The Spitfire Girls(45)

Montgomery stepped closer again, unblinking. He took her by the elbow and steered her away from the others. ‘You’re out of control, Lizzie. Rein it in.’

‘Don’t speak to me like that!’

‘You’re easily the best pilot here, I’ll give you that,’ he muttered. ‘But there’s no use in being the best if your leader can’t rely on you to follow orders. It’s time you looked at the bigger picture, Lizzie.’

Lizzie stood in stunned silence as May and Ruby disappeared, and then Montgomery walked off too. She realised then that the entire crowd had gone, and she had no idea how much any of them had heard. Now it was just her, standing alone in a field, horrified by her public outburst.

Tears slid down her cheeks then, fast and furious. Lizzie wiped at them before giving up, falling forward and crying, fists clenched as she sobbed.

What had she done? Was Montgomery right – was she out of control? How had she become this person? Or had she always been her?

Suddenly her clever tricks and fast take-off seemed immature, everything she’d thought so incredibly clever actually so terribly, terribly wrong. She’d lost the flight, the one thing she wanted more than anything, and she had no damn idea what to do about it.

Suddenly black boots appeared on the ground in front of her and she looked up through tear-blurred eyes.

‘Get up.’

A hand extended towards her and Lizzie blinked, taking it and looking up at Jackson Montgomery. Why had he come back?

‘What have I done?’ she whispered. ‘How did this all go so horribly wrong?’ Her daddy would be waiting for the mail, eager to hear news of whether she’d been awarded the first flight, and now she was going to have to tell him that she’d lost it.

‘You behaved like a princess,’ he said, letting go of her hand. ‘And if you can’t see that then I can’t see how I can help you.’

She gulped. ‘I think I can see that now.’

‘Good,’ he replied. ‘So brush away those tears, pull yourself together and go tell your fellow pilot how proud of her you are, and that she deserved the first flight.’

Lizzie was hollow inside, and she sucked back a breath. ‘I can’t.’

‘You can and you will. And then you’re going to start following orders and proving that you’re not only the best, but that you’re also reliable and capable of being part of a team. We’re not all born with a silver spoon in our mouths, Elizabeth, and even those who are still need to work hard. Some of us have had to work for every step up the ladder, and I want to see the same attitude from you. Do you think I could have pulled stunts like that and got away with it?’

She listened, unable to take her eyes off his face. His expression had softened; he was no longer barking orders but coaching her like he actually wanted her to succeed.

‘No,’ she said honestly. ‘Of course not.’

‘You can’t expect to lead your own squadron back home if you can’t get your act together here,’ he continued. ‘So stop acting so entitled. No one likes a show-off, especially one who doesn’t seem to take the war seriously.’

He started walking and she scrambled to keep up. Just like that, he’d managed to give her the kick up the backside she’d needed. If someone else was given command of a squadron back home, if she missed that job? Then life truly wouldn’t be worth living. If this was her second chance, then she was taking it with open arms.

‘Thank you,’ she said, in a low, husky voice.

‘I’m sorry, what was that?’

Lizzie groaned. ‘I said thank you!’

‘Now that’s more like it.’

She still hated him, but for the moment at least, she respected him, and that was something.

‘Do you really know my daddy?’ she asked.

‘I’ve heard a lot about him from my own father,’ Jackson said. ‘Perhaps it’s time you wrote to him and asked him for some advice.’

And for once, Lizzie had to admit that Captain Montgomery might just be right.





CHAPTER ELEVEN

HAMBLE AIRFIELD, HAMPSHIRE, ENGLAND,

JULY 1942

RUBY

The cloud cover had been thick all morning. ‘Like pea soup,’ May had muttered, storming back to her desk. Ruby knew there was as much pressure on her commander as there was riding on her today, but if they had to call the entire thing off due to weather conditions for a third day in a row it would be infuriating.

She sat outside, waiting. She was going to stare at the sky for as long as it took, because she was flying that four-engine bomber today, and nothing was going to stop her. She still couldn’t believe she’d won against Lizzie, and she still couldn’t help but wonder if she was actually the better pilot. If Lizzie hadn’t shown off, she would have won; she’d heard what Montgomery was saying. But Lizzie hadn’t won, and that meant that Ruby needed to believe in herself. If Tom’s letter, his words of discouragement, hadn’t been sowing seeds of doubt in her mind, she might not have found it so hard.

Ruby’s stomach lurched at the thought of being the first, of the pressure of flying pitch-perfect. There would be hell to pay and she’d become the most hated pilot in the ATA if she failed in any way – as well as being plastered over every newspaper as the girl who’d thought she was good enough to fly a bomber made for men. She shuddered. It wasn’t worth thinking about. But if she mucked this opportunity up, women might not be permitted to fly four-engine aircraft after all.