All Is Fair

by Dee Garretson

  We heard a motorcar approaching. “I don’t know who that is, but I suggest we leave,” Lucas said.

  I held my breath, waiting to see what Crispin was going to do.

  Crispin looked at the aeroplane and then back toward the village. “All right, I’ll go, but I suspect I’m dooming all of us. This plane is not going to get all of us out of here.”

  “Let me worry about flying,” Lucas said. He held out the revolver to his father. “How good are you with this?” he asked him.

  “I was considered quite a marksman in my youth,” Herr Mueller said, taking the gun.

  Crispin pulled out his own revolver. “Mina, I know Father taught you how to use his. If anyone gets close to us, just shoot in the general direction.”

  I took it. It was heavier than the one I’d learned with. “What about you?” I asked. “I’m sure you are a better shot than me.”

  “I have one.” He pulled out the one he had taken off the soldier he had killed.

  We were all speaking so calmly, as if we were just making plans to go on a grouse shoot. I tried to swallow, but my mouth was so dry that I couldn’t manage. I took the gun even though I didn’t really want it, and I forced myself to climb up onto the spot on the lower of the two wings. I sat down and pulled my knees up close to my chest, gripping the braces tightly.

  “The engine is going to get hot,” Lucas said, “so don’t lean against the plane.” He smiled at me. “I was hoping the first time you flew with me, it would be a little different from this.”

  I tried to give him a weak smile in return, but my stomach was churning. I heard shouts.

  “That’s our signal to go,” Lucas said. The engine started and I looked over to see soldiers coming toward us.

  “I thought we were going!” Crispin yelled. “We’re not moving.”

  “The engine has to warm up,” Lucas said. Herr Mueller aimed the revolver at the approaching men and let off a shot. One man yelled and grabbed his arm.

  “I fear I am out of practice,” Herr Mueller said to us. “I was aiming for his heart.”

  I stared at the man. So Herr Mueller was a bit more than a bookish scientist. He was a little frightening. I suspected he’d get exactly what he wanted once he reached England.

  The plane began to move, picking up speed. The remaining men ran after us, shooting, so Crispin and Herr Mueller shot back. I realized I couldn’t shoot my own gun and hold on at the same time. The field was too bumpy. I didn’t know how Crispin was able to manage. I decided just to concentrate on not falling off.

  The aeroplane lifted off the ground, but the engine was struggling and I knew all our weight was a problem. It climbed so slowly that I didn’t know if we would clear the trees at the end of the field. We did, just barely, and Lucas yelled, “We’re going to have to stay low. It will be bumpy.”

  I didn’t care as long as we left the soldiers behind. The ride actually wasn’t as bad as our trip on the train had been, though I wished I had goggles. I kept my eyes closed some of the time, but occasionally opened them to look at the land below. As we flew south, the terrain changed from spring green to more and more gray mud, and I knew we were getting close to the front lines. After only a few more minutes, I could see an entire wasteland with nothing growing in it, just mud and dead trees. Tents and trenches and huts for thousands of German troops covered it.

  I tightened my grip on the braces, fearing that someone would start shooting at us. It was so early that there weren’t many men out. The ones that were did look up, many of them pointing at us, but there was no gunfire. Some of them started to wave, and then it hit me: We were in an aeroplane clearly marked as German. I waved back, feeling huge relief. We were low enough that I could see them shouting and pointing.

  Lucas yelled to me, “They’re not used to seeing a girl on an aeroplane wing!”

  There were miles and miles of troop encampments, all in a gray, muddy landscape. I thought it looked like something out of a nightmare, so bleak and desolate that it was as if all hope had disappeared from the Earth. There were a few houses, but no signs of growing things or animals, or even of anyone but soldiers. Then the landscape emptied of even soldiers and I couldn’t figure out why until I saw up ahead that the encampments started again. We had crossed the front lines and were almost over the Allied troops. In a German aeroplane flying low to the ground.

  Lucas realized what it meant too. He yelled, “I’m going to try to get higher,” but the aeroplane could only climb a little way. The first weapons were fired at us and flak exploded all around. A shot whistled by my ear.

  “Go lower!” I yelled. “So they can see us.”

  Lucas’s eyes were wide. I nodded and then took my hair out of its plait so that it began whipping around in the wind. They’d have to see that I was a girl.

  He turned the nose down. I positioned myself so I had one arm wrapped tightly around the brace and the other free to wave with. As we went lower, men began to come out of tents and huts to see what was going on. I waved and shouted hello and smiled, though I had no idea if they could see my expressions or hear my words. Crispin caught on and did the same from the other side. I couldn’t see him, but I could hear him. The men waved back, pointing at me.

  “Hold on!” Lucas yelled. “I’m going to wiggle the wings.” I tightened my grip and Lucas tipped the plane from side to side.

  I tried to see a place where Lucas could land, but there weren’t enough clear areas. There had to be an airfield somewhere, but without knowing where, we could fly around for a long time without finding one. Another burst of gunfire shocked me. Someone had decided we were still suspicious enough to shoot at. The gunfire continued and I just hoped we could get past the guns before we were hit. The aeroplane had to be an easy target. Then there was an awful jolt that almost made me lose my grip, and the machine started to shake and quiver like jelly. I could see Lucas fighting the controls.

  “Oil pressure’s gone!” he yelled.

  Behind us, I could see a stream of black oil leaking out. A shot had hit us. The engine quit. For a moment I thought my heart had quit with it.

  The aeroplane immediately began to descend. Ahead of us, I still saw just rows and rows of tents. I wanted to crouch down and close my eyes, but I made myself stand up so I could see better. Slightly to our left, I saw a field with a stack of building materials piled at one end. It looked as if it was a site for a building yet to go up.

  “Over there!” I shouted. I had no idea how he did it, but Lucas managed to get the machine turned in the right direction. We were gliding in, going lower and lower, and slowing at the same time. I bit my lip hard as I imagined the jolt that would happen when we hit. I closed my eyes.

  “Brace yourself!” Lucas yelled.

  I crouched down just in time. The aeroplane touched the ground, but there was no bounce like I expected. Instead it came to a sudden halt. Mud sprayed up as the wheels sank. The plane tipped forward and I slid off onto the ground in between the upper and lower wings, hitting my head hard on one of the supports. Through the pain I saw Lucas reaching for me. I took his hand and then there were soldiers running toward us and noise and shouting.

  It was hours before everything was all straightened out. We had to repeat our story over and over, first to the officer where we landed, and then again to another officer at a field hospital we were taken to. I still felt so shaky I could hardly stand. A nurse took me into a small room with a hip bath and left me a clean nurse’s uniform to put on. My own clothes were taken away, I guessed to be thrown away.

  When I emerged, feeling a little better, I saw Crispin in a bed down the ward. He had been cleaned up and his leg was bandaged. He smiled when he saw me.

  “Where are Lucas and his father?” I asked.

  “They are off talking to more officers. Our story seems a little hard to believe. I don’t even believe it. I’m sure there are wires being sent back and forth. It will all be straightened out, though. I can’t believe I’m going back t
o England. It’s been a long time.”

  I felt a rush of anger. “I’ve spent a long time thinking you were dead. Do you know how miserable I’ve been? Why couldn’t someone have told me? It wasn’t like I’d have told anyone who would have gotten word to the Germans.”

  “I’m sorry, Mina. Father made the decision, and I’m sure he thought it the safest. You know how cautious he is. He didn’t tell Margaret either, only Mother, and of course the people in the Foreign Office who needed to know. It wasn’t you in particular who weren’t told.”

  That made me feel a little better. Now, it was time to tell Crispin what he needed to know. “You’ll find some changes at home,” I said. “Major changes.”

  “Like what? I’ve heard about the bombings in London. But they are already rebuilding, aren’t they?”

  “Yes, it’s not buildings.” I paused. I had to tell him now. “I met a girl you knew. Her name is Gwendolyn Slade.”

  He tried to sit up. “How did you meet her? Is she all right?”

  I didn’t know the best way to give him the news, so I just went ahead and said it. “Gwendolyn has a son—your son. A little boy named Gordon who looks just like you. I haven’t seen him, but I saw his picture.”

  Crispin lay back on the pillow and stared up at the ceiling. “A son?” he croaked.

  “Yes.”

  He sat up again. “I didn’t know she was going to have a baby. I never would have volunteered for this if I had known.”

  “She told me that. She’s nice. She’s a friend of Margaret’s.”

  “Does Margaret know?”

  “No one knows except me. Not even Father.”

  “Father!” Crispin groaned. “This is going to be a shock for him.”

  That was an understatement.

  He grimaced. “And Gwendolyn’s parents. I’m sure they despise me.”

  “I don’t know. She didn’t say anything about them, except that they are keeping the baby for her while she’s at Hallington visiting Margaret.”

  “A son!” he said to himself.

  A doctor came over to us. “Captain Tretheway, you and your party are being moved farther away from the front lines. An ambulance will drive you. How is the pain?”

  “Not too bad,” Crispin said.

  “I’ll give you something for the ride. The jolting is going to make it worse,” the doctor said.

  That whole day and night we were on the move, by ambulance and car and lorry and ship. I didn’t have a chance to see Lucas alone, and I was so tired, I just let people lead me to places and tell me what to do.

  Once on the ship, I kept Crispin company as best I could, helping him with sips of water and wiping his face. He had begun to run a fever. A nurse told me infection had set in. “Is Gwen really all right?” he asked for about the hundredth time. “She doesn’t hate me, does she?”

  “No, of course not. And the baby is adorable, just like you were.”

  “We’re going straight to Hallington, aren’t we?” he asked. “And she’s still there?”

  “We are, and she is, as far as I know.” I patted his hand. “You should sleep now. It will help you get better.”

  I sat with him and watched him sleep. I knew I should sleep too, but I couldn’t stop thinking about Sister Ann and Oscar. I pictured Oscar cradling the pigeon. Who would take care of the birds with him gone? Would they miss him? It wasn’t fair. None of it was fair. I wiped away a tear. Tears wouldn’t help Oscar now.

  I decided that after the war, I would ask my father to find out what had happened to Sister Ann. If I could find her, I could tell her how brave Oscar was. It might not help much, but it was better than the nun not knowing.

  Crispin woke up and asked for another sip of water. I gave it to him.

  “Mina.” I heard Lucas’s voice in the doorway. “We’re almost there,” he said. “You can see the coast. Come up with me for a minute.”

  Crispin waved me away. “Go,” he said. “You’ve been sitting with me long enough.”

  We went up to the top deck. I leaned on the railing, breathing in the fresh air, trying to forget the smell of the sick bay for a little while. “I’ve never been so happy to see the cliffs of Dover,” I said. I glanced over at Lucas, expecting to see him grinning. He wasn’t.

  “What’s wrong?” I leaned closer so our shoulders were touching. “Aren’t you happy we’re going home? I can’t wait to get back to Hallington. I didn’t have a chance to properly show you around. Spring in Lincolnshire is lovely, and I’m sure Mrs. Brickles would make us a picnic so we could spend all day out and about—”

  He interrupted me. “I can’t go to Hallington, Mina. I’m going to London.”

  I gripped the railing. “Why?” I asked.

  “My father wants me there until all the details about his laboratory are settled. He doesn’t trust the British. I’m not sure what he thinks I can do, but he’s asked and I’ve said yes. After that,” he said, shrugging, “it will be up to the American military.”

  I stared out at the waves. He put his arm around me. “I’m sorry about keeping things from you. I misjudged you all along. I won’t do that again. We made a good team.”

  “I thought we’d have some time together.” I tried not to cry. I knew that in wartime no one made plans, but I hadn’t wanted long-term plans. I’d wanted a few days. That hadn’t seemed like too much to ask.

  “We have now,” he said. “We’ll find a way to see each other again. I’m good at getting what I want.” He grinned. “That is, if you want to see me again.”

  I didn’t answer. A worried look crossed his face. I looked around. No one was paying any attention to us. I leaned over and kissed him. “There’s your answer,” I said.

  For a moment he stared at me, and then he put his arms around me and pulled me so close I could barely breathe. I didn’t care. “I didn’t think someone like your ladyshipness was allowed to kiss in public,” he whispered.

  I was feeling a little dizzy. “Her ladyshipness has decreed that she is allowed,” I said. The next kiss went on for a long time. I’d have been happy if it never stopped, but I heard someone clearing their throat behind us.

  Lucas loosened his hold on me, but I didn’t let go of him. I wasn’t sure I could stand on my own.

  I twisted around to see a sailor standing a few feet away. “Um, excuse me, Lady Thomasina. I have a telegram from your father. I was supposed to deliver it right away, but I couldn’t find you earlier.”

  “Thank you,” I said, taking the envelope. Then I turned back to Lucas so he would kiss me some more.

  “Aren’t you going to open it?” Lucas asked.

  “Should I?” At the moment I was more interested in Lucas than in what I was sure was a furious telegram from my father about what I’d done.

  “You should.”

  I sighed. “All right. Don’t go anywhere.” I ripped it open.

  Come to London. I have a job for you.

  I showed it to Lucas. “We have some time after all. Now, kiss me again. I don’t want to waste any of it.”

  AUTHOR’S NOTE

  The story itself is of course fiction, and all of the characters are fictional, except for Prince Albert, though his relationship with Margaret is imaginary. However, the real Prince Albert, who later became King George VI, was actually at Cranwell Airbase in Lincolnshire in the spring of 1918. He did serve under the alias of Albert Smith, and it was a rather open secret among the locals that he was there.

  The Arnold Cipher is an actual cipher used by John André and Benedict Arnold when Arnold was attempting to surrender West Point to the British in 1780. It’s a very useful cipher because it is very secure as long as only the sender and the recipient know which book is used.

  The raid on Ostend and Zeebrugge did occur, and was one of the most daring operations of World War I, though it is rarely mentioned in history books any longer.

  There was a cat named Unsinkable Sam, though he lived during World War II rather than World Wa
r I. Ships during both wars usually had cats on board to control the mice and rats, so it’s not too far-fetched to think there was more than one unsinkable cat.

  The White Lady underground operation did exist in occupied Belgium during the war, and many of the details of Lucas and Mina’s adventures took inspiration from accounts of the participants.

  ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

  Since I was one of those children who practically haunted my small town’s library, it seems appropriate now to thank the librarians of the Public Library of Cincinnati and Hamilton County who helped me find the resources I needed to write this story. And with the librarians, I’d also like to thank the taxpayers who are willing to fund such a fabulous library. How many libraries are able to keep an assortment of frivolous novels set in England and published in 1918 and 1919? Having access to those helped me with the language and the small details of everyday life so important to a work of historical fiction. It’s really a dream come true for me to have a good reason to spend so much time in this particular library.

  I’d also like to thank my family, who always contribute to the making of all my books: my husband, Dean, who patiently talks out plot problems with me when I’m sure he’d rather be doing other things; to my daughter, Hope, who proofreads for clarity and accuracy; and my son, Garret, who, while my harshest critic, is always willing to brainstorm at a moment’s notice. In a way, this book was more a family activity than most of my other books. It was inspired by the Downton Abbey series, which our whole family watched, debating whether or not we liked Matthew (split two and two on that), who Lady Mary should marry, and what happened to Lady Edith’s beau. I’ll always keep that memory of us all together as my children get older and move out into the world.

  Thanks to Chris Bruch who offered his expertise on World War I aircraft and to Liva Pfuhler for her German translations.

  I’d also like to thank the Swoon team for all their hard work getting this book into print: Kat Brzozowski, Holly West, Lauren Scobell, Mandy Veloso, Liz Dresner, Kim Waymer, Emily Settle, and Connie Gabbert.