The Spitfire Sisters Read online

  ‘What?’ Pips said again. ‘What d’you mean?’

  ‘Because he’s my nephew.’

  For a brief moment, Pips stared at him and then burst out laughing. ‘Heavens, no. It’s not that. I think he’s a lovely young man. It’s just that’ – her glance went again to Daisy – ‘back home, there’s Luke.’

  ‘Luke? Oh yes, I remember. I met him when you were in hospital. But he’s her cousin, surely.’

  ‘Yes, but they’ve always been close friends since they were small. And then, of course, there’s Harry too.’

  ‘Harry?’

  ‘Luke’s half-brother. Since he was quite young, he’s been declaring openly to anyone who’ll listen that he’s going to marry Daisy one day.’

  ‘And what does Daisy say?’

  ‘She just laughs. I don’t think she takes him seriously.’

  ‘Mm.’ Mitch was thoughtful before saying slowly, ‘Well, contrary to what you might think, Pips, despite the fact that he looks very like me, Johnny is nothing like me in character. I don’t think he’s going to be a lady’s man or even a bit of a flirt. If he sets his mind on your Daisy, you can bet your life he’ll be serious.’

  ‘She’s only fifteen, Mitch. I don’t think her mother or father would be amused if she were to become romantically involved with anyone just yet. And my mother would have a fit.’

  ‘I don’t think you need worry. At the moment, Johnny’s head is in the clouds. All he can think of is joining the RAF.’

  ‘Perhaps that’s just as well,’ Pips murmured as she watched the two young people talking animatedly together; no doubt, she thought, all about flying!

  Five

  ‘I must say I like the sound of this new president they’ve got in America,’ Robert said when Pips took Daisy back home. ‘I think Roosevelt will be great.’

  Pips nodded. ‘He’s got an uphill battle, though, if what the papers say about the financial crisis there is true. Frankly, I’m more worried about what’s happening in Germany. Now Hitler has got such power, the boycott against Jewish businesses is escalating into violence.’

  ‘It takes some believing, doesn’t it, that people can act like that against their own countrymen?’

  ‘I don’t think they see them as that. That’s the trouble.’

  The brother and sister regarded each other solemnly. Where would it all end?

  With no such dark thoughts to trouble her, Daisy couldn’t wait to tell Luke and Harry about her trip and set off towards the village. ‘Luke, you’d just love flying. I know you would.’

  ‘What about me?’ Harry piped up. ‘Don’t you think I’d love it too?’

  Daisy smiled kindly at the eleven-year-old. ‘I’m sure you would, but I don’t think your mam would let you go up just yet, do you?’

  The youngster gave an exaggerated sigh. ‘Why am I always being told that I’m not old enough to do anything? Can’t ride your dad’s motorcycle like Luke does. Can’t go flying . . .’

  ‘You will one day, I’m sure. But you do go riding,’ Daisy reminded him gently.

  Harry was at once contrite. He knew he should be grateful for the privilege the Maitland family afforded him and Luke. None of the other village kids had been invited to ride the ponies and horses in the stables at the hall every Saturday from the time they were old enough.

  ‘Sorry, Daisy,’ he muttered.

  She linked her arm through his. ‘You’ll get there, Harry. Don’t be in too much of a hurry to grow up. Enjoy your childhood, ’cos it’ll not be long before you have to become a working man.’

  ‘It’s just – I feel left out sometimes,’ he murmured, not wanting to sound like a crybaby.

  ‘Oh now come on, we’re always together. We’re like the three musketeers. Anyway, I’m going to ask my dad if he’ll take us to Skegness for the day. I’ve heard there’s an airfield there where they operate pleasure flights. Perhaps we could go when Aunty Pips comes for a weekend. Your mam and dad might let you both go. You can only ask.’

  It wasn’t Peggy or Sam who refused to let Luke and Harry go with the Maitland family for a day out to Skegness to take a pleasure flight, but Len.

  ‘Oh no, m’lad,’ he said to Luke, ‘you’re not going off gallivanting like that. You’ll get ideas above your station in life. Where d’you think I’m going to get the money for such things? Pleasure flights indeed! And if Sam thinks he’ll treat both you and Harry, then I must be paying him too much. And before you say owt, I aren’t having them at the hall paying for you either.’

  ‘They did offer, Granddad.’

  ‘No doubt they did but it’s belittling me, that’s what it is. You’d better put all that sort of nonsense out of your head, else I’ll begin to think I’m not leaving my business in safe hands.’ He wagged his finger in Luke’s face. ‘It’s her I blame. Young Daisy. You can’t ever keep up with her, lad, so don’t think you can. You might be first cousins, but I can’t help that. I didn’t hold with yar Aunty Alice marrying Master Robert.’ There was a pause before Len added, his tone softening just a little, ‘I’ll get you that motorcycle I promised you, then you’ll have no need to be beholden to them any more. How would that be, eh?’

  ‘Thank you, Granddad,’ Luke said with an outward meekness he wasn’t feeling. Inside, he was raging. He had the distinct feeling that Len was trying to separate him and Daisy.

  And to him, life without Daisy wouldn’t be worth living.

  ‘I can’t go with you to Skegness,’ Luke told Daisy, when he and Harry arrived at the hall as usual on the Saturday afternoon to go riding with Daisy. ‘Neither of us can.’

  ‘That’s a shame. I expect your mam’s worried about the flying, is she?’

  Luke shook his head. He didn’t like telling tales against any member of his family, but he wasn’t going to allow his mam to be blamed for something that wasn’t her fault. ‘No, it’s – me granddad.’

  ‘Ah.’ Daisy stared at him for a moment, tempted to say more, but then she realized just how much sway Len had over Luke. ‘Never mind, then.’

  ‘You’ll still go though, won’t you?’

  ‘Probably not. The trip was mainly for you and Harry. Besides, I like to go and stay with Aunty Pips and go to Brooklands. You’d love that too, Luke. The racing. There are cars and motorcycles there as well as the flying.’

  There was a pause before Luke blurted out, ‘He’s getting me that motorcycle he promised me ages ago.’

  Daisy eyed him suspiciously and then glanced away. ‘That’s nice,’ was all she could think of to say. She was shrewd enough to guess at Len’s motives. ‘Anyway, he’s still letting you both come riding, so, let’s go.’

  But none of them enjoyed the afternoon as much as usual. A shadow seemed to hang over them; a shadow that was there but that they could not yet fully understand.

  The following week, Len kept his promise and a second-hand motorcycle arrived at the workshop. Despite his niggling doubts about his grandfather’s reasons, Luke couldn’t help but be excited. But now, it was Robert who caused disappointment. He forbade Daisy to ride pillion.

  ‘I want your solemn promise, Daisy. You’re not to ride on the back of Luke’s bike.’

  Daisy, who had been expecting something of the sort, said impishly, ‘But I could ride it myself? Would that be all right?’

  ‘Certainly not,’ Robert said sternly and then saw that his daughter was teasing him. ‘You little rascal.’ He put his arm around her. ‘You stick to your horse riding and the occasional flight with Pips when you stay with her. All right?’

  Daisy nodded. It wasn’t quite ‘all right’ but, intuitively, she knew that now was not the right moment to announce that she wanted to learn to fly or even to admit that Jeff had already given her a couple of introductory lessons.

  ‘Rebecca’s coming to dinner on Thursday evening.’

  George smiled. ‘Lovely.’

  George’s daughter had been unwilling to accept that anyone could take the place of her mother, who
had been ill for several years and had eventually taken her own life. Whilst George had been in the army and away in the war, it had fallen upon a young Rebecca to care for her mother. George had left the army after the armistice and had taken over the care of his wife whilst encouraging Rebecca to follow her own ambitions to become a nurse. George and Pips had first met at the front early in the war and he had fallen in love with her, but, being the officer and gentleman that he was, he had taken it no further except to tell her of his devotion to her and to give her a brooch in the shape of a poppy to remember him by. She still wore it every day fastened just below her left shoulder; she had even worn it on her wedding day. No one else, apart from Pips and George, knew the significance of the brooch and possibly many thought it was just Pips’s way of remembering all those who had perished in the war. After his wife’s death, George had seen a newspaper picture of Pips winning a race at Brooklands and he had attended a race meeting deliberately to seek her out. They had begun seeing each other often. At the time, Pips had been enjoying her life, living between London with Milly, partying, racing and flying at Brooklands, and her family home in Lincolnshire. She had been in no hurry to be tied down and with the added complication of Rebecca’s attitude, marriage to George had been pushed further and further back. But since Rebecca had become more understanding, all was now well between the three of them.

  ‘And,’ Pips added now, her eyes twinkling with mischief, ‘she’s bringing the boyfriend.’

  ‘Really? Good heavens! It must be getting serious, then. She’s never wanted us to meet him before.’

  ‘For that very reason, I suspect. She wants to be sure it’s serious.’

  ‘Mm.’

  ‘Now, George, no playing the heavy-handed father asking him if his intentions are honourable.’

  ‘Would I do a thing like that?’

  ‘Yes, you would and you know you would. In fact, I’m going to ask Milly and Paul to come too. Milly will soon put a stop to any third-degree questioning.’

  George chuckled. ‘Dear Milly. If anyone can put the poor fellow at his ease, then it’s her.’

  ‘Oh, darling, of course we’ll come,’ Milly said when Pips telephoned her. ‘How exciting. We knew she’d got a boyfriend, of course, but not how serious it is. He’s a former patient from the London, isn’t he?’

  ‘Yes, she told me all about him quite early on – in fact, she first told me about him on our wedding day. It was very early days in the relationship then and she wasn’t sure whether it would be frowned upon by the powers that be at the hospital.’

  Milly giggled. ‘Evidently not, then.’

  ‘No, once he was fit and well and had left hospital, it was fine.’

  ‘I can’t wait to meet him. They must have been going out for about two years.’

  ‘I suppose so.’

  Milly gave an exaggerated sigh. ‘Just like you and George. Not ones to rush into anything, are they, if it’s taken this long for her to bring him to meet you?’

  Pips chuckled and countered, ‘You and Paul didn’t exactly rush into it either, did you?’

  ‘No, we were all having far too much fun in the twenties, weren’t we?’

  Pips forbore to add that their wild partying had been in an effort to forget the horrors of the war. Instead she said, ‘Of course. But you will come, won’t you?’

  ‘Try and keep us away!’

  Six

  Matthew Jessop was a tall, lanky young man with a serious face, mousy hair and owl-like spectacles. But when he smiled, his blue eyes twinkled and his whole face lit up. He had a deep, soft voice and Pips warmed to him at once. He looked a few years older than Rebecca but he was gentle and courteous and his affection for her was obvious from the moment they met him.

  ‘Make yourself at home and please don’t feel we’re giving you the third degree if we ask questions,’ Pips laughed as she shook hands with him. ‘Rebecca hasn’t told us much about you.’

  ‘And I’m well known for being nosey,’ Milly giggled as, without ceremony, she moved forward and kissed the startled young man on both cheeks. As he stood back, he stared at her.

  ‘Good heavens! Nurse Milly!’

  Now it was Milly’s turn to gape. ‘I’m sorry, I . . .’

  ‘Oh you won’t remember me,’ Matthew said, grinning broadly. ‘I was just one of the many wounded soldiers you entertained with your wonderful impressions. But, of course, we all remembered you. I especially liked Marie Lloyd. Do say you’ll do it again for me tonight?’

  ‘Well . . .’

  ‘Of course she will,’ Pips said, as she linked her arm through his and led him into the sitting room. Rebecca smiled and shrugged at the sudden monopoly of her young man, hugged her father and followed the others into the room where Paul waited to greet them.

  It was a merry dinner party, with Milly entertaining them with one or two of her clever impressions of music hall stars: Marie Lloyd – as Matthew had requested – and Vesta Tilly amongst them.

  ‘There you are, Milly dear. Haven’t I always told you that although you might not have had much nursing training,’ Pips said, ‘you were the one who kept their spirits up?’

  ‘You most certainly did,’ Matthew said gently. ‘I’ll go as far as to say that you gave us the will to live.’

  Milly blushed as she murmured, ‘That’s awfully sweet of you, darling.’

  As they sat together after her impromptu performance, Milly said, ‘Tell us about yourself, Matthew.’ She giggled. ‘At least what is suitable for Rebecca’s father to hear.’ They all laughed, including George.

  ‘I was called up and arrived in Belgium just after Passchendaele. I felt very guilty because I hadn’t been there.’

  ‘Don’t be,’ George said. ‘It was a slaughter.’

  ‘I was wounded the very first time I went into the trenches.’ He grimaced. ‘Not a very good soldier, was I?’

  ‘Not your fault,’ George spoke up again. ‘Many were killed on their first time at the front. Just be thankful it was only an injury from which you’ve obviously recovered. Did you have to go back?’

  Matthew shook his head. ‘No. My left leg was so badly smashed up, I was invalided out. At the time, the doctors told me I would never walk again, but I was determined to. I do have a limp and my leg is painful sometimes but other than that, I’m all in one piece.’ He smiled. ‘Well, apart from my appendix, that is. That’s how I met Rebecca.’

  ‘You were probably wounded when I’d gone home after my injury,’ Pips murmured.

  Matthew’s bright blue eyes turned to her and a small frown creased his forehead. ‘It must have been, because – I’m sorry – I don’t remember you.’

  Pips laughed. ‘Nurses were ten a penny, Matthew, but not our Milly.’

  ‘But I do remember the man who carried me from a shell hole in no-man’s-land. A big man and so strong, he carried me in his arms whilst shells were still bursting all around us.’

  ‘That sounds like William.’

  ‘That was his name,’ Matthew said excitedly. ‘He carried me to the first-aid post and a lovely nurse – Bridget, I think her name was – took over. She spoke perfect English, but with a strong accent.’

  ‘Brigitta,’ Milly said. ‘That’d be Brigitta. William married her and they still live out in Belgium – not far from Ypres.’

  ‘I’m glad to hear he survived. He was a very brave young man.’

  ‘I only wish his father thought so,’ Pips said sadly. ‘He disowned William when he refused to enlist alongside his brothers at the beginning of the war.’

  Matthew stared at her as if he couldn’t believe what he was hearing. ‘More fool him, then. Sorry, that was said out of turn. I apologize.’

  ‘Please don’t. It’s what we all think and the sorrow of it all is that he still won’t forgive his son and welcome him home. It’s very hard on William’s mother.’

  Briefly, Pips explained the relationship between the Maitland and Dawson families, ending, ‘But we go out
to see him and his family sometimes. In fact, it’s high time we paid them another visit.’

  ‘So, what do you do now in civvy street?’ George asked.

  ‘I’m following in my father’s footsteps. I work at the Foreign Office.’

  ‘Really? I’m attached to the War Office. It’s a wonder we’ve never met. And your father? Is he still there? Might I know him?’

  Matthew’s face was bleak. ‘My parents both died just after the war ended in the dreadful influenza epidemic. And, as I have no siblings, I’m rather on my own now.’ He reached out and touched Rebecca’s hand. ‘That’s why this wonderful girl is extra special to me. I know my parents would have loved her.’ He looked straight at George. ‘And that’s why I hope you’ll have no objection to us becoming engaged, sir.’

  There was a moment’s stunned silence around the table, then George stood up and held out his hand. In a voice that shook a little, he said, ‘No objection at all, Matthew. I’m delighted.’

  Milly jumped to her feet. ‘Oh goody. I was so hoping the champagne I brought along – just in case – wasn’t going to be wasted.’

  ‘Well done, Milly,’ Pips said. ‘The perfect end to the evening.’

  ‘There’s only one problem as far as I can see,’ George said after all their guests had left and he and Pips were getting ready for bed.

  ‘What’s that, darling?’

  ‘It’s quite probable that Rebecca won’t be allowed to carry on nursing once she’s married.’

  ‘Maybe she’ll want to have babies. She’s still young enough. Or,’ Pips went on, ‘perhaps she could find some private nursing work, if she wanted to. I’m sure there are plenty of wealthy people who would employ a fully qualified nurse when they’re ill, either short term or long term. I think she’s done midwifery too, hasn’t she? That could be very useful.’

  ‘You know, Pips, you never fail to surprise me. You come up with the most wonderful ideas. That’s exactly what she could do.’

  Seven

  The planned trip to Belgium took place during the last full week of July after Daisy had finished school for the summer term. George, Pips and Daisy travelled across the Channel and then into Belgium, hiring a car for Pips to drive. Although Robert had adamantly refused to go, Alice had hoped to join them, but at the last moment she had developed a heavy cold and had decided not to travel.