‘Oh dear,’ sighed Peggy. ‘But if he’s that keen to prove he can fly again, surely we should support him?’

Danuta’s lips thinned, her face drawn with anxiety and real fear. ‘He will do too much – show off and make danger,’ she hissed. ‘I know him very well, and he will kill himself trying to prove a point.’

Charlie placed the bowls of stew and mashed potato on the table. ‘If you don’t mind me saying, Danuta,’ he said carefully. ‘Stan has always had a mind of his own, and he needs to prove to himself that he can still fly – that he’s still useful.’

‘I know and I understand this, Charlie,’ she replied, sinking into a kitchen chair. ‘But I fear he is a man who thinks he cannot come to harm and will take terrible risks. He is proud Polish man with much spirit – and that is very dangerous combination.’

‘The instructors won’t let him fly until they’re absolutely sure he’s ready,’ said Charlie. ‘He’ll have a lot to prove before he’s even allowed into a cockpit, believe me.’

‘I would like to believe this,’ she said on a sigh. ‘But Stanislaw can be very persuasive.’

‘Persuasive or not,’ said Charlie thoughtfully, ‘he won’t get very far if he can’t actually climb into the cockpit.’ He must have seen the stricken look on Danuta’s face, for he awkwardly patted her shoulder. ‘Sorry, but it had to be said,’ he mumbled.

Peggy took Danuta’s hand. ‘I know he won’t be easy to live with if things don’t go right for him, Danuta, but at least you’ll have him back safe and sound.’

Danuta shot her a watery smile. ‘But which is worse, Mama Peggy? A Polish man with bruised pride – or a Polish man determined to do or die? I am thinking neither is going to be easy.’

‘If Stan’s well enough to go off like that, then he must have been discharged from Cliffe,’ said Peggy. ‘Has he found somewhere to live?’

Danuta nodded. ‘He has already spoken to Frank, and will rent one of the small houses from him in Tamarisk Bay.’

‘But that’s right out of the way of everywhere,’ Peggy gasped. ‘How’s he going to get about?’

‘He bought a car and it is being adapted for him at special factory in London. Until it is ready, I will be driving him.’

‘Good Lord. He has been busy, hasn’t he? Honestly, Danuta, you have the patience of a saint,’ sighed Peggy, dipping into her stew. ‘I hope he realises how lucky he is.’

Danuta laughed. ‘I love him, but I am not afraid to tell him how I feel when he goes too far. Patience might be for saints, Peggy, but a hot temper can also work wonders.’

It was the first week in April and Stanislaw had been away at Biggin Hill for almost a month. Danuta had received a few letters from him, asking if his car was ready and if Frank and Ron had finished working on the little house in Tamarisk Bay. However, she’d noticed there were few and only very vague references to what was going on with him at Biggin Hill, which was most unusual, for Stan wasn’t known for keeping things to himself, and she was beginning to wonder if he was in fact keeping his distance, unable to face her as he’d failed the course.