They were all there; the Brooklands girls and their friends.
‘Darling!’ Milly threw her arms around Daisy. ‘And who’s this?’ She smiled at Gill, who was at once captivated by the sweet-faced woman with curly blond hair and a merry laugh.
‘This is my friend, Gill, from college, Aunty Milly.’
Milly kissed a startled Gill on both cheeks. ‘Do you drive, Gill?’
‘Er – only our tractor, Mrs, er . . .’
‘Call me “Aunty Milly”, like Daisy does, darling. Now, come along, let me introduce you to the gang . . .’
‘So,’ Mitch asked as they ended up sitting at a table with him. ‘Did you enjoy your flight, Gill?’
Her green eyes shone. ‘It was wonderful.’
‘There’s a chap who lives not far from Gill in Yorkshire, who has a plane,’ Daisy put in.
‘An aeroplane, Daisy. Always an aeroplane. Haven’t we taught you better than that?’
Daisy grinned. ‘Sorry, Uncle Mitch.’
‘So, who’s this chap, then?’
‘Gill calls him “Lord Bunny”, but he refuses to take her for a flight.’
‘He’s a sort of unofficial lord of the manor,’ Gill put in. ‘He owns a lot of land round where I live.’
‘What’s he got?’
‘A Tiger Moth,’ Gill said.
‘Ah, a two-seater biplane,’ Mitch said and then winked. ‘That’s handy. We’ve got one here, so I can show you over it and give you the low down, if you like, Gill. Maybe – if you can talk knowledgeably about his aeroplane and give him plenty of flannel – he’ll take you up.’
Gill laughed. ‘I doubt it. But anything’s worth a try.’
‘I don’t suppose you got the chance to see the Vickers Spitfire on show at Eastleigh Aerodrome in March last year, did you?’ Mitch said, when the girls paused for breath and he could get a word in.
Both girls turned towards him. ‘Spitfire?’ Gill repeated, whilst Daisy said, ‘Aunty Milly’s father’s firm?’
Gill glanced at her. ‘Aunty Milly’s father builds aeroplanes?’
‘His firm does.’ Daisy nodded towards the building with the ‘Vickers’ name emblazoned on it.
‘Does he own Vickers?’
Daisy glanced at Mitch. ‘I – I’m not sure. Does he, Uncle Mitch?’
Mitch laughed and shook his head. ‘Not exactly, but he’s one of the founders and he’s certainly one of the bigwigs in the company.’
‘Spitfire,’ Daisy murmured. ‘That’s a great name for an aeroplane, but it sounds rather – aggressive.’
‘It’s meant to be. It’s a fighter aeroplane and at this moment in time, the RAF’s most powerful weapon.’
The girls glanced at each other and then stared at him. ‘Uncle Mitch,’ Daisy said quietly, ‘is there something we’re missing here?’
Suddenly, Mitch realized that perhaps their families didn’t talk about the rumblings in Europe in front of the younger members. Swiftly, he grinned. ‘I shouldn’t think so for a minute. Not you two,’ he said, trying to make his tone light. ‘But our country – like any other – must keep its defences up to scratch. Now, let me go and get some drinks. I’m parched.’
The girls returned to college in September to start their second year at Studley, blithely unaware that their relatives were watching the newspapers and listening avidly to the news on the wireless.
‘Have you read the papers, Pips?’ Robert asked her on the first Saturday evening in October during their weekly telephone call to each other.
‘Hitler and Mussolini getting so cosy at some sort of demonstration in Berlin this week, you mean?’
‘Yes, that and at the recent Nazi party’s annual rally in Nuremberg, Hitler was bleating on about needing more living space for Germany.’
‘I don’t like what Mussolini said about their plans not being aimed at other countries. Of course they are. How can you extend your borders unless you occupy other countries? And I don’t think Hitler is going to stop at what he called reoccupying the Rhineland last year, do you?’
‘Sadly, Pips,’ Robert said solemnly, ‘I don’t. I think Mussolini’s conquest of Abyssinia has given the little corporal ideas; ideas that the rest of Europe – including us – won’t like.’ He paused and then added, ‘What do George and Matthew say?’
‘Not much, and I don’t ask because I don’t want to put either of them in an awkward position.’
‘How very diplomatic of you, Pips. That’s not a bit like you.’
Pips chuckled. ‘No, it isn’t, is it? But I do respect the fact that they mustn’t talk about what they hear in the course of their work.’
‘Point taken.’
‘How’s Daisy?’
‘Fine. Working hard – they both are.’
‘I do like her friend, Gill.’
‘So do we. It’ll be nice for them to keep in touch even after they finish college. Gill’s not that far away in the Yorkshire Dales, is she?’
‘Right, I’d better go. By the way, what’s your time for today’s crossword?’
‘Fifteen minutes.’
‘Oh phooey. It took me seventeen. Give my love to everyone. I’ll ring again as usual next weekend and, in the meantime, I’ll do my best to beat fifteen minutes.’
Life continued in much the same way in Doddington and on the Maitlands’ estate, largely untroubled by the political manoeuvrings, but in March 1938, no one could ignore the news that Hitler had marched into Austria – the land of his birth.
‘I can’t understand why he met with no resistance. The crowds were welcoming him,’ Pips said as she and the Maitlands sat around the dinner table on Easter Sunday in April.
‘Huh – he brought in supporters to cheer him, greeting him with the Fascist salute with cries of “Heil Hitler!”. I’m very much afraid that that is something we’re going to hear a lot of from now on.’
‘Is that why George isn’t with you this time?’ Henrietta asked.
‘I think so. He works long hours now.’
‘Does he tell you much?’ Edwin asked and then added quickly, ‘Not that we expect you to tell us anything.’
Pips shook her head. ‘He says very little, Father, and Matthew even less, but they’re both looking anxious. Rebecca says Matthew is working long hours at the Foreign Office too.’
‘I have to admit,’ Robert said slowly, ‘I don’t like it. Where is Hitler going to try next?’
‘Pips, darling.’
‘Hello, Milly,’ Pips said as she answered the telephone to hear Milly’s slightly breathless voice. ‘Are you all right?’
‘I’m fine, but I have some exciting news and you must tell Daisy and get her and her friend to come down to Brooklands a week on Saturday – the eighteenth of June.’
‘But they’re at college and they’re probably in the middle of exams. There are always exams in June – so I understand.’ There was an edge of sarcasm to her tone. Pips had not been allowed to go to university to study medicine as had her brother, Robert. And to this day a tiny bit of resentment still lingered.
‘But they must come. Johnny and a few of his mates have got special leave to come down.’
‘But why, Milly? You haven’t said why.’
Milly’s infectious giggle sounded down the wire. ‘Oh, I haven’t, have I? You know how Brooklands have an “At Home” meeting every so often?’
‘Yes. They’re very popular. We’ve been to one or two. Go on.’
‘Well, sometimes, one of Daddy’s test pilots, or one from Hawker, gives a display with one of their new aircraft still under production.’
‘Ye-es,’ Pips said slowly, wondering what was coming.
Triumphantly, Milly said, ‘On the eighteenth, they’re bringing a Spitfire from Eastleigh to give a display. You know that Supermarine, who make them, is a subsidiary of Vickers, don’t you? Mitch and Paul are so terribly excited about it – Jeff too – and they’re sure Daisy would be thrilled to see it.’
‘I’m sure she would, but—’
‘Oh, don’t be a spoilsport, Pips. That’s not like you. They won’t be doing exams on a Saturday, surely. And you could fetch them on the Friday night. They could stay with you, couldn’t they? If not, then—’
‘Of course they could,’ Pips interrupted. ‘It’s just that I don’t want to take them away from their studies at an important time.’ She paused, thinking quickly. ‘I’ll tell you what I’ll do. I’ll speak to Robert first. If he thinks it would be all right, then I’ll get in touch with Daisy. We’ve plenty of time to organize it.’
Milly giggled again. ‘That’s not like you, Pips. Asking permission to do something.’
Pips laughed with her. ‘But not even I dare to jeopardize Daisy’s studies.’ Thank goodness, she was thinking, that Robert and Alice had been more forward-thinking than her own parents. Yet, even they seemed to have mellowed over the years and had encouraged Daisy’s ambitions. Maybe, Pips thought shrewdly, it was because Daisy’s course would help her to manage the estate better.
‘I can understand that,’ Milly was saying. ‘But I think she ought at least to be told about it. If she found out later that we hadn’t told her . . .’
‘There is that, Milly.’
A little later, Pips rang her brother to ask for his thoughts. ‘So, Robert, what do you think?’
‘It’s an excellent idea. A break from exams would do them both good.’
‘But what about their revision?’
Robert chuckled. ‘If they haven’t done it by then, last-minute cramming isn’t going to help and a break might be more beneficial.’
‘Well, as long as I have your approval, I’ll tell her and suggest that she and Gill come here for the weekend. A little longer, if they can.’
It wasn’t easy to communicate with Daisy. Pips had to ring the office at Studley Castle and then wait whilst Daisy was found and brought to the telephone.
‘Aunty Pips, is something wrong?’
‘Far from it, Daisy.’ Swiftly Pips explained why she was telephoning, adding that Johnny and some of his RAF mates were going to be there.
‘That sounds wonderful. Of course we’ll come. I’m sure Gill would love to come too. We could both do with a break from exams and we haven’t got any on the Friday or the Monday, so that would be perfect.’ She paused and then asked, a little diffidently, which was unusual for Daisy, ‘Aunty Pips, can I be cheeky?’
Pips laughed. ‘Of course. When are you not?’
‘Could I ask Luke and Harry to come? They’d both love it.’
‘Of course. I should have thought of that myself.’ Pips laughed. ‘As long as Granddad Dawson will allow it.’
‘I think they’ll come anyway.’