably roses – in the next ten minutes?’

The barman was having difficulty keeping a straight face, having witnessed the exchange. He poured Jack a whisky from a bottle he kept under the counter. ‘Put your foot in it, have you?’

Jack tossed back the fiery liquid and grimaced. ‘Yeah, big time.’

‘I’ll have a word with reception and see what we can do.’

‘Thanks.’ Jack stayed where he was as the barman disappeared. It was late now – or rather, early morning – and the bar was nearly empty. He ordered another drink and stared at it gloomily.

The barman was gone for some time, but when he returned he was carrying an enormous bouquet of mixed flowers tied with a golden bow.

‘My God!’ Jack gasped. ‘Where did you get those at this time of night?’

The man smirked. ‘There’re ways. We couldn’t get all roses, but there are a couple of red ones in the bunch. Would you like to attach a note, and then the bellboy will take them up to the young lady’s room.’

Jack wrote five words – I’m sorry, please forgive me – then tucked it in the flowers.

The bellboy was hovering, ready to carry out his errand. Jack tipped them both generously, and then made his way up to his room. That was all he could do tonight. He might as well try to get some sleep.

He was sprawled on the large double bed trying to read a newspaper when there was a knock on the door. With a sigh, he got up. That was probably the boy to tell him Ruth had refused the flowers. If he was in her shoes, he’d throw them right back as well.

When he opened the door Ruth was standing there, a rose in one hand and her toilet bag in the other. He was too stunned to move or speak.

She nudged him aside and walked in. Turning to face him she said, ‘You are a difficult man to stay mad at, Jack Nelson.’

Relief flooded through him. For once in his life he’d done the right thing. He moved towards her but didn’t dare take her in his arms, for he doubted he would be able to stop if he did. He carefully reached out and ran his fingers down her cheek, caressing gently. ‘Thanks for coming to tell me, honey. I’m real sorry, but I was so damned jealous when I saw you with another man.’

‘Were you?’ She leant her cheek against his hand, and held up the flower. ‘I like a man who isn’t afraid to say he’s sorry.’

His hand moved down to caress her shoulder. He wanted her so much, and that realisation scared him half to death. He was in territory he’d never been in before. His girlfriends had come and gone without a pang of regret. Her hesitant demeanour told him that it had taken a great deal of courage on her part to come to his room like this. Her inexperience was showing.

Lowering his head he brushed his lips over hers. ‘Stay with me tonight, honey. You can trust me. I won’t get you into trouble.’

Ruth studied his face for a moment, then put the toilet bag on a chair next to her, and tossed the rose on to the bed, her decision made. She wrapped her arms around him and held on tightly.

Unable to hold himself in check any longer, Jack kissed her until they were both lost in passion.

Breaking the embrace he undid the top button of her blouse and murmured, ‘Let’s get rid of these clothes, shall we?’

When Ruth opened her eyes she found Jack leaning on his elbow and looking down at her. He kissed her gently. ‘Morning, honey.’

‘Is it morning already?’ She stretched and smiled at him before realising that he was dressed. She couldn’t hide her disappointment. After the night they had just shared it would have been lovely to wake in his arms and savour the closeness. ‘You’re up early.’

‘Yeah, sorry, but I’ve got to leave now. I’ve ordered breakfast for you, and I’ve taken care of the check –
bill
,’ he corrected. After kissing her again he swung himself off the bed and stood up, looking anxiously at his watch.

‘You’d better not be late.’ She didn’t know how she managed to keep her voice so normal. There wasn’t a hint of the passion of last night. He just wanted to be on his way. He was going to leave without a word of love. But then, he had never said he loved her. She knew it was something she was going to have to accept. This was how Jack Nelson was. It was either take it or leave it. She would take it.

He picked up his bag. ‘I’ll see you when you get back, then.’

She nodded.

With his hand on the door, he turned. ‘Thanks for last night.’ Then he was gone.

As soon as the door closed behind him she burst into tears. It wasn’t supposed to be like this, was it? For her it had been a glorious experience, but Jack clearly didn’t feel the same. Calling herself all manner of names, she dried her eyes and blew her nose. She had come to him willingly, without any pressure from him, knowing what he was
like. He obviously wasn’t a novice at making love, and she couldn’t help wondering how many women had fallen for his charm. Quite a few, she imagined.

Ruth got up, washed and dressed. There was no way she was having breakfast here by herself. And she had to stop feeling sorry for herself. It was selfish. Since Rob had been killed, Jack had taken on more and more work as an instructor and, no doubt, had lessons lined up for today. When she’d made the decision to sleep with him, she had been fully aware of the step she was taking. And she couldn’t regret it. Whatever happened in the future, she would always have wonderful memories of their night together. And, to be honest, she hoped there would be many more.

There was a tap on the door and she opened it to find the waiter there with her tray. She gave him Sally’s room number, asking him to take it there, and walked along the corridor with him.

She opened the door and peered in. ‘You up, Sally? I’ve brought my breakfast with me.’

Sally was sitting up in bed with a tray on her knees and beckoned Ruth to join her.

When the waiter had left, Sally studied Ruth’s face. ‘Where’s Jack?’

‘He had to leave early.’

‘Hmm, are you all right?’

Ruth nodded. ‘Yes, I am. I don’t regret my decision. I love that difficult man so much.’

‘Good.’ Sally managed to squeeze another half a cup of tea out of her pot. ‘My boyfriend’s in the navy, and we make the most of every moment we get together.’

‘I didn’t know you had a steady boyfriend.’ Ruth was surprised, for Sally never said much about her private life.

‘We met about two years ago, and will probably marry if we both survive this war.’

‘Not before?’

‘No. Too many people are jumping into hasty marriages. We feel it’s best to wait until things quieten down before taking that step. We all react differently to the danger of this war. Some forge ahead without thinking about the future, and others are more cautious.’ Sally gave Ruth an understanding smile. ‘I suspect Jack is the cautious type, like me. Any decision taken in the heat of battle, so to speak, could turn out to be a dreadful mistake. Don’t be upset by Jack’s refusal to make a firm commitment. From what I’ve seen of him, he’s a man with a strong sense of honour, and won’t want to cause you more heartache than is absolutely necessary. Who knows how we’ll all feel after this conflict is over, when the danger and tension has gone. Just enjoy being with him.’

Ruth thought about Sally’s words and smiled wryly. ‘You’re quite right. I’m usually quite sensible, but Jack seems to scramble my thoughts.’

Sally laughed out loud. ‘I know exactly what you mean. Now, what are we going to do for the rest of the day?’

‘I don’t know. Have you any ideas?’

‘Let’s go out and take the day as it comes, shall we?’

Ruth nodded in agreement. ‘That sounds like a recipe for every day, doesn’t it?’

‘It helps.’

He was running behind time. Jack put his foot down hard on the accelerator. He’d managed to borrow a car for this trip to London or he would never have been able to stay overnight. He should have been on his way an hour ago, but hadn’t wanted to leave before Ruth woke up. She had looked so lovely, and it had taken all his self-control not to make love to her again, but he doubted if he’d have made it back before afternoon if he had. She had been disappointed when he’d left so early, but once she got over that she would see that he’d had no choice.

Once he was out of London, he drove like a bat out of hell. If he didn’t come across any delays on the way he might just about make his first appointment.

As the car hummed along his thoughts went back to last night. Ruth must love him or she would never have come to him like that. He was pretty damned sure it had been her first time – and he had never experienced anything like it before. Oh, he’d had one or two women in the past, but making love to them had been quite different from Ruth. Dear God, but she was wonderful! He hoped he’d been able to show her how much she meant to him. He didn’t know why it was so hard to say those simple little words – I love you – but they seemed to stick in his throat. He’d just have to show her by his actions.