Now she understood what that test had been about, but it still seemed a strange way to decide on someone’s suitability for this unit. She was surprised that she was being given such an opportunity.
‘I am taking you against my better judgement, but as of this moment you are attached to the Intelligence Service. If you are not happy and will apply for a transfer, I want to know – now.’
‘I will not do that, sir.’
He nodded. ‘As far as anyone is concerned you are the secretary of an officer. You have already signed the Secrets Act, so I don’t need to remind you never to talk about the work we do here.’
‘I understand perfectly, sir.’
‘As you will be the only female in this outfit you will be given quarters in a house on the edge of the camp. You will be on call day or night, and if you are sent for I expect you to come immediately. Keep a small kitbag packed should we have to travel.’
‘Yes, sir.’
‘I wouldn’t normally take a woman with us as that could present problems.’ He paused, studying her reaction with his usual scrutiny, as if he was reading her mind. ‘I am taking a chance with you, however. I made extensive enquiries regarding the time you worked for Major Chester, and I understand he dragged you through mock battles with the Home Guard, hiding in muddy ditches and getting filthy. On one occasion he even manhandled you over an army assault course, and I was told that you did all this without complaint.’
‘That is correct, sir.’ Grace fought to keep a straight face when she noticed the captain’s amused expression. ‘The assault course was a celebration. I had just passed my driving test, and Major Chester was once again fully fit.’
‘A celebration for which one of you?’ the captain laughed.
‘Both of us, sir. And as this was the end of our time of working together we wanted to finish with laughter.’
‘Remarkable! I would really like to meet this major, Stan.’
‘I’ll introduce you if we come across him.’ He turned his attention back to Grace. ‘Do you still see Chester?’
‘No, sir. Our association ended when he returned to his regiment.’
The major general nodded, and then stood up. ‘The soldier on duty outside will show you to your quarters. Dump your gear, have a meal, and then return here. You have two hours.’
Grace stood up and saluted smartly. ‘Two hours. Understood, sir.’
Chapter Fifteen
It had been five months since Grace had been able to get home, and her parents were overjoyed to see her.
‘I’m sorry I couldn’t get leave over Christmas and the New Year,’ she told them. ‘I would have loved to welcome in 1941 with you, but we did have a celebration at the base. We survived 1940 without an invasion, thanks to our pilots, and that’s a relief to everyone.’
‘It certainly is, and we missed you, darling, but you must be very busy working for such a high-ranking officer. He relies on you a lot, I expect.’
Grace nodded and smiled at her mother, being careful not to show her frustration. She had anticipated unusual and even exciting work after what had been said at the interview, but that hadn’t happened. She had been kept in the background, and much of her duty had been routine. The men had disappeared from time to time, and never took her with them. If this continued she would have to put in for a transfer, but she was really reluctant to do so. It would have been admitting defeat, and she didn’t like doing that.
‘You didn’t tell us you had been promoted,’ her father said, with a touch of pride in his voice. ‘Two stripes!’
Grace pulled a face. ‘I’ve only just been given the stripes, and I haven’t done anything to deserve them.’
‘You are too modest, darling. I’m sure you are invaluable. The general must think so, or he wouldn’t have promoted you.’
‘Major general, Mother,’ she corrected.
‘Whatever you say, dear.’ Her mother smiled broadly. ‘We’ve got some good news for you. Can you guess what it is?’
‘Er … the war is over?’
Her parents laughed, and Ted said, ‘Helen’s coming home on leave in two days’ time.’
‘That’s wonderful! I’ll be able to see her because I’ve got seven days.’
That news cheered her up. It had been ages since they had seen each other, and she happily spent the rest of the day with her parents catching up on all the news.
The raids weren’t every night now, and everyone was grateful for the respite, however short it might be.
Helen arrived a day earlier than expected, and once they were together they couldn’t stop talking. It was as if they hadn’t been apart for many months.
‘What shall we do tonight?’ Helen asked.
‘Don’t you want to spend it with your family? You haven’t seen them for ages.’
Helen shook her head. ‘They’ve told me to go off and enjoy myself. I’ve only got three days and I want to have some fun!’
‘Don’t you have any fun where you’re stationed?’ Grace asked.
‘It’s all pretty serious most of the time. What about you? Do you get a lot of laughs in your job?’
Grace pulled a face. ‘You’re right. We both need a light-hearted night of fun. So what can we do?’
‘There’s someone here to see you, Grace,’ her mother called up the stairs.
‘Oh dear, I hope I’m not being ordered back. Come on; let’s see what this is about.’
Jean was standing at the bottom of the stairs, smiling happily. ‘I’ve put them in the front room.’
‘Oh, oh, officers!’ Helen whispered.
‘Well, it can’t be Dan or George, because Mum would have taken them straight to the kitchen.’
When Grace opened the door and stepped in she stared in amazement at the two men standing there. One she had never seen before, but the other she knew very well.
‘Squadron Leader Meredith!’ she exclaimed. ‘How lovely to see you.’
He laughed, stepping forward to take her hands in his. ‘And it’s lovely to see you, Grace. The other one standing there with a big grin on his face is Tim. I hope you don’t mind us descending upon you like this?’
‘You are both very welcome.’ She pulled Helen forward. ‘This is my friend, Helen.’
With the introductions over, Jean came in with a tray of tea and home-made cake and then left them alone again.
‘Would you girls like to come dancing with two lonely pilots tonight?’ Tim asked.
‘Lonely! Now that is hard to believe,’ Helen said, laughing.
‘Sad, but true. We expected to have to share one beautiful girl, but it’s terrific to find two of you. Absolute stunners, as well.’ Tim grinned. ‘We’d better do something classy tonight, James.’
‘They haven’t said they’ll come with us yet.’
Tim stepped forward and bowed low gracefully. ‘Please!’
‘Where did you find such a charmer?’ Helen wanted to know.
‘On my wing, and once on the ground I can’t seem to get rid of him.’ James smiled at Tim, making the strong bond between them obvious. ‘But we are serious about wanting you to come dancing with us. What do you say?’
‘Well, we were just wondering what to do to have some fun tonight, weren’t we, Helen?’
‘We were, and dancing with two dishy pilots sounds like fun to me!’
‘Great. We’ll pick you up at seven.’
‘We’ll be ready. Now, please sit down and finish the tea and cake, or my mother will be offended.’
‘Can’t have that!’ Tim dived for the cake. ‘I’m starving and this looks delicious.’
‘Well, well,’ Helen said, when they had gone. ‘You never told me your boss looked like that! I always thought he was a boring middle-aged man.’
‘Really?’ Grace laughed at her friend’s rapt expression. ‘Tim is rather attractive as well, isn’t he?’
Helen did a little jig. ‘Pity we haven’t got fancy evening dresses, but I guess uniforms will have
to do.’
‘Everyone will be in uniform. We’d look out of place in ballgowns.’
‘We’ve got two hours so I’m off to wash my hair. See you at seven!’
Grace watched her friend run out of the room, showing the exuberance of carefree days before the war came and changed all their lives. Tonight two hard-pressed pilots needed to relax and enjoy themselves, and so did two troubled army girls. And there was no denying it. Whatever Helen was doing she wasn’t finding it easy, no matter how she tried to hide it. As for herself? Well, she had been excited at the chance to work for the Intelligence Service, but it had been day after day of frustration. The major general had pushed her into the background, and was keeping her there. She felt useless.
‘Grace!’ Her mother looked in the room. ‘They told me they had come to ask you out, so there’s hot water if you want to get ready. I knew you’d be pleased to see James again.’
‘I was, and thanks, Mum.’
‘Did you know he was on leave?’
‘No, I haven’t seen or heard from him since the party at the Savoy last year. I was surprised to see him. We were only ever boss and secretary. We never mixed socially. I wonder how he knew I was on leave.’
‘He said Colonel Askew told him.’
‘Ah, I see.’
‘You girls go out and enjoy yourselves, and let’s hope we have a quiet night.’
They were ready and waiting when the men arrived in a powerful sports car.
‘Where did you get this?’ Helen wanted to know as Tim held the door open for them.
‘We borrowed it.’
‘Does the owner know?’ Grace asked as she settled in the front seat with James.
Both pilots laughed but didn’t answer the question.
They were taken to a club in Piccadilly, and when Grace saw it, she said, ‘They won’t let us in here. It looks like a private club.’
‘Yes, they will,’ Tim told them confidently, guiding them towards the entrance.
The doorman took one look at the wings on their uniforms and opened the door at once.
‘Good evening, sirs. See the manager and he will give you one of the best tables.’
The place had appeared quite small from the outside, but that was deceptive – it was huge, and packed.
A man hurried up to them and led them to a table near the band and on the edge of the dance floor. A bottle of champagne arrived immediately, and the waitress smiled.
‘Good evening, sirs. The manager said your first drink is on the house.’
‘What service,’ Helen laughed. ‘You must have been here before.’
‘First time,’ James told her.
Grace looked at the pilots with fresh eyes. They were being shown respect and gratitude for what they had done – and were still doing in saving this country from invasion. They took to the air time after time, not knowing if they would come back.
After enjoying their first drink they took to the dance floor. Grace partnered James, and it seemed strange to be dancing with the man who had been her boss. This battle-hardened pilot was nothing like the lawyer she had worked for, though. He had changed, and that wasn’t surprising. None of them were going to come out of this the same.
‘Have you seen Dan?’ James asked, breaking her train of thought.
‘Not since we left the War Office. Why?’
‘I just wondered. From what I’ve heard you got on well together.’
‘We did. Just as you and I got on well together as boss and secretary.’
‘Ah.’ He smiled. ‘He hasn’t tried to get in touch with you, then?’
‘No, why should he? What are you getting at, James? Is he all right?’
‘He’s fine. I was curious, that’s all.’
Grace shook her head, remembering that the major general had asked the same question.
‘If you are thinking there might have been more than work between us, then I can soon put that right. Dan was injured, angry and frustrated; I had lost the husband I loved. We helped each other through a difficult time, and then we went our separate ways. End of story. As you are so curious about my private life, where is your steady girlfriend tonight?’
‘She was furious about me joining the air force, so she went off and married someone else.’
‘Oh, I’m so sorry, James!’
‘Don’t be – I’m not.’ He smiled down at her. ‘Now we’ve got that out of the way, let’s forget everything and enjoy ourselves. It looks as if Tim has really taken to Helen.’
The evening was the most relaxed and enjoyable Grace had spent since the death of Brian almost a year ago. Tim and James kept them laughing with jokes and stories. The war was put to one side for a few hours, and this was something they all needed. There wasn’t even an air raid that night to spoil their fun.
It was two o’clock in the morning when they finally arrived back home. The pilots hugged and thanked Grace and Helen for making the evening so enjoyable, and then drove away, heading for their base in Kenley.
Brian had been killed in May, 1940, and when that month arrived Grace was feeling particularly low in spirit. There had not been any improvement in the job and she was feeling useless. She was trying to take each day as it came in the hope she would be given something more responsible to do, but she was beginning to despair that would ever happen. Surely the major general trusted her by now? She didn’t want to spend the rest of the war like this. There wasn’t even enough work to keep her occupied during the day. While she had been at the War Office there hadn’t been a moment to spare, and that was the way she liked it.
Grace smiled, remembering the days she had followed that dynamic man through muddy fields, getting filthy, and loving every minute. It had been just what she’d needed at that time as she had struggled with the pain of loss.
With a sigh, she picked up the book she was reading. An early night was the thing to do.
‘Wake up!’
Grace was being shaken and she sat bolt upright, still fuzzy from sleep. The woman in charge of the house was standing by the bed.
‘You are to report to your office immediately, and take your bag with you.’
‘What time is it?’ Grace shook her head, trying to clear it.
‘Five in the morning. Hurry, the summons sounded urgent. They’ve sent transport for you.’
Springing into action, Grace tumbled out of bed, dressed with speed, ran a hand through her hair, grabbed her bag and rushed out to the waiting car.
‘That was quick,’ Captain Reid remarked when she arrived.
‘I was told it was urgent.’
‘Let’s move, then,’ the major general ordered. ‘We have a long journey ahead of us. You sit in the front, Lincoln.’
‘Yes, sir.’ Grace did as ordered, assuming that the two officers needed to talk during the journey. They hadn’t told her where they were going, and she knew better than to ask.
They were dropped off at a railway station Grace had never been to before, and as all the signs had been removed in case of invasion, she wasn’t sure where they were. At a guess she would have said it was Kings Cross. Even this early in the morning it was busy.
When the train arrived she followed the officers to a private compartment. Once in, the captain closed the door, and even though the train was crowded, they had it to themselves. The men looked edgy and excited. Grace was curious to know what this was all about, but they weren’t volunteering any information, and she didn’t ask.
It was, indeed, a long journey, and Grace occupied her time by watching the passing countryside, trying to guess where they were.
One of the bags the men had brought with them contained flasks of tea and packets of sandwiches. This was very welcome as there hadn’t been time for breakfast.
When they finally arrived at their destination there was an army car waiting at the station for them. As soon as they drove out of the station and into the countryside, Grace knew where she was – Scotland.
It was lat
e in the day when they reached their destination. It was a large building bristling with activity.
‘You won’t be needed tonight. I will send for you in the morning,’ the major general told her. ‘You will be shown to your room.’
Grace watched the officers walk away, and gave a slight shake of her head. She wasn’t going to be given even a hint of what they were doing there, or what was expected of her. Ah, well, that was nothing unusual in this job.
A woman, in civilian clothes, came up to her, smiling. ‘Welcome. If you will come with me I’ll show you to your room. Dinner will be at eight.’
‘Thank you. I’m very hungry after such a long journey. Where is the dining room?’
‘It’s the first room on our right. Don’t go to the next one along – that’s for the officers.’
They walked up the winding staircase and Grace took in every detail of the place. It was old, but very elegant. ‘Is this a hotel?’ she asked.
‘It was until the army took it over. I was offered the job of staying on and running the place.’
‘You worked here, then?’
‘No.’ The middle-aged woman gave a grim smile. ‘My family have owned it for several generations. It has been our business and our home. We will get it back when the army no longer need it.’
‘This must be very hard for you.’
‘Sacrifices have to be made in this war. And at least this has been commandeered for officers.’
‘Yes, indeed.’ Grace knew only too well what it was like to make sacrifices.
‘Here we are. You will be sharing because we haven’t enough rooms.’
When Grace stepped inside the room she stopped in amazement when she saw the girl already there. They stared at each other for a moment, not able to believe their eyes.
‘Grace!’ Peggy leapt to her feet and threw her arms around Grace. ‘How wonderful! What are you doing here?’
‘I really don’t know,’ she laughed. ‘It’s good to see you again. How are you getting on?’
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