The Spitfire Girls(40)

‘Benjamin!’ she exclaimed, laughing as he took her hand and leaned in for a kiss. ‘Oh my gosh!’

‘Is this what I’m supposed to do? Kiss your cheek and tell you how great you look?’ he teased.

‘That’s exactly what you’re supposed to do.’ She was so used to seeing him in his overalls, grease smeared over his fingers and his hair all haphazard, that for a moment she didn’t realise how quickly she’d laughed, like she hadn’t in years. There was definitely something about Ben that was good for her soul. ‘You scrub up rather well.’

Now it was him laughing. ‘Don’t go giving me a big head.’

She’d asked him to partner her, mostly so that she had someone with her before the others arrived, and she was pleased she had. She looked skyward, wondering if Johnny was laughing down at her, seeing how rattled she was. She felt so comfortable around Ben, but seeing him in a tuxedo made her realise he wasn’t necessarily the brother figure she’d always viewed him as.

‘Should I get you a drink?’ Ben asked. ‘Or do you want me to stay here with you?’

She smiled at him. ‘Stay with me,’ she said. ‘I’m as confident as can be in the sky, but put me in a room full of strangers and I go back to being a nervous little girl.’

He held out his arm and she looped hers through it. It was Ben, and no matter how he might look, he was still the same flight mechanic that he’d always been. And there was something about him that allowed a flicker of her old self to come to the surface.

‘I won’t leave you,’ he said, his eyes meeting hers.

‘Good evening, Commander.’ The warm, rich American accent caught her attention and May turned to see Jackson Montgomery. He stepped forward to kiss her cheek.

‘Jackson! Look at you, dashing as can be in that tuxedo!’

‘I’ll take the compliment,’ Jackson said with a grin. ‘Thank you.’

‘Champagne?’ Ben asked, taking glasses from a passing waiter.

May gratefully accepted hers and took a small sip.

‘It’s nice to see you here tonight, Ben,’ Jackson said. ‘Nothing beats a night off base, huh?’

Jackson held up his glass to first May and then Benjamin, and she clinked it, hoping neither man had noticed her flushed cheeks.

‘May, I’ve been wanting to have a quiet word with you about something, although it’s not something I should be sharing,’ Jackson said in a low voice. ‘It’s about the pay disparity between male and female pilots.’

She exchanged glances with Ben. ‘Pay disparity?’ she repeated. ‘Are we not paid the same?’

‘I’m afraid not,’ he said, moving closer and glancing over his shoulder. ‘This didn’t come from me, though – they’d have my head on a block if they found out I’d told you.’

May almost choked on her drink, the bubbles catching in her throat. ‘How have they got away with this?’

‘There she is! The one and only Commander Jones!’

May turned at the sound of her name, the room seeming to fall quiet just as she locked eyes with the deputy prime minister. She’d been told Winston Churchill himself would be attending, but now that she was faced with his second in command, Clement Attlee, she guessed that might no longer be the case.

‘Thank you so much for inviting me tonight,’ she said, not telling him that he’d missed the senior part of her title, something she was certain any male commander would have pointed out immediately. ‘It’s an honour.’

‘The honour is entirely ours,’ he said, looking slightly awkward. ‘Now, do tell me, will there be other pilots joining us tonight? We’d like to wait until they are here to thank you all at the ATA for your service.’

To say she was surprised was an understatement. For so long they’d been merely tolerated, and now they were being celebrated? Perhaps it was to do with them taking over the Class V bombers, which were so essential to the war – it might have helped change opinions. With four-engine bombers being delivered as fast as they were made available, their boys had more firepower at their fingertips than ever before.

‘Yes, sir, there will be more joining me, but they’ve been flying and ferrying aircraft all day, so they may be a little late. I actually have one of our guests from the United States joining us as well as another top pilot. Both of them are in consideration for our first female bomber pilot, sir.’

‘Well, I’ll look forward to becoming acquainted with them both,’ he enthused, as he stepped away.

‘Sir, before you go, I wanted to ask you . . .’

‘Commander Jones, excuse me a moment,’ Atlee said, touching her arm and frowning as if he didn’t really want to go. ‘Please accept my apologies, but I promise we’ll have time to talk later.’

May opened and shut her mouth, wishing she’d taken the opportunity when she had it, but Atlee had gone and was already talking to someone no doubt more important and more influential than her. She moved to stand with the men again, frowning as she interrupted them.

‘Jackson, you’re absolutely certain we’re paid less?’ she asked.

‘I probably shouldn’t have said anything,’ he apologised. ‘Honestly, it wasn’t my information to share, but I’ve seen how hard you all work, and you’re all doing the same job, so the double standard is disappointing.’