The Girls in Blue

by Fenella J Miller

  ‘That’s the third time the waiter has come in, Oscar. I really think you and Roy must go now. It’s been such a lovely day. I do hope we can do it again sometime.’

  Jane was right. It was time to end the evening. Roy and Elizabeth were on their feet instantly and vanished, no doubt somewhere private where they could exchange a kiss or two. He wished he could do the same with her but knew this wasn’t the right time.

  ‘If things don’t kick off then I’m sure I’ll get leave again next month. Do you have any idea what your schedule will be once you start?’

  ‘I think we do get a thirty-six-hour pass, but I’m not sure exactly how many shifts we have to do first. As soon as I know I’ll send you a postcard.’

  ‘It would be easier if you rang.’ He’d already written the number of the telephone that was available for aircrew to use. ‘There’s always someone in the vicinity to answer it and you can just leave a message.’

  She took the slip of paper and pushed it into her pocket without looking at it. ‘Actually, I’m not sure there’s a public telephone available for us. Mind you, I’ve only been there a few hours and haven’t really had time to look around. I’ll definitely give you a call if I can, otherwise it will have to be the postcard.’

  ‘It might be easier if you just let me know when you’re free as I think it will be simpler for me to get a pass than it will be for you as, at the moment, we’re just hanging about.’

  ‘I’ve really enjoyed spending the day with you and to be honest I didn’t expect to. If you’d asked me to meet you I would have said no, but you turning up without warning prevented that.’

  ‘We’d better go as the cleaners are about to move in. I’ve overstayed my welcome as far as the hotel is concerned.’

  The lurking waiter shoved his coat and things into his hands. ‘Good night, sir, the other gentleman is outside already.’

  ‘Thank you. I apologise for keeping you waiting. Good night, Jane, take care of yourself.’

  She smiled and waved and then was already on her way upstairs before he reached the exit. He was positively bundled out with his coat only half on and he didn’t blame them. It was now after midnight and the poor devils probably had to be back on duty in a few hours.

  Roy was waiting for him looking equally dishevelled. ‘What a bit of luck, meeting up with those two like that. I really liked Elizabeth and it’s quite obvious you and Jane are meant for each other.’

  The streets were deserted, the snow underfoot treacherous, and he had to concentrate on staying upright, which gave him no time to continue the conversation.

  *

  Jane was almost on the third floor when she realised for the second time that night she’d forgotten to bring the key. Then Elizabeth peered over the banisters and dangled it in front of her. She waved back but didn’t call out as she’d no wish to annoy the other guests. Once safely inside their own room she laughed and found herself dancing around the room like a five-year-old.

  ‘I had such fun. What a wonderful day – I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did.’

  ‘I did, Jane, but obviously not as much as you. Roy’s very nice but I don’t see it coming to anything. Although, I have to admit he’s very attractive and certainly an excellent kisser.’

  Jane stopped mid-spin and stared open-mouthed at her friend. ‘Golly, you kissed him after only knowing him for a day.’

  ‘No harm in a little light flirtation. Are you telling me you’ve not kissed your gorgeous Oscar yet?’

  Her elation vanished like air from a deflating balloon. She collapsed on her bed, ignoring the coats and bags that were already there. ‘Are you saying that he would have been expecting me to kiss him?’

  ‘Don’t worry about it – not everyone’s as liberated as I am. Your Oscar is the son of a vicar so probably doesn’t have the same expectations as his friend. Don’t look so horrified, Jane. I’m sure he won’t take advantage of you. He’s a true gentleman. I could tell that immediately I met him. You’re lucky to have snagged him for yourself.’

  ‘I’ve only agreed to write to him occasionally and said that we’ll all meet up together if we can get leave at the same time. Like you, I’m really not interested in anything serious. I want to concentrate on my career. My aim is to become an officer eventually.’

  ‘Mine too – I don’t think they have anything in place for officer training so far. Hopefully, in a few months things will be different and if we work really hard then we might be put forward for a commission.’

  Jane was pleased the subject had turned away from romance. She did enjoy being with Oscar but becoming more involved, being obliged to kiss him and possibly more made her feel unwell. To hide her distress she jumped up and began to hang up the discarded coats in the wardrobe.

  ‘Don’t bother, Jane, we’re only here one night. We won’t get put on a charge for leaving things draped over a chair.’

  ‘I like things to be tidy.’ If she’d ever dared to leave the smallest thing out of place when she was at home that man would use it as an excuse to beat her. A wave of misery engulfed her. Her mother obviously knew, so why hadn’t she done more to prevent the abuse? Was Mum being treated as badly as she had been?

  ‘I say, are you all right? I didn’t want to upset you. Let me help you put things away.’

  Jane gulped. ‘I need the bathroom,’ she managed to say before she broke down completely. When she returned she was composed and sure her new friend didn’t suspect anything was amiss.

  It was a relief when they both scrambled into bed and turned off the light. ‘I asked for tea to be brought to us at eight o’clock – that will give us time to eat a leisurely breakfast before we have to head back to Bentley Priory.’

  ‘Thank you, Elizabeth, that sounds perfect. Good night.’

  Somehow the rhythmic breathing coming from the other side of the room was soothing and, instead of crying into her pillow as she’d expected, Jane fell asleep almost immediately and didn’t wake until the chambermaid knocked on the door the following morning.

  14

  The freezing weather remained until the end of January and Oscar and his squadron was unable to fly. The base was quickly coming into shape and when this phoney war was over he was sure they would be ready to fight.

  It had been two weeks since his unexpected but delightful meeting with Jane and he’d yet to hear from her. He was sitting, staring morosely into his pint in the Officers’ Mess with Roy, equally despondent, sitting beside him.

  ‘I know, bloody boring all this hanging about doing bugger all.’

  ‘What? Sorry, I wasn’t thinking about the lack of action but the lack of a letter or phone call from Jane. Have you heard from Elizabeth?’

  ‘Now you come to mention it, I haven’t. But unlike you, I’m not pining for her. You’ve really fallen for Jane haven’t you?’

  ‘’Fraid so. As soon as the roads are clear again I’m going to ask for another forty-eight-hour pass. Riley seems happy for us to shove off whenever we like at the moment. If there was a flap on only half the blokes would be here.’

  ‘Have you written to her?’

  ‘No, I didn’t want to frighten her away by seeming too eager. I was waiting for her to make the first move.’

  ‘For God’s sake, no wonder you haven’t heard from her. She’s a shy young thing; she wouldn’t dream of writing to you first. You’ve got her name, number and base, write to her today and it’ll be there tomorrow.’

  He drained his beer, slapped Roy on the back and headed for the admin offices. There were already more WAAF working there, which was allowing the RAF bods to be released for active duties. One of them was bound to let him have a sheet of paper and an envelope.

  There was only one girl in the office and she beamed at him. ‘Flight Lieutenant Stanton, what can I do for you?’

  ‘I’d like some paper, an envelope and a stamp so I can write to my girlfriend.’

  Her smile slipped and her mouth pursed. ‘I’m sorry, sir,
I’m not allowed to give out valuable items to anyone who drops in and asks.’

  For a moment he was bemused by her comment but then understood. ‘That’s fine, I’ll just help myself then. I don’t want to get you into grief.’

  She stalked off, pretending to have something to do at the far end of the room, leaving him to collect the items he wanted. The adjutant wandered in as he was writing.

  ‘If you finish that quickly, Stanton, it can go in the post now. Some poor blighter is about to try and take the bag to the post office in Debden.’

  ‘Actually, you’re just the man I want. Any chance of being able to nip to London the day after tomorrow?’

  ‘Absolutely, old boy. Nothing much doing here. The snow’s not expected to clear for another week at least and it’s too damn cold to fly.’

  ‘Excellent, thank you. Righto, sir, just done.’ He signed his name with a flourish, blotted the paper, stuffed it in the envelope and wrote Jane’s name, number and whereabouts. He knew those by heart. The note was brief, friendly, just asking her to meet him at the same restaurant at midday in two days’ time.

  Roy erupted into the office. ‘Hang on, I’m going to write to Elizabeth.’

  They returned to prop up the bar in better moods. Regardless of the outcome to their letters, they were going to London and would reserve a room at the Sanctuary rather than the guesthouse they’d used before. That way if the girls turned up they couldn’t fail to see them at some point.

  Unfortunately, none of the other chaps wanted to accompany them so they would have to find their own way to the station. With his overnight bag slung over his shoulder, his flying boots on as they were warmer and more weatherproof than his shoes, he and Roy headed for the gate.

  ‘It’s bloody cold, but at least there’s been no more snow recently. Maybe the roads will be clear and the buses running as usual.’

  ‘I checked the bus timetable. There should be one in the next ten minutes if they are running. It’s worth waiting that long before we start walking. We can hitch a ride if anything goes past. Might be better to go to Saffron Walden, bigger station, bigger town and more chance of getting a lift there and the train to London.’

  As they were approaching the gate the guard yelled to them. ‘It’s coming. So you’d better run if you want to catch it, sirs.’

  He and Roy set off at the double, which wasn’t as simple as it sounded wearing flying boots. They skidded past the guards and were just in time to flag down the bus. They scrambled on and were unsurprised to find the vehicle packed.

  ‘Up here, young man, there’s a free seat beside me,’ a stout matron called out cheerfully. Roy, who was in front of him, was up the bus like a rat out of a drainpipe leaving him to wedge himself between the two rows and hope he didn’t go headfirst when the bus next stopped.

  On this excursion he’d put on his precious sheepskin flying jacket underneath his greatcoat, so after running a hundred yards he was unpleasantly hot. The bus lurched off and he almost lost his balance. This wasn’t going to be as enjoyable for him as it obviously was for Roy who was already chatting away to the lady beside him.

  The conductor couldn’t get past to collect Roy’s money. ‘You can’t stand here; you’re in the way. You’ll have to move up and down the bus so’s I can do my job. I don’t hold with standing passengers, but there you are. There’s a war on – could hardly leave two blooming heroes standing in the snow, now could I?’

  Oscar smiled at the garrulous old man who looked as if he should be sitting by his fire in his slippers, not collecting the fares on a country bus. ‘Thank you, I’m glad you did stop as it’s a long walk to Saffron Walden.’

  The passengers were mostly housewives bundled up in a variety of outdoor coats, some with headscarves, some with smart hats, but all with shopping bags of some sort in their laps. Maybe it was market day today. Now rationing had kicked in basic foodstuffs were in short supply and being able to buy from a market stall, which as far as he knew weren’t restricted in the same way, would be the incentive for coming out in such filthy weather.

  He decided to remain next to Roy and not shuffle back down the bus. It was unlikely any of the ladies would disembark at an earlier stop so he was resigned to standing all the way.

  Twice the bus drove past people waiting at a stop and he felt sorry for them. The buses only ran every hour so it would be a long cold wait if they decided to remain.

  ‘Don’t look so despondent, young man; anyone with any sense would know this bus would be full. The next one will have plenty of seats – they should have stayed in the warm until then.’

  ‘Yes, ma’am, I’m sure you’re right. We much appreciate the fact that the driver has broken the rules by picking us up.’

  Roy offered to change places with him but he refused. ‘No point, we’ll be there in fifteen minutes, barring accidents, of course.’

  From his vantage point he could see they were approaching a sharp left-hand bend – surely they were going too fast to negotiate it safely? Instinctively he braced his knees against Roy’s seat. The driver, realising his error, slammed on the brakes. Never brake hard on icy roads – any bloke should know that.

  The bus lost traction. The wheels skidded. The vehicle slewed sideways. The passengers were screaming. Then the front end slid into a ditch and he was flung sideways as the bus tipped half onto its side.

  He was trapped with Roy above him and someone ominously silent below. People were floundering about; there was moaning, shouting, hysterical crying and general chaos. Someone had to take charge. The bus was full of vulnerable women, some elderly, and the only other two men were the ancient conductor and the equally old driver.

  ‘Roy, if you’re not hurt can you move? Then we can try and help. No one else seems to be doing anything.’

  ‘I’m fine. Bruised but functioning.’

  The weight shifted and he was able to breathe more easily. Too much movement might be catastrophic. At the moment the vehicle was listing heavily to the right but the floor was more or less in the right place, but as the front of the bus was in a ditch the usual exit wouldn’t be accessible.

  He scanned the passengers and was relieved to see that most of them were now sitting up and taking notice. Now he was off the floor, the unfortunate woman who’d been trapped under them could be tended to. Before that he had to get their attention.

  ‘Right, ladies, please remain still. Please stop shouting.’ He used his parade-ground voice and it did the trick. The noise subsided into quiet sobs and gulps but there were still a few worrying moans from women who were obviously more seriously injured.

  ‘My friend is going to kick out the rear window and then we’ll start getting those of you who are relatively unharmed out that way.’

  Roy helped the ladies nearest to them to sit up whilst he searched for a pulse in the comatose lady who’d been crushed beneath both him and Roy. She was alive – but her pulse was weak and irregular. Someone would need to find a house, not only with a telephone, but able to accommodate the thirty or so passengers. They couldn’t possibly stand around in the sub-zero temperatures after they’d been through an experience like this.

  ‘Here, let me help, young man. I worked as a nurse in the last war.’

  ‘Thank you, she’s barely breathing. I’m going to have to move her or no one else will be able to get out as she’s blocking the way.’

  He was unable to continue as Roy kicked out the window and the hideous sound of breaking glass drowned out everything else.

  ‘If you can give me room, I’ll give her a quick examination. Hopefully she’s not damaged her neck or back.’

  With the rear window removed, the temperature in the bus plummeted. The sooner those that were mobile were out the happier he’d be.

  ‘I’m ready, Oscar. I’ll get these ladies out first and then you work down the bus. One of them has broken her wrist, cuts and bruises on the others but they’re all capable of scrambling out.’

  ‘Do tha
t. If there’s anyone fit enough, send them for help.’

  The bus rocked alarmingly each time someone climbed out but so far had remained in situ.

  ‘Young man, you can move this patient. There’s no need to delay things any further.’

  He understood immediately. The poor woman had died. Carefully he put his arms under her shoulders and gently moved her so she was slumped against the windows. Only then did he see the dent in her forehead.

  He was about to strip off his greatcoat and cover her but his helper got there first. ‘My shawl will do the trick. You’re going to need your coat – this poor soul is beyond our help.’ She deftly draped the cloth across the dead woman’s face making it obvious to anyone who crawled past there was at least one fatality.

  He was concerned that he’d heard nothing from the conductor or the driver and feared they too might have met an untimely end. The exodus continued smoothly but the bus was still half full when he heard the welcome sound of wheels crunching to a halt on the road.

  Roy was in a better position to see who it was. ‘Army trucks – just the ticket.’

  It took another hour to get everyone else out and as he’d feared both the driver and conductor had perished in the accident. It was a miracle that there were only three fatalities considering the seriousness of the crash.

  Those who needed hospital attention had been taken in one of the trucks and warmly wrapped in army greatcoats. The remainder of the passengers had now been reunited with their possessions and escorted to the nearest houses where they were being plied with tea and biscuits.

  The police were in charge of the scene and then two ambulances belatedly appeared. The drivers now had the unpleasant task of removing the corpses and taking them to the morgue.

  *

  ‘Jane, there’s a letter for each of us,’ Elizabeth said as she looked through the pigeonholes in the main foyer. These were set out in alphabetical order and each one was stuffed full, making it difficult to find anything for oneself.