by Katie Flynn
Ellie nodded. ‘Wild horses won’t stop me. Make sure you ring to let us know you arrived safely the minute you get back. Even if I’m on duty someone’ll take a message.’
Getting out of the driver’s door, the man picked up the large kitbag with a grunt and put it in the boot of the car. ‘Sorry to break things up, ladies, but if you’ve gorra be at Lime Street …’
Sinking into the back seat, Arla wound down the window. ‘Take care of each other, and remember, first bit of leave …’
Ellie and Gwen waved until the car was out of sight. ‘One down, two to go,’ said Gwen, linking Ellie’s free arm.
‘Two to go? Oh, you mean the boys.’ Ellie’s stomach lurched unpleasantly at the words. ‘I know Aidan said they were coming our way on some kind of business, but he didn’t say when. It could be months yet, which I s’pose could be a good thing, as I’d have plenty of time to work out what I want to say to him.’ She kissed the top of Bagheera’s head. ‘Then again, I reckon when push comes to shove and I’m standing in front of him, whatever I’ve decided to say will disappear from my head.’
‘Don’t start worryin’ over stuff that hasn’t happened yet. We’ll come up with a foolproof plan. Besides, I’ll be with you for moral support – give you a bit of a nudge when needed, that kind of thing.’
Ellie smiled gratefully. ‘Ta, chuck. It’s good to know I’ll have you with me.’
‘That’s the spirit! With the two of us together, the boy doesn’t stand a chance. It’ll give me a good excuse to give him the once-over an’ all, see what all the fuss is about.’
Ellie chuckled. Even though she had told Gwen that Aidan was not particularly good-looking, she felt sure that Gwen had not believed her. ‘Don’t be expectin’ Cary Grant, because I’ve already told you Aidan’s not like that.’
‘You seem awful worried that he’s goin’ to be snared by the likes of Evie, so there must be summat about him which you find irresistible.’
An image of Aidan flashed into Ellie’s mind. His dark curly hair flopped over one eye as he grinned at her through the straggly beard that grew in patches around his cheeks and chin. Dressed in his tattered old farming clothes, he leaned against his cane. She turned to Gwen. ‘Wait and see! Now, how about we take this little fellow back to the hut and go for a cup of tea?’
Tilly collected her letters from the board and examined the writing. One was from her parents, the other, if she was any judge, from her Auntie Margot. One of these days, she thought, I’ll get myself a boyfriend, and when I do he’ll write to me every day and tell me all about his exciting life, and his letters will not contain stories about Dad’s gout. Placing her finger inside her parents’ envelope she pulled it open, and was in the process of removing the letter when a pair of hands landed heavily on her shoulders. Tilly squealed, only to be hushed into silence by an impatient Evie.
‘You’ll never guess what I just heard in the canteen,’ she said.
Tilly shrugged the other girl’s hands off her shoulders. ‘You shouldn’t go jumpin’ on people from behind like that. You’re lucky I never gave you a good wallop!’
Evie rolled her eyes. ‘Stop making such a fuss.’ She linked her arm with Tilly’s. ‘So?’
‘So what?’ Tilly said, her patience beginning to wane. If Evie was excited about something she would bet her last penny that someone else would be suffering as a result.
‘Don’t you want to know the gossip?’
‘Not particularly, but I dare say that won’t stop you.’
Pulling her friend to a halt, Evie frowned. ‘What’s up with you?’
‘Nowt, ’cept I’ve had enough of you creatin’ trouble. The girls in our barracks have started avoidin’ me, and I think it’s because I hang around with you all the time. I’m not sayin’ I don’t want to be your pal, I just wish you’d leave folk alone, that’s all.’
Evie narrowed her eyes. ‘Shows what you know then, doesn’t it? Because I’ve not done a damn thing, apart from overhear a conversation—’
‘You mean you’ve been eavesdropping?’
‘No! Blimey, you’ve got it in for me today, haven’t you? I’m not sure I should tell you if you’re going to be rude. I can’t help it if people can’t keep their voices down, can I?’
Believing she may have done Evie an injustice, Tilly apologised. ‘Sorry. It’s just … oh, never mind. Go on, what did you hear?’
Evie’s pout was replaced with a malicious grin. ‘That girl from the slums, Ellie, her pal is coming over to stay for a bit, the one who’s a pilot.’
Tilly frowned. ‘Why’s that so exciting? He’s comin’ to see her, not you.’
‘That’s what he thinks at the moment, certainly, but by the time I’ve finished it’ll be me he spends most of his time with.’
‘How do you work that one out? He doesn’t even know who you are,’ Tilly said, although she suspected the answer would be one that involved Evie’s causing upset.
‘Not yet he doesn’t, but he will, and I’m goin’ to make sure I have his undivided attention whilst she’s out of the way.’
‘How? You can’t control Ellie, and she’s not goin’ to listen to you if you tell her to leave the two of you alone.’
‘I won’t have to. She’ll get out of the way all of her own accord.’
Tilly’s eyes narrowed as she studied Evie’s smug expression. ‘Why would she want to leave you alone with her pal?’
Evie’s grin widened. ‘She won’t want to leave me alone with him, she just won’t have any choice.’
Tilly folded her arms. ‘What are you going to do?’
‘I’ve got several plans up my sleeve, don’t you worry, but I’ll tell you this: it’ll be me that ends up with him, you mark my words.’
‘And why do you want him in particular? You’ve never even seen him. Yes, you’re after a pilot, but let’s face it, that probably goes for half the WAAF. I know you, Evie Maddox, so come on, spill the beans. Why do you want to be with someone you’ve never even met?’
Evie avoided Tilly’s gaze. ‘Because his family’s got land, but mainly because Lancton seems to think he’s someone special, and no matter what she says I reckon she’s got the hots for him. And after all she’s done to me I think she deserves to be taken down a peg or two.’
Tilly stopped abruptly. ‘Sorry, but I think I must be missing something. I thought you were the one who started it all. Wasn’t it you who began mouthing off before they’d even spoken to you?’
Evie continued walking. ‘You’re missing the point. I was more than happy to let bygones be bygones until she got that little mate of hers to start spreading rumours about me behind my back.’
Tilly shook her head. ‘It’ll end in tears, you mark my words.’
Evie turned to face her. ‘You’re right there, only they won’t be mine.’
Jogging to catch up, Tilly wondered yet again why Evie had to go out of her way to be so mean to everyone. She had the kind of figure most women would give their right arm for, and her naturally blonde hair fell in a bob of beautiful sleek curls. Long thick lashes surrounded wide blue eyes, and her lips were a perfect cupid’s bow. With looks like that she could have any man she wanted, and did, yet she still felt it necessary to upset just about every other women she came in contact with. But everybody says that war changes folk, thought Tilly, so maybe it’ll change Evie. After all, it must be very tiring to be constantly battling with everyone around you.
Chapter Ten
‘For goodness’ sake, Gwen, will you stop pacin’ up and down. You’re goin’ to wear a hole in the floor!’ Ellie said, as she tried to pin her curly hair into a bun.
Gwen checked the clock on the wall above the door. ‘I want to get goin’ before Evie smells a rat.’
Ellie gave up trying to make her hair do as it was told. ‘Here, you have a go. It’s too … oh, I say, aren’t you clever?’
Having successfully pinned Ellie’s bun into place, Gwen gestured towards the door. ‘I know
they say it’s a lady’s prerogative to be late, and I know you don’t want to appear too keen in case he thinks you’re desperate—’
‘I’m not desperate,’ Ellie interrupted, ‘I just wanted to make sure I looked my best, especially when there’s cats like Evie prowlin’ round lookin’ for a mate.’ She stopped abruptly. ‘Speakin’ of which, where’s Baggy?’
She took half a pace back before being expertly fielded by Gwen and steered back in the direction of the door. ‘Stop stalling. He’s fast asleep on Caldecott’s bed.’
Ellie felt her heart beat faster as they neared the NAAFI. It had been several months since Aidan had told her of his and connor’s being sent to Liverpool, and she had used the time to worry over what she would say to him. So far she had come up with nothing.
Entering the NAAFI, she stood on tiptoe to look for her friends. Her eyes scanned the dance floor and the queue for food, and flickered across the tables to the bar, where to her delight she saw Connor sitting on a stool waving at her. Clasping Gwen’s hand in hers, she started to tow her friend across the room. ‘Connor’s sitting by the bar. C’mon, I’ll introduce you.’ She had let go of Gwen’s hand and moved to hug Connor before she realised that she had made a mistake. ‘Aidan! But … you look so … so …’
He rubbed his bare chin. ‘Different? Well, they weren’t too keen on the beard when I joined; said it had to go.’
A voice called out from the crowd and Ellie found herself being hugged by Connor. ‘Wotcha! Blimey, you’ve filled out a bit.’
Ellie blushed. ‘I’m not the only one.’ She locked eyes with Aidan. ‘I thought you were Connor. You look so alike now.’
Connor slapped his cousin on the shoulder. ‘Who knew he’d turn out to be such a handsome devil under all that fuzz?’
Grinning, Aidan removed his cap. ‘Gave me a bit of a haircut, too.’
Ellie’s gaze took in the new Aidan. The once unkempt man was now clean cut and handsome. Standing up from his stool, he embraced her, and Ellie was not surprised to feel the same tingling sensation course down her body as she had when they had ridden through the woods all that time ago.
Releasing Ellie, he held out a hand towards Gwen. ‘You must be Gwen. Can I get either of you two ladies a drink?’
Gwen shook his hand. ‘Lemonade, please, or squash. Anything’ll do.’
Ellie nodded. ‘And I’ll have whatever you’re having.’
Aidan looked down at his small glass of beer. ‘Barclays?’
Ellie opened her mouth to reply, but was interrupted by a petite blonde from Section D who was leaning against the bar, her eyes fixed firmly on Aidan. ‘Hello! I like Barclays too. You’re new here, aren’t you? You stayin’ long?’
Aidan shook his head. ‘Only a week, and I’m afraid we’ll be working most of the time we’re here.’ He smiled at Ellie and patted her on the shoulder. ‘But we couldn’t come all this way without paying our friends a visit.’
The girl eyed Ellie and Gwen. ‘Lucky friends. But if you’re here for a week, who knows, we might bump into each other again.’ Taking her drink, she headed back towards her mates, all of whom appeared to be taking a keen interest in Aidan and Connor.
‘As I was about to say, before we were so rudely interrupted,’ Ellie shot a withering glance towards the table of ogling women, ‘a glass of Barclays would be lovely.’
Gwen prodded Ellie gently in the back. ‘You said you hated beer. Reckoned it made your tummy churn—’ she began, only to be interrupted by Ellie’s clearing her throat noisily.
She scowled at Gwen. ‘That was different. It wasn’t Barclays.’ She looked across to the small blonde who had spoken to Aidan. ‘If she can drink it I’m sure I can.’
The barmaid who had been waiting for them to come to a decision sighed impatiently. ‘Do you want it or not?’
‘Yes please,’ Ellie said, making sure her eyes didn’t make contact with Gwen’s. The woman swiftly removed the bottle top and poured the beer into a glass before handing it to Ellie, who screwed up her eyes as she lifted it to her lips. Determined to get it over and done with as quickly as possible, she drained half the glass before coming up for air.
Aidan looked expectant. ‘Well? Did it pass muster?’
Nodding, Ellie forced a smile. ‘Shall we go somewhere a bit quieter, find a table perhaps? They do sandwiches sometimes, if you’re hungry?’
Aidan rubbed his stomach. ‘You know me, always up for a bit of grub. Lead the way, and make sure you fill me in on all the gossip.’
Standing in the queue, Ellie eyed the other women, all of whom were taking a keen interest in the handsome pilot. Hens, she thought bitterly, they’re like a brood of hens clucking and preening themselves. If I want to speak to him on my own I’ll have to find a less crowded part of the NAAFI, otherwise I’ll find myself fending off rivals all evening. Looking round the room for somewhere suitable, her attention was caught by the door that had just swung open. She rolled her eyes in dismay. It was Evie. Cursing inwardly, Ellie looked towards the front of the queue. With a bit of luck they could get their sandwiches and sit down before the other girl noticed them. She glanced back at Evie, and Aidan followed her gaze.
‘Friend of yours?’ he said.
Ellie shook her head. ‘No!’ she said brusquely. Then, seeing the look of surprise on Aidan’s face, she lowered her voice. ‘She’s in my barracks, but she’s in a different section – thank God – so we don’t have much to do with each other.’ She glanced sideways at Aidan, who was watching Evie as she walked towards the bar. ‘She’s known to be a bit of a man-eater when it comes to rank. The more stripes the better, if you know what I mean.’
Aidan laughed. ‘There’re plenty of them in the forces.’
Ellie eyed him suspiciously. What did he mean by that? He made it sound as though he had encountered women like Evie before. She looked back to where the other girl had been, only to find that she seemed to have vanished.
‘There’s Spam, or cheese.’
Ellie frowned. ‘Sorry?’
The girl behind the counter folded her arms. ‘Spam or cheese?’
Ellie looked from the sandwiches to Aidan. ‘One of each? That way we can share.’
‘Good idea,’ he said. ‘Have you seen a space?’
Ellie pointed to a table in the far corner of the room. Taking the lead, she could not shake a niggle in the back of her mind. It wasn’t to do with Evie; something else was wrong. She frowned as she tried to trace what it was, and clapped a hand to her mouth. ‘Gwen!’ She looked wildly around her. ‘Where did Gwen go? I completely forgot she’d come in with me … oh, Aidan, I feel awful. Some kind of friend I am.’
Laughing, he put the plates down on the melamine table top. ‘Don’t worry. She’s a big girl, I’m sure she can look after herself.’
‘I know, but I feel awful. I shan’t be a mo. I can’t believe I was so rude.’
Aidan chuckled. ‘Off you go. I’ll just sit here and try not to eat these delicious-looking sarnies.’
Ellie trotted off in the direction of the dance floor and was relieved to find Gwen and Connor dancing a hearty foxtrot. Catching Gwen’s eye, she mouthed the word sorry before heading back to Aidan.
As she approached their table her heart sank. She could not have been gone for more than a few seconds, yet Evie had managed to hunt Aidan down and was standing chatting to him. Ellie watched Aidan smile pleasantly up at the other girl and crossed her fingers behind her back. Maybe, if I’m really lucky, Aidan’ll ask her to leave, tell her that he wants to spend the evening with me. A small groan escaped her lips as Evie pulled out a chair and sat down beside him.
As Ellie took the chair on the other side of Aidan, Evie smiled brightly at her. ‘Ah, here she is. I’ve being keeping an eye on Pilot Officer Murray for you whilst you were gone. You shouldn’t leave him on his own like that, Ellie. You know what the girls in our hut are like: once they see a handsome man they’re like flies on a hot summer’s day.’
‘Hmm,’ said Ellie. She picked up her beer and was about to take a reluctant sip when she noticed that three more glasses had been placed on the table. She raised a quizzical eyebrow at Aidan, who shook his head.
‘Nothing to do with me. Your friend …’ He glanced apologetically at Evie. ‘I’m sorry, what did you say your name was?’
‘Evelyn, but my friends call me Evie.’ The smile she flashed at Ellie revealed a set of impeccable white teeth. ‘I never welch on a deal, and I did tell you I’d stand you and Aidan a drink for jumping to the wrong conclusion that time.’ She gestured to the glasses. ‘And here it is!’
Aidan looked curiously at Ellie, who was looking confused. ‘What’s all this about jumping to the wrong conclusion, and why am I involved? Not that I’m complaining, mind you; it’s not often a beautiful stranger buys me a drink.’
Beautiful! Ellie thought bitterly. I may as well give up now.
‘When Ellie said you were coming to visit I assumed you were her boyfriend. Of course, she soon put me straight on that score, but she was pretty miffed, so I offered to buy you both a drink by way of apologising for my mistake.’
Aidan’s cheeks flushed pink. ‘Oh, right.’ He raised his glass. ‘Thanks.’
Ellie felt as though she had been hit with a shovel. What on earth had Evie gone and said that for? She had made it sound as if Ellie found the idea of being with Aidan repulsive. She looked at Aidan and wondered how she could rectify the situation. She wanted to say that Evie had lied, or misinterpreted what she had said, but she didn’t trust Evie not to make some retort that would make things even worse. She glanced across at Evie and was maddened to see a malicious grin etched on the other girl’s face. I was a fool to ever mention Aidan in front of her, Ellie thought bitterly. I should have listened to Gwen and kept my big mouth shut.
Evie raised her glass. ‘Cheers!’
Without uttering a word, Ellie took a large swig of the beer that Evie had bought for her, but as soon as the liquid touched her tongue she realised that this was a completely different drink from the one Aidan had bought. If she had found the first beer unpleasant, then this one was completely foul. Rather than spit it out she swallowed, but the liquid burned her throat and she began to choke and splutter.
