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Chapters (52)
  1. Cover
  2. Margaret Dickinson
  3. Dedication page
  4. Contents
  5. Part One
  6. One
  7. Two
  8. Three
  9. Four
  10. Five
  11. Six
  12. Seven
  13. Eight
  14. Nine
  15. Ten
  16. Eleven
  17. Twelve
  18. Thirteen
  19. Fourteen
  20. Fifteen
  21. Sixteen
  22. Part Two
  23. Seventeen
  24. Eighteen
  25. Nineteen
  26. Twenty
  27. Twenty-One
  28. Twenty-Two
  29. Twenty-Three
  30. Twenty-Four
  31. Twenty-Five
  32. Twenty-Six
  33. Twenty-Seven
  34. Twenty-Eight
  35. Twenty-Nine
  36. Thirty
  37. Thirty-One
  38. Thirty-Two
  39. Thirty-Three
  40. Thirty-Four
  41. Thirty-Five
  42. Thirty-Six
  43. Thirty-Seven
  44. Thirty-Eight
  45. Thirty-Nine
  46. Forty
  47. Forty-One
  48. Forty-Two
  49. Sow the Seed
  50. Note
  51. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
  52. Copyright page

Around them there was laughter and congratulation, but Kate could not join in. Despite the fact that she had joined the battle and knew they must fight to the bitter end, nevertheless she could feel no elation at witnessing the death of another human being.

The dead enemy pilot was somebody’s son, somebody’s brother.

The thought pushed its unwelcome way into her mind; it could so easily have been Danny.

Twenty-Four

The following morning, Kate received a letter from Danny. It was enclosed in a letter from her stepfather. Kate tossed that aside and ripped open the letter from Danny. It was short and didn’t tell her very much, but he gave her an address she could write to and he told her he was well and that he would be going home on leave in just over a week. Was there any chance she could get leave at the same time, he asked.

Any chance? Oh, she’d get it if she had to beg on bended knee. Of course, although it wasn’t normal procedure, with her unusual relationship with the CO, she could ask Philip personally.

She glanced at her watch. She was due to drive him into Lincoln in about half an hour to catch a train north.

The expression on Philip’s face, when he got into the back of the car, was not encouraging. He seemed preoccupied and his eyes were tired. His face looked drawn and strained and the smile, which so altered his expression, was missing. He nodded briefly at her, but sat back in his seat, his shoulders rigid. In the rear mirror she saw him remove his cap and run his hand through his springy, short-cut hair. She could feel the tension in him. Kate bit her lip. She desperately wanted to ask him to approve at least a forty-eight-hour pass for her to coincide with Danny’s leave, but above the noise of the large car’s engine, it would mean shouting back to him.

She drew into the station and jumped out to open the door for him. As he bent his head to climb out, she saluted smartly as always, but said softly, ‘Sir?’

He straightened up and looked down at her, frowning. ‘What is it?’ he almost barked at her.

‘I – I was wondering how long you w-will be away, sir,’ she stammered, deciding instantly that he was in no mood to grant favours, and floundering to think of something – anything – to ask.

‘I’ll be gone about five days. If you can meet me off the train on Tuesday evening – it gets in about six – I’d be grateful.’

He turned and strode away and Kate found herself saluting to no one in particular.

‘Damn!’ she muttered to herself as she got back into the car and wove her way out of Lincoln and back towards the station.