The Spitfire Girls(89)

‘I thought you might want to thank me, actually,’ he said. ‘Your girls have pretty much already been through army training, so they’ll find officer training a walk in the park.’

Lizzie grabbed a ball of paper and threw it at him, laughing when he dodged it and jumped out of the doorway. She still found it hard to believe that someone who’d annoyed her for so long had come to mean so much to her. Even if he did still drive her crazy most of the time.

Jackson popped his head back around the door, and his eyes met hers. ‘Any chance you want to go see that new movie, the one based on you girls? Some of the others are attending the first screening tonight, I’m told.’

‘Will you take me to dinner first?’ she asked, not letting on that she’d already planned to go to the first screening. They were all so excited about the film.

‘Will you come with me to the movie if I say no?’

She folded her arms across her chest. ‘No.’

‘Dinner it is, then.’

Lizzie shooed him away, laughing, and picked up the letter again. It was actually happening. Women were on the cusp of being fully accepted by the army. She couldn’t wait for the day it was announced, so she could see the looks on the faces of every single WASP. They were all going to feel so proud. She only hoped this new movie, Ladies Courageous, was as good as they all expected it to be.

They’d endured so much, and the fact they were women hadn’t had any impact on their flying skills. They’d flown through painful periods and cramps, endured hours without being able to go to the bathroom, and despite all the negativity thrown in their direction. And still they’d succeeded. Nothing was going to stand in their way now. Nothing.

Later than night, she followed Jackson into the little theatre.

‘I’m nervous,’ she said, keeping a respectable distance from him as they sat side by side.

The theatre was full of WASPs and some locals who’d always been huge supporters of theirs; there was a low hum of chatter, and she dug her fingers into her knees, wishing she could reach for Jackson’s hand. In truth, she could have; who was going to care if she made it plain that there was something between them? But she didn’t want to cross that line. Both she and Jackson were highly respected by the recruits, and she didn’t want anything to jeopardise that.

‘It’s going to be great,’ he said.

‘I just . . .’ she groaned. ‘I hope they give us the respect we deserve. I’m quietly terrified.’

‘I’ve heard a rumour that there’s a group of men causing a bit of a fuss over you girls at the moment, especially given the publicity you’re getting over this film,’ Jackson whispered. ‘I wasn’t going to say anything, but the army has closed some flight schools where these men were flight instructors. They’ve lost their jobs, which is why they’re so upset.’

Lizzie felt her eyes widen. ‘What do you mean? What sort of a fuss?’ she whispered back. ‘What does that have to do with us?’

‘Well, they want your head on a stick to start with,’ he muttered.

Lizzie blanched at the thought, but she knew full well how many men she’d riled with the very existence of the WASPs. But how was this her fault? She hadn’t even known about the closures.

‘Apparently, they’ve trained all the new pilots they need, which is great on the one hand because we haven’t had as many pilots killed in battle as expected. But with your WASPs taking over so many non-combat roles here, well . . .’

‘What are you trying to say?’ she hissed.

‘Most of those men, the flying instructors, they were civilians. They were excused from joining the army only because they were training our pilots, but now with those flight schools being closed, they might well end up as foot soldiers.’ His hand covered her knee and she didn’t bother reprimanding him. ‘I thought you’d want to know.’

‘So they want our jobs?’ she asked. ‘Is that it?’ She’d been so excited about the bill in front of Congress, so certain everything was working in her favour, and then to be told this?

The screen crackled to life and she shuddered, suddenly seeing everything falling to pieces around her. How could this be happening when they were so close to being recognised by the army? Would this little group of men, jumping up and down in protest, derail all the progress they’d made?

‘These instructors have been teaching beginner pilots. It would take them forever to train well enough to handle advanced aircrafts,’ Jackson said. ‘So let’s hope it’s nothing more than a bump in the road.’

She looked back at him, wondering if he was just saying that to make her feel better. She had the feeling he was keeping something from her still; she could tell from the tight lock of his jaw, the way he wasn’t meeting her gaze.

‘There’s more, isn’t there?’ she asked sadly, tucking her fingers around his. ‘Tell me. I need to know, otherwise they’ll blindside me when I’m least expecting it.’

‘They’ve started a campaign to discredit you,’ he whispered. ‘They’ve already got wind of this bill before Congress, and they’ve started a deliberate attempt to get rid of the WASPs entirely. The first story ran today in a small paper, but I can see that it’ll be picked up everywhere soon. It’s why I knew I couldn’t keep it from you.’