“Bits and Pieces! Good God!” he said, hugging her and then holding her at arm’s length to look at her. “What am I doing here? What are you doing here?”

“This is my FANY unit,” Fairchild said. “And I’m not Bits and Pieces. I’m Lieutenant Fairchild.” She saluted smartly. “I drive an ambulance.”

“An ambulance?” he said. “You can’t possibly. You’re not old enough.”

“I’m nineteen.”

“Don’t be ridiculous.”

“I am. My birthday was last week, wasn’t it, Kent?” she said, looking over at Mary. “Kent, this is Stephen Lang, the pilot I told you about.”

The person Fairchild had been in love with since she was six, the one she’d said was in love with her as well, only he didn’t know it yet. Oh, God.

“Our families live next to each other in Surrey,” Fairchild said happily. “We’ve known each other since we were infants.”

“Since you were an infant,” Stephen said, smiling fondly at her. “The last time I saw you, you were in pigtails.”

“You still haven’t told me what you’re doing here,” Fairchild said. “I thought you were stationed at Tangmere. Mother said—”

“I was, and then at Hendon,” he said, looking at Mary. “But I’ve just been transferred to Biggin Hill.”

“Biggin Hill? What good news! That means you’ll be only a few miles away.”

And squarely in the heart of Bomb Alley. It was already the most-hit airfield, and when Intelligence’s misinformation made the rockets begin to fall short, it would be even more dangerous. As if tipping V-1s wasn’t dangerous enough.

“How lovely!” Fairchild was saying. “How did you find out I was here? Did Mother write to you?”

“No,” he said. “As a matter of fact, I had no idea you were here. I came to see Lieutenant Kent.”

“Lieutenant Kent? I didn’t know you two knew each other.”

“I drove him to a meeting in London last month after Talbot wrenched her knee. The Major asked me to substitute. But I had no idea you knew him,” Mary said, thinking, Please believe me.

“And I had no idea you knew my little sister,” he said.

“I’m not your sister,” Fairchild said. “And I’m not an infant. I told you, I’m nineteen. I’m all grown up.”

“You’ll always be sweet little Bits and Pieces to me.” He tousled her hair and smiled at Mary. “I hope you girls are taking good care of this youngster.”

Oh, worse and worse. “She doesn’t need taking care of,” Mary said. “She’s the best driver in our unit.”

“Oh, no, she’s not. You are,” he said. “That’s one of the things I came to tell you. Do you remember when I told you to turn down Tottenham Court Road on our way to Whitehall, and you turned the wrong way? Well, it was fortunate you did. A V-1 smashed down in the middle of it not five minutes later.”

He turned to Fairchild. “She saved my life.” He smiled at Mary. “I told you our meeting was destiny.”