He was stiff after being confined to that small space and he was glad to get out and stretch his legs. The field was about a mile away and they reached it without mishap. Then they settled down in some trees to wait. No one spoke and Tim could feel the tension radiating through the group.
After what seemed like an age, Tim heard the sound of a small plane, and watched as the men ran out to put lights to mark the landing spot. He was jumpy, expecting Germans to arrive at any minute. He would rather be up in the air than on the ground like this! At least he had some control up there; down here he felt too vulnerable.
When the plane landed one of the men grabbed hold of Tim and rushed him towards the Lysander. He was on the plane before he had a chance to thank his rescuers or say goodbye to Helen. The plane was back in the air in what seemed a matter of seconds.
Tim suddenly felt absolutely drained and ran a hand over his eyes.
‘You all right, chum?’ the pilot said as they climbed and headed for the coast.
‘Yes, thanks. This is a blasted dangerous game you are all playing.’
The pilot chuckled. ‘You can relax now. We will be landing at Tempsford, Cambridge. Sleep if you want to.’
Tim closed his eyes. He’d become an expert at snatching sleep whenever he could during the height of the battle. They all had.
‘We’ve landed, sir!’
‘What?’ Tim sat up quickly. ‘Have I slept all the way?’
‘You went out like a light as soon as we were over the Channel.’
A cheer went up from the ground staff when Tim clambered out of the Lysander, and calls of ‘Well done, sir. Welcome back’. He was quite touched by their obvious delight.
A squadron leader stepped forward and shook his hand.
‘You look as if you’ve had a rough time. I expect the first thing you need is a shower, shave and change of clothes.’
Tim grimaced, conscious for the first time about his dishevelled state. His uniform was torn and dirty, and he had several days’ growth of beard. But that could wait.
‘I must phone Kenley first, sir. My squadron leader was shot down over the Channel and I need to know if he survived.’
‘Kenley were informed that you might be arriving tonight, and they sent a message for you. Squadron Leader Meredith was found and is in Aldershot Military Hospital with relatively minor injuries, and suffering from a prolonged dip in the sea.’
‘Oh, thank God!’ The relief sweeping over Tim made him sway slightly after days of worrying about his friend.
‘Come on. Let’s get you cleaned up and a good meal inside you. Then the MO must check you over. You look exhausted. The debriefing can wait until tomorrow.’
That was going to be tricky, Tim thought, as they walked towards the building. He had made a promise to Helen that he would never talk about the people who had helped him, and nothing on this earth would make him break that promise. Without them he would either be a prisoner – or dead.
An hour later he was feeling much better, but he was surprised at just how much the last few days had taken out of him. After the relief of hearing that James was all right, everything had seemed to sweep in on him, making him realise fully the danger he had been in. Thanks to Helen and her friends, though, he had come through and would be able to carry on the fight.
‘You’ve come out of this well,’ the medical officer told him when the examination was finished. ‘All you need is rest. You are wound up like a spring. There’s a bed in the next room, so get some sleep.’
‘I’ve got to get back to Kenley.’ Tim stood up and headed for the door. ‘Must see if I can borrow transport of some kind.’
‘Oh, no you don’t, young man.’ The MO stopped him. ‘You are not going to drive or fly anything tonight. Sleep!’
‘I can’t sleep, Doc, and it isn’t worth going to bed. It’s three in the morning. Anyway, I slept on the plane.’
‘As soon as it’s light you can return to your base, but I’m not letting you go before then.’
‘All right.’ Tim gave in and walked into the other room.
The next thing he knew the sun was streaming through the window.
Chapter Seventeen
The debriefing had taken a long time, but thankfully they had accepted that Tim couldn’t give the names or places of his rescuers in France, as lives depended upon his silence. After that he had spoken to Colonel Askew and Major Chester to ask that James not be told he was back. He wanted to surprise him.
He strode into the ward and saw his friend at once. He was sitting in a chair reading a book. When Tim reached him James saw his feet first, and then his gaze shot straight up to his face. He reached out and prodded him.
‘I am real!’ Tim laughed.
‘Good grief! I thought I was hallucinating. Where the hell did you come from?’
‘I wouldn’t call it hell, but that’s a close description.’ Tim sat on the edge of the bed. ‘I got back last night and came as soon as they would let me. I’ve been worried sick in case they hadn’t found you.’
‘It took a while. You gave me a fright when I saw you disappearing towards France. I knew you didn’t have enough petrol to get back, you blasted fool. I ought to put you on a charge for pulling a stunt like that.’
‘Will it help my case if I told you I thought he was ready to dive on you while you were in the sea and I dumped him in the water as well?’ Tim asked, smiling broadly.
James laughed then. ‘Oh, it’s good to see you. Tell me what happened after that.’
‘After shooting him down I made for the nearest land. I was running dry when I crossed the coast, so before bailing out I turned the Spitfire towards the sea, and jumped. I didn’t want the plane to come down on land and alert the Germans that I was there.’
‘Good thinking. What happened then?’
‘I had a rough landing in some trees, but got away with only bruises. Some locals found me and took me to a safe place. I stayed there until a Lysander arrived and brought me back.’
‘You were lucky.’
Tim nodded. ‘So, how long are you going to be in here? I’ve got some leave now.’
‘Another couple of days, they think. I’ll be grounded for a while and so will you. Perhaps we can get together with Grace and Helen again. Grace is stationed here and has been in a couple of times to see me. Why don’t you find her and ask if there’s any chance of them getting leave together again?’
‘Good idea. I’ll do that.’ Tim knew that would be impossible, but he had to go along with it. There was no way he would give even a hint of what he knew.
He stayed with James until the nursing sister came and threw him out. ‘I’ll see if I can get hold of a car, James. That will make it easier for you to get around.’
‘You’ve disturbed my patient long enough,’ the sister said, trying to give Tim a stern look. ‘Time to leave.’
‘I’m on my way, sister.’ He strode out with a smile on his face. Oh, it was good to be home!
The door connecting the offices was open and Grace heard someone come in and the major general shake hands with him, but she couldn’t see who it was.
‘There’s someone to see you, Grace.’
She looked up, startled to hear him use her Christian name. When she saw the smiling man behind him she leapt to her feet. ‘Tim! Oh, it’s so good to see you!’
‘Hello, Grace.’ Tim hugged her in a fierce embrace. ‘You’re even more beautiful than the last time I saw you.’
She laughed, so relieved to see he was alive. ‘And you’re still the master of flattery. Where have you been? And does James know you are all right?’
‘I’ve just seen him. I took an unscheduled trip to France.’
‘How did you get back?’
‘By Lysander.’
Major General Haydon was still standing there, watching and listening intently.
‘Make a pot of tea, Grace. I’m sure Tim would like to stay a while and talk to you.’
He’d sai
d it again! ‘If that’s all right with you, sir?’
‘Of course.’ He smiled at Tim. ‘Good to have one of our precious pilots snatched back from under the noses of the Germans. Well done, young man.’
‘Thank you, sir. It’s good to be home.’
‘Enjoy your tea, and don’t feel you have to rush away.’ He turned towards his office, and then stopped, looking back over his shoulder. ‘If you have a spare moment later, I would enjoy hearing about your experiences in France.’
Grace knew exactly what he was doing. All the friendliness was because he wanted information, and by the expression on Tim’s face, he knew as well.
As the door closed, Grace put her fingers to her lips and nodded towards an intercom on her desk. The red light was showing to indicate it was on.
Tim nodded and began to talk about the night in London they had all enjoyed.
When a call came through for her boss, Grace connected it and then flicked the switch to turn off the intercom. This was the only time she was allowed to disconnect it. ‘Now we can’t be overheard, Tim. He’s an intelligence officer, and you know he will squeeze you for any information he can get.’
‘I realise that, but I’ve already been through a vigorous debriefing by my own people. I can’t talk to anyone else about what happened, and he knows that.’
‘It won’t stop him trying, though.’
Grace’s door surged open and a German pilot walked in accompanied by two guards.
‘What the …?’ Tim was immediately on his feet, and stepped towards the German. He had lost too many good friends to feel kindly towards any of them.
Grabbing his arm, Grace stopped him. ‘It’s all right, Tim,’ she laughed. ‘This is Captain Reid. He likes dressing up as the enemy.’
Bill grinned and bowed gracefully towards them. The two guards were obviously in on the charade and having difficulty in keeping straight faces. ‘I’ve just been arrested. Is his lordship in, Grace?’
Still laughing, she checked that he had finished his phone call. ‘He’s free now. You can go in.’
‘Ask the guards to wait outside your door, Grace. They won’t take orders from me.’
‘I should think not. You are their prisoner, Captain!’
He saluted Tim. ‘Sorry I can’t stay and compare notes on tactics with you, sir.’
‘Oh, for heaven’s sake!’ Grace pushed Bill towards the door.
There was a look of utter disbelief on Tim’s face as he watched Bill disappear into the other office. As soon as the guards had stepped outside, he turned to Grace. ‘What kind of a madhouse do you work in?’
‘I really do wonder at times,’ she admitted. Then she told him about her interview here and had him roaring with laughter.
‘The captain didn’t fool you then.’
‘Not for long. He’s very good, but James taught me to look past the outward appearances for small details. He was a master at reading body language, and there will often be something in gestures that will give a sign that they are hiding something. The eyes can tell you so much as well. I’ve heard it said that they are the windows to the soul.’ She gave a small smile. ‘That’s another one of my mother’s sayings; she’s full of them. Anyway, I have only ever met one person who could mask his feelings completely when he wanted to, and that was Major Chester.’
‘Really? I’m intrigued. What do you see in me?’
‘Are you sure you want to know?’
He laughed. ‘Come on, Grace. Let me see if you really can do this.’
‘All right. I would say that you are guarding something you don’t want to talk about, and it’s very important to you. And considering what you have just been through it isn’t hard to guess it is something that happened in France.’ She laughed at his expression. ‘Don’t worry, Tim. There isn’t anything clever about that. I could say the same thing to hundreds of men who have had traumatic experiences. There is always a reluctance to talk about it.’
‘Don’t believe her when she dismisses that ability so easily,’ said a quiet voice from the doorway. ‘She is very perceptive.’
‘I’m sure you are right, Captain,’ Tim said. ‘It also makes me see why James was such a successful lawyer. The ability to sum people up accurately also makes him an excellent squadron leader.’
‘Call the guards back, Grace,’ her boss ordered. ‘Then you can both help us.’
Once everyone was there, he said, ‘Tim, your experiences will make your advice invaluable. I want both of you to take a good look at the German pilot. He’s been shot down over London and bailed out, landing in a garden. What’s wrong with him?’
‘He’s too clean,’ Tim said immediately. ‘Jumping from a stricken plane wouldn’t be easy, and after landing in a garden, he would be a mess. His uniform would probably be torn – mine was, and I was filthy by the time I extracted myself from the parachute.’
‘Good. Grace?’
She studied him intently for a few moments. ‘Shoes.’
‘I left my flying boots behind when I jumped. These were given to me.’
‘You might get away with that, Captain. And for goodness’ sake take that wristwatch off; it’s far too expensive for you to have been given that.’
‘How do you know I’m wearing it?’
‘By the amused look in your eyes. You are testing me, Captain. If you really were a downed German pilot who had been captured, you would be afraid, not knowing what was going to happen to you. Even angry. What happened to the rest of your crew?’
‘They didn’t survive.’
‘Then you would be sad and very angry.’
‘And another small thing,’ Tim said, smiling wryly. ‘I ended up with quite a few bruises as well.’
Grace had an uncomfortable feeling that this wasn’t a joke. Her boss was definitely on edge. ‘I don’t know what you are wearing underneath, Captain, but for the deception to be complete it mustn’t be English underwear.’
‘All German, expect for the shoes and watch.’
Tim reached into his pocket and held out a watch. ‘You’d better take this, Captain; it’s a genuine German pilot’s watch.’
‘My word, that’s good of you.’ Bill removed his own watch and handed it to Tim. ‘We’ll swap, and I promise to return this to you.’
They shook hands, and Grace could see respect in their eyes for each other – and perhaps the beginning of a friendship.
‘Anything else?’ Stan demanded. When Grace and Tim shook their heads, he turned to the guards. ‘You know what to do. You’ve heard what has been said, so mess him up a bit.’
Bill grimaced. ‘Thank you for your good advice, Grace and Tim. I think!’ Then he saluted and turned towards the door.
‘Be careful, Bill,’ Stan said quietly. ‘We won’t be far away.’
He nodded, spun round and said to the guards, ‘Right men, let’s get this show on the road.’
Stan stared at the door for a few moments, and then looked at Tim. ‘I could do with a strong drink. Will you join me, young man?’
‘My pleasure, sir.’
Tim hugged Grace. ‘James and I will be grounded for a while so let us know if you have any time off.’
‘I will. I had a letter from Helen and she said she is hoping to have leave at Christmas.’
‘That would be marvellous if we could all meet up again.’ He kissed her cheek, and left with the officer.
Grace found it hard to settle down to work. Her mind was focused on what had just happened. The wonderful part was that Tim was alive and well, and that was a huge relief, and must be especially so to James. He had been distressed about his missing friend. The thing playing on her mind, though, was what Bill was playing at. At first she had assumed it was one of his games with new recruits, but it had soon become clear that this was not a game. She fervently wished they would take her into their confidence. It was worrying not knowing what was going on.
It was over an hour later when her boss returned, and instead of goin
g straight to his office as he usually did, he sat by her desk.
‘Tim’s a fine young man.’
‘Yes, sir, he is.’
‘Is he your boyfriend?’
‘No, sir. He’s interested in my friend, Helen.’ Where was this leading? Why was he suddenly so friendly?
‘Ah. And is your friend in the forces?’
‘The FANY, sir. She’s an interpreter for the Free French.’
‘Speaks the language well, does she?’
‘Her grandmother is French, and I learnt the language from them. They live next door to us.’
‘That was useful.’ He smiled and nodded. ‘Why don’t you pop along and see James? I understand he could be discharged in a day or two.’
For a moment she was lost for words. He was acting quite out of character. ‘Um, I can go this evening, sir.’
‘You won’t be able to. We are leaving at six o’clock. We might be away for a while.’
‘Where are we going, sir?’
‘Somerset.’ He stood up and smiled again. ‘Off you go, then, Grace. Be back before six with your bag.’
‘Yes, sir.’
The day was full of surprises, Grace thought, as they sped along in a comfortable car, with a driver and a lieutenant in the front. The car had a privacy screen raised so anyone in the front couldn’t hear what was being said in the back. Grace had expected to go by train again, but it looked as if it was going to be luxury all the way.
‘I expect you are wondering what this is all about,’ Major General Haydon said.
‘Yes, sir. Where is the captain?’
‘He’s already there. Bill is posing as a German pilot and has been taken to a prisoner-of-war camp. He is there on an intelligence mission. That was why we were so intent on making him look genuine. We won’t see him for a couple of days, but I want to be close at hand. I didn’t like this idea, but it came from high up and orders are orders. I don’t believe that these men will talk, and the risk of putting someone in there with them is too great. I have brought you along in case we need your skill with German, though I hope that won’t be necessary.’
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