The Spitfire Girls(23)
May wanted a flight mechanic with her that she could trust implicitly, who could anticipate what she needed, and Ben had been good to her from the very beginning. She thought about the way he was always there, as determined to keep them all safe as she was. He was a good man and a good mechanic, and if she’d been able to let down the tiniest section of the wall that she kept so carefully guarded around herself, she might have even admitted he was pleasant company, too. But she wouldn’t, not now, and maybe not ever.
‘You might be able to tell him yourself,’ Ruby murmured as Ben came running over. And not only was he running, he looked completely furious.
‘What is it?’ May called out. What on earth could have riled him so badly?
‘It’s the American. She’s just taken off without clearance for some sort of air display!’
May’s blood boiled as she looked up to see the Spitfire soar like a bullet through the sky above them. She’s taken a plane? Just like that? Without asking for permission?
‘How did she . . .’ May stammered.
‘She ran out to help move the aircrafts,’ Ruby interrupted. ‘I told her to put the Spitfire somewhere safe, but I had no idea she’d do this. I’m so sorry.’
The plane flew low, rolling and then diving before being pulled up at the last minute and rocketing into the sky again.
‘She’s amazing,’ Ruby whispered.
Polly laughed beside her, their heads tilted back as they watched the sky. ‘Imagine having the balls to fly like that.’
‘Even if I wanted to, I wouldn’t have the confidence,’ May heard Ruby say with a sigh. ‘My Tom, he flies like that. I was always going to try those kinds of tricks, but he never seemed to think I was ready.’
May nudged Ruby hard. ‘Stop watching her as if she’s something special,’ she fumed. ‘Flying a plane like that might take confidence and ability, but it’s also reckless and inappropriate to show off, especially given what’s just happened here.’
Ben touched her shoulder and she met his gaze. Clearly, he was as angry as she was, but he was shaking his head. She looked at Ruby, at the horror on her face that she’d done something wrong, and realised that she’d projected all her anger at the wrong person.
‘I’m sorry,’ she muttered. ‘It’s Lizzie I should be saying all that to. You know perfectly well why we’re here and how to be part of a team.’ Hearing her protégé speak as if she wasn’t as capable, though? It irritated her that Ruby’s fiancé, a man who was hundreds of miles from them, could still influence her so deeply.
‘Do you, ah, do you want me to get her?’ Ruby asked. ‘When she lands, I mean?’
‘What I want is for you to pull her down a peg,’ May fumed as she stormed off. ‘And remind her that this isn’t some jolly overseas experience, because we’re in the middle of a bloody war, in case she hasn’t noticed!’
Lizzie might have the fancy training and acrobatics in the air, but Ruby had skill and the quiet respect of the other women. Seeing her watch the American slack-jawed and in awe was more infuriating right now than Lizzie’s insubordination.
She’d been asked to take her best two pilots with her to train to fly four-engine bombers, but was she putting her own reputation on the line by taking Lizzie with her? If she couldn’t rein her in and she turned out to be a loose cannon, all hell would break loose – not just for her, but for all the women who flew for the ATA. One bad egg could affect the lot of them. But the four-engine bombers were the only planes that women were not cleared to fly outside of training yet, and if she didn’t take Lizzie? She gulped. Then she might be signing the personal death warrant of the men who were waiting for them; getting those big bombers to the front was the only way they stood a chance of winning the war, and she knew it.
PART TWO
CHAPTER FIVE
HAMBLE AIRFIELD, HAMPSHIRE,
JUNE 1942
RUBY
‘Great flying!’ May called as Ruby took off her helmet and shook her hair out.
Ruby was breathless, the thrill of training in the big bombers like nothing she’d ever experienced before. She grinned. The rumble and power of the aircraft had stayed with her, still thrumming through her body even now that she had both feet on the ground.
‘How did it feel?’
‘Amazing!’ Ruby answered, walking over. She watched as Lizzie climbed up into the other plane, her shoulders straight, her smile steady as she waved out to them. Ruby waved back, refusing to let Lizzie know how easily she rattled her even though it took every inch of her strength to do it. ‘But no doubt she’ll show me up. Again.’
‘That’s enough,’ May scolded. ‘You’re every bit as good as her – you just haven’t admitted it to yourself yet.’
Ruby didn’t tell her that without Tom’s steady, calm voice coaching her, she was as jittery as could be. Lizzie flew like she’d been born in the pilot’s seat, with nerves of steel and an unwavering belief in her own ability. It made her easily the best flier among them, and Ruby knew she’d always be chasing her tail in the air and on the ground. She was good at her job and she’d mastered the bomber well enough, but Lizzie was something else. From that first time she’d seen her take off in the Spitfire without clearance, Ruby had known she was always going to be in the American’s shadow. They had both already surpassed the other pilots on the training programme, but May kept telling them they were still neck and neck in the running to be the first woman to fly a Halifax for the ATA. May’s superiors wanted to make a big deal out of it, putting all the pressure on one woman to prove exactly what they were capable of.