The Spitfire Girls(78)

Yours truly and with all my love,

May

She set her pen down as Ruby burst through the door, breathless.

‘What is it?’

‘Sandy just landed,’ Ruby told her. ‘She turned around as soon as she realised the weather was making a safe landing impossible. She said the conditions were challenging.’

‘Just her?’ May asked, standing and holding the edge of her desk.

‘Yes.’

May breathed deep as hope filled her heart. ‘There could well be more. I’m coming – we have to keep an eye out for them, Ruby.’

She headed back outside. If Sandy had returned, then more of them may well do so, too. Unless they encountered the same enemy aircraft, but weren’t so lucky. She saw the young pilot further down the runway and ran over to give her a big hug. ‘I’m so glad to see you.’

Sandy hugged her back, visibly shaken. ‘Me too. The visibility made it impossible. I couldn’t see anything, and I had to turn around while I could.’ Her face was pale, and May held on to her, hoping she wasn’t about to faint on the spot.

‘Did you see anything else?’

‘No, but I was scared. The clouds were so dense and . . .’

‘Shh, we can debrief later,’ May said. ‘Now get yourself into the mess room. You can warm up and we’ll talk soon.’

Sandy left her, and May stared at the sky, relief coursing through her as an engine roar caught her ear, followed soon after by a Spitfire emerging out of the clouds. They had a little longer until dusk, and she’d keep standing there until she saw every one of her women land. Some might have carried on, but others would come back to the place they knew how to find in the cloud. There was no protocol for turning back, but she was confident they’d all make the best decision they could.

‘What’s up?’ A hand brushed her shoulder and she recognised Ben’s voice. She leaned back into him, needing him, not caring who saw. He put his arms around her from behind, warming her as his lips brushed her hair. ‘What are you doing out here?’

‘Something doesn’t feel right. I just . . .’ Her voice trailed off. ‘Who was I kidding, thinking I could keep them all safe with no radios? With no instrument training? Why didn’t I push back harder on this instead of being told what to do? I think I may have lost some of my pilots, Ben. I think our luck has run out.’

Ben pulled her even closer, as she blinked away tears. They stood together, teeth chattering in the cold, staring at the darkening sky.

‘You don’t have to wait with me,’ she said.

‘Yes,’ Ben said, like a warm blanket cocooning her close. ‘Yes, I do.’



As the sun finally started to rise, May didn’t care that her body was so cold it felt like her bones had turned to ice. She was not giving up her position until she saw her girls with her own eyes; the only thing she cared about was her list of pilots and trying to account for each and every one of them.

‘May,’ Ben said gently, pulling up the blanket that had slipped from around her shoulders. She’d been awake all night, staring into the sky, then pacing, then checking her list and starting the process over again. Nothing would still her mind as she waited, although she was grateful that Ben had been by her side through the long hours. ‘May, you’re needed.’

She turned and saw Captain MacMillan approaching, his smile sending relief through her.

‘They’re alive, May,’ he said. ‘Anyone unaccounted for turned around and landed at a closer airfield, and a couple even made it safely to Colerne, except for one pilot who landed in a field and spent the night with a farmer.’

May laughed, throwing her arms around Ben. ‘They’re alive! Oh my goodness, oh my goodness! This is wonderful news!’

Ben kissed her and took a step back as other pilots came closer, some still yawning from a late night and an early start. May had ended up telling everyone on base what had happened before sending them off to rest the night before, unable to lie to her team when she was asked why more pilots hadn’t returned.

‘Great news, ladies! We’ve heard that no pilots were lost. Everyone has officially been accounted for!’ She grinned as the women all squealed and laughed in relief. ‘But those additional Spitfires we have here still need to get to Colerne,’ she said, smiling up at the clear day as the sun rose around them. ‘There’s no rest for the wicked, I’m afraid.’

‘Would you like me to assign flights today?’ Ruby asked. ‘You must be exhausted.’

‘I only need to put the allocations out,’ she said, pulling the blanket from around her shoulders. ‘But thank you. I appreciate the offer.’

May didn’t want anyone to see her fall apart, but the relief that her girls were all alive, that she didn’t have to wipe any names from the board, that she didn’t have to tell anyone’s mother or father that they weren’t going to make it home, threatened to cut her off at the knees.

She made it to the bathroom and shut the door, pressing her back to it as a sob erupted from deep within her, choking her as it made its way through her throat. She slid to the ground, tears streaking down her cheeks as she gasped for air, silently crying as she remembered her brother, as she wished that she could see him just one more time. Then, hands shaking, she wiped her cheeks, gulping back air as she tried to pull herself together.