Wings of the Morning

by Beryl Matthews

  She sat down, leaving Sam to see what they could get to eat.

  He was soon back. ‘Spam and chips, all right?’

  She grimaced and he chuckled. ‘Sorry, they didn’t have any rump steak. It’ll be about ten minutes.’

  ‘Have they got anything for pudding?’ she asked, dreaming of a succulent steak and some of Rose’s gorgeous trifle with real cream. Those days of plenty seemed like a dream now.

  ‘Rice, made with powdered milk, of course.’

  ‘Oh, well,’ she said in a resigned voice, ‘that will fill me up a bit.’

  ‘I don’t know how you do it, Annie, there’s nothing of you and yet you can eat more than me.’

  ‘Blame it on a deprived childhood,’ she told him, moving her arms from the table so that the plate could be put in front of her.

  ‘I don’t believe that!’ he told her, pinching one of her chips and popping it in his mouth.

  She gestured with her knife. ‘Get your hands off my chips, you’ve got more than me, anyway.’

  He nicked another one and laughed when she scowled at him.

  ‘You can have my rice pudding, I can’t stand the stuff,’ he said.

  ‘In that case’ – she speared a piece of spam with her fork and held it out to him – ‘you can have a bit of this.’

  Sam was tremendously cheered by the news lately, and Annie knew he was longing for the day when France would be liberated. Every defeat the Germans suffered made him more animated.

  ‘Oh, no!’ he told her in mock horror, ‘I couldn’t take that, you’ve had a deprived childhood.’

  ‘You don’t believe me?’ Annie ate the piece of spam, tipped her head to one side and studied the man sitting opposite her. They had an easy rapport with each other now and she enjoyed fighting with him in this light-hearted way. ‘Well, next time you see my Rosie, you ask her, she’ll tell you what our childhood was like.’

  ‘Are you going to see the magnificent Rose on your leave?’ Sam asked.

  ‘Yes.’ Annie laughed at his description of her sister. ‘They’re all back at Roehampton at the moment.’

  ‘I’ll drive you there, if you like.’

  She gave him a horrified look, remembering the last time she’d been in a truck with him.

  ‘I’ve been having lessons,’ he assured her, his eyes gleaming with mischief.

  ‘Er … how many?’

  ‘A couple.’

  ‘No thanks!’ She went back to her food. ‘I think it would be safer on the train.’

  He watched in disbelief as she polished off her spam and two plates of rice pudding.

  Annie sat back with a sigh. ‘Will you go home when the war’s over, or stay in this country?’ she asked. She had come to know him quite well, and although he controlled his feelings well she knew he loved his own country. But what would he have to go back to?

  ‘I don’t suppose my home is still standing, but yes, I will try to rebuild my life there.’

  ‘What about your family?’ He’d never mentioned anyone but Annie was used to having a large and boisterous family, and was curious.

  His expression changed to one of simmering anger. ‘They were shot. All except my sister. I shall try to find her, if she’s still alive.’

  ‘I’m so sorry.’ Annie placed her hand over his clenched fist. This was the first indication he’d given about the trauma of his escape from France, and she instinctively reached out to comfort him.

  His fingers uncurled and wrapped around hers, the fury leaving his face, and he smiled. ‘I can understand something of why Jack found you so comforting. There’s an inner peace about you that reaches out and touches other people.’

  Annie pulled a face. ‘You make me sound more like Florence Nightingale than an ordinary woman.’

  ‘Oh, no, that is not true. You are very beautiful and desirable, and I will not try to fool you, Annie, if I could take you back with me once my country is free, then I would.’

  She hadn’t missed the sadness in his voice when he spoke about his home. ‘What will be waiting for you when you get back?’

  ‘Very little, I suspect, but the land will still be there and I shall enjoy building myself a new home in a free France. There is much to look forward to. And when I believe that the invasion is imminent, I shall return home’ – he gave a boyish grin, his earlier fury gone – ‘and cause some mayhem of my own.’

  ‘You’ll need a good wireless operator,’ she suggested.

  ‘Hmm.’ He narrowed his eyes as he looked at her. ‘We shall have to see, Ann Webster. Anyway, that is all in the future,’ he told her, clearly dismissing the subject. ‘I have managed to get more chocolate for the children; you can take it with you. They will be pleased, hmm?’

  ‘Very.’ She grinned. ‘I had to send the other through the post, but I received the most enthusiastic thanks from both of them.’

  Annie hesitated for a moment, and then decided. This man had lost everything, so surely she could share her family with him? ‘You must have leave due you.’

  ‘I have, but there seems little point in taking it.’

  ‘Why don’t you come home with me, and then you can give the children the chocolate yourself? There’s plenty of spare room,’ she told him quickly.

  ‘Oh, I would like that very much, but are you sure it would be all right?’ he asked, looking eager but doubtful.

  ‘Positive. My friend Dora’s coming as well, but we’ll go on the train,’ she added, the tone of her voice daring him to argue. ‘There’s one at nine-thirty in the morning, so be ready.’

  Dora came over to their table, flushed with excitement. ‘Annie, the Americans are having a dance at their base tonight and are sending trucks to collect us. Put your make-up on because we’re going.’

  Sam sat back and grinned. ‘That should be interesting.’

  ‘You can’t come,’ Dora told him. ‘They only want the girls.’

  ‘Now why doesn’t that surprise me?’ He stood up. ‘Behave yourselves, and I’ll see you in the morning.’

  Jean rushed over looking as excited as Dora. ‘Hurry up. The trucks will be here in an hour.’

  ‘I’ve heard about this base, but how far is it away from here?’ Annie asked.

  Dora pulled a face. ‘My God, I don’t think you know what’s going on in the outside world. I think all that Morse code bleeping in your ears is scrambling your brains. It’s less than fifteen minutes in the truck, especially the way the Yanks drive.’

  Annie laughed at her friends as they towed her out of the mess to get ready for the evening.

  Annie couldn’t believe her eyes. The tables at the end of the room were laden with food, ham, chicken, salmon and all manner of cakes. Things they hadn’t seen for the duration of the war. ‘Wow! Is that real cream?’

  ‘It certainly is, ma’am,’ an American pilot told them. ‘Why don’t you just tuck in and enjoy yourselves.’

  They didn’t need any more urging, and nor did the rest of the girls from Chicksands, as they all grabbed a plate. It was a difficult choice but most of them took just a small portion of everything, not wishing to appear greedy.

  ‘Better take it easy,’ Dora cautioned. ‘Our stomachs aren’t used to rich food any more.’

  ‘Quite right.’ Annie bit into a pastry and groaned in ecstasy as cream oozed out. She licked her fingers, not wishing to waste a precious drop of this luxury. At that moment a big military band burst into life with Glenn Miller’s ‘In The Mood’, and the dance floor became a seething mass of gyrating bodies. The music was so uplifting it made everyone in the room smile and determined to enjoy themselves. Gladys was here with her boyfriend, and that probably meant another bottle of bourbon for them to enjoy. It was always shared out between the sixteen in their hut, and Dora and Jean who had become honorary members of their group.

  It was a glorious evening and Annie even managed to jive with some of the Americans. They had all been very polite, and seemed to have fun teaching them how to do their d
ance. At eleven o’clock they were all in the trucks again, tired but happy after such an unexpected treat, and on their way back to camp.

  The next day, the two houses in Roehampton were already full when Annie, Dora and Sam arrived. There were Rose, Wally, Marj, James, Kate and George, who loved the children so much he wouldn’t let them out of his sight. Charlie had made it as well, and was still wildly enthusiastic about being a mechanic in the air force. It would have been even better if Bill and Will could have been there but they were both at sea and you never knew when they might turn up. This was a fact of life for everyone now and it was accepted without comment.

  ‘It is very good of you to let me stay,’ Sam told Rose, dropping his bag on the floor with a thud. He stooped down to open it and produced tins of fruit, corned beef, powdered egg and milk, and a few other treats.

  ‘Where did you get all that?’ Rose gasped, as the food was put on to the table.

  ‘While the girls were dancing at the American base I slipped into the kitchens, and they were very generous to a poor homeless Frenchman.’ He gave a dramatic sigh.

  ‘You crafty thing,’ Annie chided. ‘Why didn’t you let us know you were there?’

  ‘Oh, they wouldn’t let me in the dance hall, they wanted to keep all the girls to themselves.’ He made a pretence of searching the bag. ‘Now what else have I got here?’

  ‘I should think you’ve brought quite enough,’ Marj told him, eyeing the row of tins and packets in wonder.

  ‘No, no, I’m sure there’s something else.’ He was on his knees and rummaging in the bag. ‘Ah!’ he exclaimed, pulling out two bars of chocolate and handing one to each child.

  ‘Wow!’ James couldn’t seem to believe his eyes, and turned the bar over and over in his hands. ‘Thanks, Sam.’

  Kate threw her arms around his neck and kissed him on the cheek.

  ‘Don’t eat it all at once,’ Rose admonished her children.

  ‘We won’t, Mum. We’ll put it away until tomorrow.’ James looked at his sister who was clearly tempted to start on the chocolate at once. ‘Come on, Kate, let’s leave it in our bedrooms.’

  They both headed up the stairs, clutching their precious gifts.

  Sam started to help Rose put the tins in a cupboard. ‘And what have you been doing with yourself since I last saw you, madam?’ he asked with a strong French accent.

  ‘Not as much mischief as you have, I’ll be bound,’ Rose teased.

  ‘She was in London during the worst of the Blitz,’ George interrupted. ‘When she couldn’t get the ambulance through the rubble, she got out and started digging for survivors.’ His tone was exasperated, but he couldn’t hide the pride in his voice.

  ‘Well, you don’t need to worry any more, Dad,’ she told him. ‘The worst seems to be over, and I’m only an air raid warden now.’

  ‘Only!’ George threw his hands up in a gesture of defeat. ‘The raids on London might have eased, but the Luftwaffe is picking on our historic cities now. Exeter, Bath, York, places like that, and when Jerry’s finished with those he’ll most likely start on London again.’

  ‘Pessimist.’ Rose grinned at her father. ‘You worry too much, Dad.’ She finished packing the food away and then spotted a packet of biscuits on the table. ‘Where did those come from?’

  ‘I brought them.’ Dora held out two packets of tea and a bag of carrots. ‘I thought you might like these as well. I went and made eyes at the cook.’

  ‘Well done,’ Marj complimented her and picked up a packet of tea. ‘I think this calls for a nice cuppa, don’t you? And while we drink it we can decide who is going to sleep where.’

  It was eleven o’clock before Annie wandered downstairs the next day. The rain was pounding on the windows and she’d been so comfortable in her own bed that she had just turned over and gone back to sleep.

  She stuck her head round the kitchen door and saw only her mother and Rose in there. ‘Do you need any help?’

  ‘Ah, you’ve surfaced at last, have you? What have you been doing to get so worn out?’ Her mother handed her a cup of tea.

  ‘Working.’ Annie walked in and leant on the sink. ‘What can I do?’

  ‘Nothing.’ Rose hustled her towards the door. ‘Go and join the others in the front room, we’ve got everything under control here.’

  They clearly didn’t need her so she went to find the rest of them.

  Sam was sprawled on the floor playing snakes and ladders with Kate; Wally and George were immersed in a game of draughts and everyone else was reading. Pirate was standing on the back of an armchair watching the rain and giving a ratty grumble from time to time.

  Annie was greeted when she came in, then they all went back to what they had been doing. She sat in an armchair, sipped her tea and gazed into the fire. This is lovely, she thought with a satisfied smile on her face. No straining to pick up Morse code under atmospherics, no jumping to attention, or rushed meals. It was only when she was away from the base that she realized how tiring the work was. It took total concentration, but she still loved it and wouldn’t want to do anything else.

  Suddenly Charlie surged to his feet. ‘Come on, Dora, let’s put our coats on and take Pirate to Barnes Common for a run.’

  The dog’s ears shot up at the mention of his name, and he jumped down straight away and started to tear around in excitement.

  Dora tossed her book aside and stood up. ‘That’s a good idea. Do you want to come, Annie?’

  She shook her head and yawned again. ‘No thanks, I’ll stay by the fire.’

  Charlie ruffled her hair as he walked past. ‘Try and wake up by tonight, because Sam and me are taking you girls out dancing in Richmond. We want to see if you can do the jive.’

  ‘What’s that?’ Annie pretended she was puzzled. Charlie didn’t know they’d been taught by the Yanks, and she did love to tease him.

  Her brother frowned at Sam. ‘Where do you keep her, in a cage?’

  Sam shook the dice in his hand and grinned. ‘Something like that.’

  Pirate had obviously had enough of this delay and dropped his lead at Charlie’s feet.

  ‘Oops! We’d better go. We’ll show you tonight, Annie.’

  The next three days were the most relaxed Annie had spent for some time. It stopped raining, they took long walks in Richmond Park, went to a dance and the pictures.

  They returned on the fourth day after an invigorating walk to find an air force truck parked outside the house.

  ‘Looks like trouble,’ Sam said, striding into the kitchen, where the driver was enjoying a cup of tea.

  He jumped to his feet when he saw Sam, and handed him a sealed envelope.

  Sam slit it open and read in silence for a while, then said, ‘I have to leave.’ He looked at Rose and Marj. ‘I have enjoyed myself immensely.’

  ‘You are welcome any time,’ Rose told him.

  He smiled and headed for the stairs. It only took him five minutes to get his kit together, and after a quick goodbye to everyone, he hurried out to the truck.

  ‘Sam!’ Annie caught him at the gate. ‘You’re not going to do anything dangerous, are you?’

  He bent and touched his lips to her cheek in a fleeting kiss. ‘It is just another boat trip.’

  She knew how dangerous that could be.

  It was ten o’clock the next morning before Annie dragged herself out of bed, and as it was raining she played games with the children or read a book and dozed by the fire. Outwardly she was relaxed and enjoying her rest, but her mind was racing. Where was Sam now? But she wasn’t allowed to dwell on this too much, as Kate and James dragged her into dealing the cards for a game of snap.

  There was a knock on the front door, and James listened to the sound of voices, and then leapt to his feet. ‘More visitors,’ he exclaimed and shot out of the door, closely followed by his sister.

  Annie, finding herself alone, stood up. She had better go and see who had arrived.

  Her mother was making tea, as
usual; James was standing in front of two tall airmen, gazing at them in worship, and Kate was surveying them from the other side of the table, a rapt expression on her face. And what Dora was thinking was anyone’s guess, but Annie knew she would find out after their visitors had left. Her friend was studying the pilots and would no doubt have some comments to make.

  ‘Hello, Bouncer.’ Annie spoke quietly and waited for him to turn, relieved to see he could move with more ease than the last time she’d seen him.

  ‘Annie!’ He reached out with his good arm and pulled her towards him for a kiss on the cheek. ‘We didn’t know you’d be here. Have they let you loose for a few days?’

  ‘Yes, I’m on leave. They think they can do without me for a while,’ she joked. Annie had only met Bouncer once but he seemed like an old friend. ‘How are you?’

  ‘I’m fine, but the station commander here still won’t let me fly.’ Bouncer glared at his friend. ‘Says he can’t do without my help, but he’s lying, of course.’

  These two men were obviously great friends and Annie suspected that Reid was concerned about Bouncer, and was trying to keep him out of combat as long as he could.

  Reid, who hadn’t taken his eyes off Annie, smiled. ‘You’re looking well, Webster.’

  She snapped to attention and gave a sloppy salute, although she was out of uniform and wearing a pair of slacks and a jumper. Reid had an amused glint in his eyes and Annie had a job to keep a straight face. He really was quite handsome. ‘Thank you, sir.’

  ‘At ease.’ Reid started to chuckle as he gazed at her casual outfit, his eyes lingering on her curves.

  The look he’d just given her told her, quite plainly, that he liked what he saw. Reid Lascells was a vital, physical man and she was beginning to feel drawn to him. That was dangerous …

  Bouncer groaned and raised his eyebrows, looking around at everyone. ‘They haven’t been in the same room for more than two minutes and they’re at it again. As soon as they see each other they fight.’

  Annie laughed with everyone else and pulled a chair out for Bouncer. ‘Sit down, both of you, and tell us what you’re doing here.’

  ‘Reid came to thank me for the letters I’ve been writing to his parents.’ Marj said and poured them all a cup of tea. She smiled with pleasure as Bouncer slid her a packet of the precious brew. ‘Oh, thank you so much, that was very thoughtful of you.’ Bouncer received a kiss on the cheek for that.