‘Well, let’s just hope they bring them all back safe and sound one day,’ David replied, although he knew there was very little chance of that happening. Although horses weren’t being used in battle nearly as much as they had been in the last war, they still worked desperately hard, pulling heavy equipment across difficult terrain. Many of them ended up dying of exhaustion. But how did you explain that to four-year-olds?

‘Mum’s gone over to Cissie’s for an hour,’ Kathy told him when she could manage to get a word in edgeways. ‘So, when these two are in bed we can have a good catch-up.’ Thankfully after a good sleep she noted that he looked slightly better although he was still terribly pale and there were dark circles beneath his eyes.

‘I’ll look forward to that.’

Again her heart did a little flip and deeply embarrassed she turned to wash the few pots that were soaking in the sink.

Chapter Thirty-Two

Livvy settled into her seat in the station next to the airfield and put her headphones on before looking at the list in front of her on her desk. There would be four Spitfires and three Hurricanes on stand by that evening and it was up to her to try to keep track of the pilots. Her friend, Monica, had told her that three new pilots had joined the team that afternoon but as Livvy had slept the day away she hadn’t yet met them. Now she flicked down the list of names and as her eyes rested on one particular one her heart missed a beat – Giles Willerby! Could it really be the same Giles Willerby of Treetops? Livvy couldn’t believe it.

Giles was here and tonight he would fly one of the Spitfires. She gulped as she tried to compose herself but then the alarm sounded and the familiar announcement of ‘Pilots to your planes’ rang through the loudspeakers, indicating that enemy aircraft had been spotted heading towards England, and suddenly the whole place was hustle and bustle.

Through the window of the viewing tower Livvy watched the pilots racing across the runway towards their crafts, although she could have no idea which one was Giles. They scrambled aboard still fastening their helmets and goggles, then one by one their noses turned and pointed down the runway and they were off, gathering speed before they rose gracefully into the sky in perfect formation to chase down the enemy bombers that were threatening their country.

‘Come in Tango Delta,’ Livvy shouted into her mouth-piece and instantly the voice of the pilot in the first plane answered.

‘Receiving loud and clear, approaching one hundred feet.’