On checking his pigeonhole, he saw an official-looking letter. Eagerly he tore it open and, as he’d hoped, it was from Mainwaring. He scanned the contents and felt a surge of excitement. There was a place available for him at Oriel College, Oxford. All he had to do was apply by letter with his qualifications and then attend an interview at his convenience.
To be honest, he was more excited about this than about Amanda’s kid. All they needed now was the bloody war to be over so life could get back to normal. Since he’d decided to study civil engineering he’d been reading up on the subject. He couldn’t see that only having one hand would be too much of a disadvantage – there were draughtsmen to draw up the final blueprints. He just had to design and do the maths.
Fortunately, his private education, that he now knew had been paid for by the ill-gotten gains of his Uncle Joe, was more than adequate for the college’s entrance requirements. Mathematics had always been his strongest subject.
He had a list of four houses, only two miles from the pool, that might be suitable, which added to his feeling of excitement. There hadn’t been time to tell her his good news before she’d hung up. Ellie would write to her friend and let them know they were coming.
Finding any sort of accommodation was difficult, especially near White Waltham as so many transient staff needed somewhere to sleep. He agreed that the landlady of the place they usually stayed was particularly unpleasant – although the room and the breakfast were okay. Only because this Mrs Tenby was cordially disliked was there always a vacancy for them. He would call in on his way back to his digs at the pub and make the reservation tonight.
Seven
The day before she was going to White Waltham, the weather was perfect for flying. Ellie wasn’t even remotely cross when she was given a Typhoon to collect from Aston Down and take to Lasham, and then had to become taxi driver for the remainder of the day. It might seem to others that it was a bit of a come down after flying several Lancasters back and forth. However, nothing could spoil her good mood.
She arrived at Aston Down, dealt with the paperwork, did her preflight checks and was ready to taxi onto the apron. She was forced to slam on the brakes in order to avoid three other aircraft which appeared in front of her. This meant she now had to wait until it was her turn.
On arrival at Lasham she landed safely and headed for dispersal. An airman waved her on and then to her horror she was suddenly at the head of an incline and there were hundreds of Tempests standing in rows at the bottom.
The hair on the back of her neck stood up. She hit the brakes. They were overheated from the incident at Aston Down and failed to grip. The Typhoon was hurtling towards the parked aircraft and there was going to be a major incident.
Switch off – that was something she could do and it might just work. She did this and an eerie silence filled the cockpit. It hadn’t slowed her precipitous descent at all and she braced herself for a catastrophic impact.
On arrival at the bottom of the hill she spotted, directly in front of her, a very small space, maybe just big enough to take her kite. She mentally crossed her fingers. She was travelling too fast. Was she slowing down or was that wishful thinking?
She stopped literally a hand’s width from the next propeller. Perspiration trickled down her back – that had been a very close call indeed. After several steadying breaths she was ready to clamber out.
Three airmen had watched her precipitous approach. ‘That was impressive, miss, I don’t reckon I’ve ever seen such precision. Good for you,’ one of them said as he gave her a mock salute.
‘Thank you, maybe a bit fast, but I know what I’m doing.’
She was still smiling when she collected the Anson and couldn’t wait to tell Jack what had happened.
*
He was waiting for her when she arrived at White Waltham the following evening. ‘Hi, darling, I can’t tell you how pleased I am to see you.’
She flung herself into his arms and to the cheers of those watching they kissed passionately. ‘I’ve missed you. Have we got time to take a look at those houses? I don’t need to go inside, not today, I just need to see where they and so on.’
‘Let’s dump your stuff in my locker first. We’re staying somewhere really swell tonight. I thought I’d push the boat out.’
The first three houses they both rejected as unsuitable, but the fourth, from the outside looked perfect.
‘Double fronted, set well back from the road, a super garden and it looks in good repair,’ he said as they gazed over the hedge.
‘I think it’s Georgian from the proportions of the windows. It’s absolutely stunning.’
She stepped back, treading on his toes, when a head popped up above the hedge.
‘Hello, my dears, are you interested in buying my house?’ The speaker was a tiny grey-haired lady with a twinkling smile. ‘I’m Mary Hatfield. Why don’t you come in and have a look around?’
Ellie checked with Jack and then nodded. ‘If that’s no trouble, Mrs Hatfield, we’d love to.’
‘Call me Mary, everyone else does.’
‘I’m Ellie Reynolds and this is my husband Jack.’ They shook hands over the hedge and then went in through the front gate.
‘ATA pilots both of you?’
‘We are, ma’am, and proud to be so.’
Mary tilted her head and stared up at him. ‘Do I detect an American twang to your speech, young man?’
He grinned. ‘You sure do, ma’am.’ He deliberately exaggerated his accent and they all laughed. ‘I lived there for several years before the war.’
‘It’s very attractive.’ She didn’t take them in but led them to a side gate. ‘I thought you might like to look at the back garden first or should I call it the backyard?’
Ellie was speechless. ‘It’s beautiful. Surely you don’t maintain all this yourself?’
‘Everything apart from mowing the grass – a local man does that for me in exchange for eggs and vegetables. I turned half my garden over to produce when the war started and I’m self-sufficient. This is my pride and joy and I won’t sell to anyone who doesn’t love it as much as I do.’
Jack moved closer and put his arm around the old lady’s shoulders. ‘You really don’t want to leave here. Is there some reason you have to?’
Ellie thought it was probably because the both the house and grounds were too big for Mary to take care of anymore. This was exactly the sort of place she’d dreamt of living in. This was the old lady’s home and being forced to move must be heartbreaking.
‘I’m not as well as I was, Jack, and it’s all getting too much for me. I can’t bear to think of it becoming unkempt because of my neglect.’
‘Do you have somewhere to go?’
‘With the proceeds of the sale I’ll buy myself a bungalow in Oxford. Far more suitable, don’t you think, for an old biddy like me?’
‘Would it be too much of an imposition to look inside?’
‘Of course, but only if you agree to stay for something to eat. It will be such a treat to have company.’
The back door opened into a spacious boot room, there was a scullery to the left and the kitchen on the right. ‘Why don’t you two explore the house together whilst I get on with our meal.’
‘That would be super, thank you so much.’
The more they saw, the more perfect the house was. Jack was equally enthusiastic. ‘Five bedrooms, a box room and an attic as well. There’s only this antiquated bathroom up here –the WC’s downstairs.’
‘The box room could be converted into a WC and at the same time we could put in some radiators and a boiler. We’ve not seen the kitchen but I expect it’s antiquated as well.’
Downstairs was even better. There was a spacious drawing room, a study and a dining room as well as the large farmhouse-style kitchen. ‘It needs redecorating but apart from that I can’t see anything structurally wrong with it.’
He chuckled. ‘You sound like an engineer, perhaps it’s you who shoul
d be going to university.’
‘If we don’t have children then I’ll definitely do so, but that’s not going to be for a while on either count.’
‘Something’s occurred to me, honey, I’m not sure you’ll agree. We don’t need as much room as this and for the next year or two we’ll hardly be here. I don’t like the idea of leaving the property empty so much.’
She hugged him. ‘I was going to say exactly the same thing. Why don’t we buy the house and then ask Mary to stay on?’
‘Okay, but let’s spend the evening with her and decide after that. We shouldn’t make a decision like this after only knowing her for ten minutes.’
*
The impromptu supper of cheese on toast served with homemade chutney followed by strawberries and cream made the decision easy. Jack didn’t offer to help clear the table.
‘Shall we sit in the garden and enjoy the nightingales, my dears?’
Ellie carried the tray out to the terrace. Mary rearranged the heavy wooden furniture with no trouble and he began to think that maybe her reason for leaving might be financial rather than poor health.
‘We love this house and would like to buy it, but have a suggestion to make.’ Mary looked at him enquiringly. ‘We would like you to live with us. Become part of our family, if you like.’
If he’d expected her to clap her hands in joy and thank him effusively, he would have been disappointed. She frowned and looked intently first at him and then at Ellie.
‘I’m not a charity case, young man. Good heavens, we’ve only just met each other. Why would I want to live with two strangers in a house that no longer belongs to me?’
He was somewhat startled by her vehemence but knew he’d touched a raw nerve by his offer. He was more than ever convinced that she was in financial trouble but too proud to admit it.
‘I’m sorry if I’ve offended you, Mary, but I’m afraid this offer was made out of self-interest not charity. If we bought your house it might well be standing empty much of the time, as we rarely get time off together and are often forced to stay overnight wherever we’ve delivered kites.’
Ellie joined in. ‘You would be doing us an enormous favour if you stayed here and acted as custodian, make sure we didn’t get burglars or squatters. We would, obviously, pay you for your services. We fully understand if you’d prefer to move to Oxford. Perhaps you could recommend someone else who might be a suitable candidate to be employed as our caretaker?’
‘That’s quite different, my dear girl. As long as you understand that I’ll be doing you a favour by remaining and not the other way around. I think I prefer to be called your housekeeper, then I can make myself useful and ensure that you have hot meals when you return from your onerous duties.’
‘Absolutely. We’ll get our solicitor to get in touch with yours and set things in motion.’ He glanced at the kitchen clock. ‘We’re booked into an hotel for the night so had better make a move.’
‘At Woodland House?’
‘Yes, it came highly recommended.’
‘I’m sure that Mrs Beveridge won’t mind if you fail to arrive. She’s notorious for double booking and I expect, as you’re so late already, that your room has already been taken by someone else.’
‘I sincerely hope not,’ Ellie said, looking alarmed.
‘Why doesn’t your young man pop along to the hotel and see if your room is still available? If it’s not then of course you must stay here.’
Jack thought it best not to argue. ‘It’s almost nine o’clock so you might well be right, Mary. I won’t be long, honey, it’s only half a mile from here.’
He ran the short distance, pleased he wasn’t short of breath when he arrived. The look of horror on the receptionist’s face when he stepped in confirmed what Mary had said. He decided not to tell them he’d come to cancel.
‘Good evening, ma’am, I’m Squadron Leader Reynolds and have a booking for myself and my wife for tonight.’
The woman snatched up the reservations book and held it to her chest as if she feared he would snatch it away to confirm what he said was true. ‘I’m sorry, Squadron Leader, the room’s no longer available.’ Before he could protest, she dived under the desk and all but threw his deposit back at him.
‘That’s too bad, ma’am. I’ll make sure that no one from White Waltham reserves here in future.’
He returned at the double and had scarcely been gone a quarter of an hour. He was curious to know why Mary had wanted to spend time alone with Ellie. They wouldn’t have expected him to be back for another fifteen minutes at least.
Instead of knocking at the front he strolled around to the rear of the building and paused before he could be seen from the terrace. Eavesdropping was not something he did normally, but if this strange old lady was going to be living with them he thought it justified to discover as much as he could about her.
Mary’s voice carried wonderfully in the late evening silence. ‘I needed to be sure that you and your handsome husband wouldn’t object to my meetings. I can’t tell you how pleased I am that you think he won’t mind.’
He emerged from the corner. ‘What won’t I mind, Mary?’
Ellie was trying not to laugh. ‘Mary is a witch, darling, and the members of her coven meet here once a month. That won’t be a problem for us, will it?’
Whatever he’d been expecting the secret to be, it wasn’t this. ‘How fascinating! As long as we don’t have to participate then I’ve no objection at all to the meetings continuing to be held here.’
‘Participate, young man? I should think not. It’s a very secret society. I can assure you that my ladies and I will not be holding a coven when either of you are in residence.’
‘Ellie, it would seem that we’re staying here as Mary was right – our reservation was cancelled or double booked.’ He’d deliberately changed the subject as talking about a witches’ coven as if it was a real thing was just plain silly.
‘Well then, I’ll show you where the bed linen is kept and then leave you to select which room you wish to sleep in. I must shut up the chickens and ducks before a fox gets them.’
‘Can we come with you, Mary? The bed can wait. When I was living at home I used to take care of the chickens and ducks myself. It will be wonderful having them here as well.’
‘Are you a farmer’s daughter, by any chance?’
‘I am, but not a very good one. I much prefer to be a pilot and have no intention of returning to the farm when the war’s over.’
‘I should hardly think so, my dear girl. After all, this will be your home now. I hope I live to see your little ones running about. This is the perfect house and garden for raising a family.’
He raised an eyebrow and Ellie hid her smile behind her hand. ‘Jack’s going to Oxford University to study civil engineering when he leaves the ATA. If I’m not lucky enough to have a baby by then I’ll join him.’
‘Good heavens, do you intend to become an engineer as well?’
‘An architect, not a civil engineer, and then we could become a partnership.’
This was the first time she’d said she was looking forward to having his children, or that she wanted to study to become an architect so she could join him in a family business.
Mary had bustled on ahead leaving them to walk behind her. He slipped his arm around Ellie’s waist and spoke softly. ‘If you don’t get pregnant it won’t be for want of trying. Are you quite sure you’d be happy to be in the same position as Amanda? Give up flying for the foreseeable?’
‘Since we sorted out things between us, I’ve changed too, darling. I won’t be unhappy if I find I’m having a baby but I would still prefer it not to be not just yet. However, once the children are old enough to attend school then I’ll definitely study architecture.’
Jack smiled and the all-too-familiar heat surged through her. ‘Behave yourself, Jack Reynolds.’ His eyes darkened and she knew he was going to ignore her request but then the night was rent by the sudden raucous
clucking of beleaguered chickens. This was closely followed by Mary shouting and banging something metal with a stick.
They raced towards the wicket gate in the hedge knowing a fox was in the hen coop. It wasn’t one animal, but two, a vixen and a smaller, younger fox. The banging and shouting were proving ineffectual – what they really needed was a shotgun but they would have to manage without.
‘We need to open the run so the foxes can escape. All the racket is just panicking them. God knows how they got in there in the first place.’
He tore ahead and did as she suggested. Hopefully, the terrified chooks wouldn’t exit the same way as then they were sure to be eaten. Ellie’s plan worked perfectly and the unwanted intruders vanished into the woods at the rear of the garden.
‘I say, well done the two of you. Damned vermin – they’re always on the hunt for my chickens. Fortunately, the ducks have the sense to sleep on their little island.’
‘This fence needs attention, Mary, I’ll do that now so if the buggers come back they won’t be able to get in.’ He pointed to the hole that had been dug.
‘Do you have tools and so on we can use, Mary? We should just have time to do it before it’s too dark to see.’
He gently herded the chickens into their coop and shut the door behind them. The kitchen garden was massive and apart from the weeds it looked very productive. He turned to ask the old lady if she did all this herself but she and Ellie had vanished into a dilapidated shed.
There was a small stream running through the middle of the vegetable plot and he stepped over it easily. The water ran into a manmade pond with a floating wooden island in the centre upon which the thoroughly alarmed ducks were quacking nervously.
‘Okay you lot, panic over. You can settle down for the night.’
The roar of an aircraft overhead made him look up in surprise. The flyer was cutting it a bit fine coming in so late. He smiled as he recalled that he’d done it often enough himself. Must be an ex-RAF pilot who could use instruments safely.
‘I’ve got what we need, Jack. Mary’s gone back to put the kettle on. She’s the most unlikely witch I’ve ever seen.’
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