‘You’re joking.’ Then, when Jess didn’t show any sign of laughter, May added, ‘Aren’t you?’ She looked at Jess anxiously, all her enjoyment at the prospect of a pantomime draining away.
‘Course not. You’ll be brilliant.’
‘But I can’t go on stage in front of loads of people.’ May had a flashback to her school days, to when she’d been called upon to answer a question in front of the whole class or, worst of all, recite a poem or read aloud from a book. Some children had enjoyed the attention but not May. Right now, she felt the same clamminess on the palms of her hands, the same rapid heartbeat she’d always felt when the teacher was looking around the class, deciding who should read next.
‘It won’t be loads of people,’ Jess said in the soothing tones someone would use to calm a frightened puppy. ‘Just those of us at the station who are off duty at the time.’
‘That is loads of people. And I’ll know them. That makes it worse.’
‘How?’
‘I… it just does. Everyone will laugh at me, and I’ll have to face them every day after that knowing they’ve seen me make an idiot of myself.’
‘You won’t make an idiot of yourself. No one will laugh at you. Except in places where they’re supposed to laugh. You’ll be great. Everyone will love you.’
All May could do was shake her head. Too many times in class she’d frozen, unable to speak. The same would happen to her in the pantomime, she just knew it.
‘Please say you’ll do it,’ Jess said. ‘It won’t be half as much fun without you.’
‘I…’ She couldn’t do it. She should just say no. Explain how the prospect of performing terrified her. Jess was her friend. She wouldn’t force May to do it once she understood.
‘And it would be brilliant for your confidence,’ Jess went on, oblivious to May’s inner battle. ‘Prince Charming knows exactly what he wants and he’s not afraid to go after it. By teaching you how to act his part, I can teach you to look and behave more like a confident person.’
No. I can’t do it. Please don’t make me. But the words stuck in her throat. Instead, she said, ‘Let me think about it.’
Jess gave her a beaming smile. ‘I knew you wouldn’t let me down. This is going to be great.’
‘What is?’ This was said by a man just behind May. Even if May hadn’t recognised the voice with its slight accent, she would have known from the glow that suddenly seemed to envelop Jess that it was Milan Mašek speaking, one of the Czech pilots from Brimstone squadron. He stepped into view and May saw that his friend Jiří was with him.
‘May is going to play Prince Charming in our pantomime.’
May drew breath, about to protest that she hadn’t actually agreed to do it, but Milan spoke first. ‘What is a pantomime?’
‘Buy us a drink and I’ll tell you all about it.’
And the moment when May could have corrected Jess had passed. May contented herself by deciding she would explain to Jess later on that she couldn’t possibly play Prince Charming while Jess decided what drink she would like. It would be easier when they were alone back at High Chalk House.
She drained the dregs of her current half pint and watched Milan and Jiří as they went to the bar. Milan was just leaning over the bar to catch the landlady’s attention when a portly middle-aged man in tweeds shoved him aside. ‘A pint of bitter please, Joan,’ he said.
May heard Jess take a sharp breath. ‘Gawd ’elp us,’ she whispered, echoing May’s silent prayer. May couldn’t see Milan’s face, but she could tell from the stiffening of his shoulders that Milan wasn’t going to quietly step aside.
‘I was here first,’ he said.
The man ignored him and addressed the barmaid. ‘You shouldn’t be serving the likes of that lot.’ He jerked his head in Milan’s direction. ‘Who’s to say there isn’t another spy amongst them?’
May felt a cold chill wash over her. The locals might have been more distrustful of the Czechs since the incident with the parachutists, but she had never seen anyone be quite so confrontational.
The barmaid, however, folded her arms and glared at the man. ‘Don’t you tell me who I can and can’t serve in my pub, Arnold Walker. If you can’t keep a civil tongue in your head, you can go elsewhere. When we were being bombed last summer, Flight Lieutenant Mašek here was up in the air, fighting the enemy while I have it on good authority you were cowering in your shelter, crying for your mother.’ She turned to Milan. ‘Now, what can I get you, love?’
Arnold Walker’s face turned puce but he said nothing more. A short while later, Milan and Jiří returned to the table carrying the drinks.
‘Blinkin’ cheek,’ Jess said, scowling at Arnold Walker. Much to May’s relief, the man had his back to their table so didn’t see. ‘I’ve ’alf a mind to give ’im what for.’
She pushed back her chair, but May clutched her arm. ‘Please don’t make a scene,’ she said. ‘I think he’s drunk.’ She’d seen enough of her father and brothers on pay day to know how easily tempers could flare when drink was involved.
‘May’s right,’ said Milan. ‘I do not care what he thinks. Anyone who matters knows we are good eggs.’
May stifled a grin. Milan had already spoken good English when he’d arrived, but he’d picked up some phrases from his fellow officers which sounded incongruous when spoken in a Czech accent.
Jiří took a drink from his pint glass, leaving a line of white froth on his upper lip. ‘Tell us about this… pentymome?’
‘Pantomime,’ Jess corrected. ‘Panto for short.’ She took a sip from her glass of lemonade. ‘It’s a kind of play we do at Christmas. Very light-hearted. Usually the story is a fairy tale like Cinderella or Sleeping Beauty. We’re doing Cinderella.’
Milan’s brow wrinkled. ‘I do not know Cinderella.’
Jess summarised the story and Milan’s brow cleared. ‘Ah, we have that story, but she is called Popelka. Popelka is more spirited than your Cinderella. She makes the prince work to win her.’ He gave Jess a significant look. ‘You are more like Popelka, I think.’
To May’s surprise, Jess didn’t seem to be able to meet Milan’s gaze but studied her drink and didn’t reply.
Jiří, clearly oblivious to the atmosphere, still seemed fixated on the differences between versions. ‘Popelka only has one stepsister,’ he said.
Jess seemed to grasp at the change of subject. ‘In pantomime, Cinderella’s ugly sisters are traditionally played by men.’ She leaned across the table, her eyes lighting up, nearly knocking over her drink in her eagerness. May shot out a hand to steady the glass before it fell. ‘I’ve had a wonderful idea,’ Jess said. ‘You two should play the ugly sisters. You’d be brilliant.’
Milan didn’t seem to want to let Jess escape so easily. ‘What part are you playing?’ he asked her.
‘Cinderella.’
‘Then I would rather play the prince.’ May felt quite uncomfortable on Jess’s behalf. Milan’s gaze was locked on Jess’s face. ‘I think I would be good at running after Cinderella.’
Jess was actually blushing, which was most unlike her. ‘May’s playing Prince Charming. In panto, the leading man is played by a woman.’
May felt too sorry for Jess to contradict her. She would wait until they were alone before telling her she couldn’t do it. Jess seemed to need rescuing, though, so she laughed and said, ‘Although I would make a more convincing ugly sister. No one would be surprised that my feet were too big to fit Cinderella’s glass slipper.’
Jess gave her a grateful smile. ‘You’re far too beautiful to play an ugly sister. Anyway—’ she switched her attention to Milan and Jiří, seemingly in charge of her emotions again ‘—I think it would be good for you to take part. When the locals hear about it, they might think better of you.’
Milan shrugged. ‘I told you, I do not care what the locals think.’
‘I think you do. Besides, I care. I hate to see you and Jiří… all of you… being snubbed when they should be thanking you. If it weren’t for all of you, Amberton would likely be no more than a smoking crater by now.’
Jess raised her drink to her mouth but then gave a little squeal and banged her glass back onto the table. ‘No, wait. I’ve had an even better idea. Listen.’ She leaned forward, eyes shining. ‘What if we held it at the village hall? We could invite the whole village, spread some much-needed cheer at Christmas when plenty of folks will be missing their loved ones. And if people see you being funny as the ugly sisters, maybe they’ll start treating you better again.’
Milan clearly saw Jess wouldn’t take no for an answer. He threw up his hands. ‘Ano. I will do it.’
‘What about you, Jiří?’
Jiří’s eyes were dancing. ‘Why not? It will be fun, I think.’
The next day being Sunday meant church parade for May. The WAAFs formed up outside the Admin block and marched out of the gate and down the lane towards the village. May used the time to fret about her involvement in Jess’s pantomime. The news had been met with shrieks of delight when the girls had returned to High Chalk House after the pub. Enough girls had offered to take part to fill the available roles, and more had volunteered to help with scenery, props and costumes.
Everyone said how brave May was to play Prince Charming and how glad they were she had offered to take the role. No one else wanted to play a man. That made it impossible for May to take Jess aside and admit that she didn’t want to play Prince Charming, that the thought of appearing on stage terrified her. Especially now the venue had changed from High Chalk House to the village hall. Flight Officer Jean Ellerby had surprised Jess by first saying what a good idea it was to involve the village and offering to speak to members of the Parish Council to ask permission to use the village hall. But that surprise had been nothing compared to the shock when she’d asked to play another role none of the others wanted – Cinderella’s wicked stepmother.
‘There’s a turn-up for the books,’ Jess had said, yawning, as they’d trudged up the stairs to their bedroom much later. ‘Who’d have thought old Hellerby would want to help? And I’ve got to direct her! I’m so glad you’re playing Prince Charming, May. I’m going to need all the moral support I can get if I’m going to have to tell Hellerby what to do.’
Tramp, tramp, tramp went the WAAFs’ feet in time to May’s pounding thoughts. There had been no way she could tell Jess she didn’t want to take the role after that. May had lain awake late into the night, racking her brains for a way out, but still hadn’t come up with a solution before she eventually drifted off. By the time she woke up, Jess had already gone, so there was no chance to talk it over. May could only hope she would find some inspiration during the service.
They arrived at the church just in time to see Mrs Evans, wrapped in a smart navy coat with matching hat, march Peggy towards the church hall, where the Sunday school was held. Peggy dragged her feet, scowling at everyone they passed. May’s heart went out to her; her worries over the pantomime were trivial when compared with Peggy’s problems.
The clip-clop of a horse’s hooves announced the arrival of a cart. May looked up to see Mr and Mrs Bowes arrive sitting high up on the front seat, a rug over their knees against the chill. Davey was sitting in the back with the other two boys, also wrapped up warm. As May filed in to the back of the church with the other WAAFs, she comforted herself with the thought that Peggy would be able to see Davey in Sunday school.
As the service progressed, it seemed as though all May’s worries were lined up at the front of the church, jostling for first position. In addition to Peggy and the pantomime, Peter was there, always near the forefront of her mind. Evie was never far from her thoughts, either, even though she was no longer at Amberton. How was she getting on with her training? May missed Evie. If she was honest, much as she loved Jess, she felt more akin to quiet, studious Evie. Evie would have understood her fears about the pantomime, whereas outgoing Jess could never understand how hard it was for May to even hold conversation with more than one person, let alone stand up on stage in front of the whole village.
Evie wouldn’t have done nothing about Peggy, either. She might be quiet but she wasn’t timid. She had a confidence in her abilities and her opinions that May lacked. May wished Evie was here now. She would know what to do.
May still hadn’t come to any conclusions by the end of the service. As she filed towards the door, she saw Jean Ellerby talking to the vicar’s wife. She was surprised when Mrs Grey called her name before she could go through the door.
‘May, Flight Officer Ellerby was just talking about you.’
May’s heart lurched but Mrs Grey must have seen her expression, for she laughed. ‘Oh, it was highly complimentary, I assure you. She was telling me all about your wonderful idea of holding a pantomime on Christmas Day.’
‘It’s not my idea. It was Jess’s.’
‘I know, but you’re playing Prince Charming, aren’t you? How marvellous and brave.’
Brave. There was that word again. May was anything but brave and she wished people would stop telling her she was. And it was clear there was no way she could get out of playing Prince Charming now. Not when the vicar’s wife was expecting her to do it. But Mrs Grey was still talking, so all May had to do was smile and nod.
‘I’ve told Flight Officer Ellerby I’m sure there won’t be any difficulty with using the village hall,’ Mrs Grey was saying. ‘And, of course, with evacuees in the village it will be lovely for the children to have something to look forward to. Poor dears, they must miss their families so much.’
And then an idea clicked into place that would at least help Peggy and help May reconcile herself to the thought of performing. ‘Mrs Grey, do you think any of the evacuees would like to take part? I’m sure we could find them roles, and it might be fun for them, don’t you think?’
‘That’s a wonderful idea. I’ll speak to Miss Foster, their headmistress.’
‘And—’ May drew a gulping breath ‘—do you think you could ask especially for Peggy? I… I think she would be perfect for one of the parts Jess has in mind.’ May willed Mrs Grey to understand her meaning, as she didn’t want to give voice to her misgiving in front of Flight Officer Ellerby. Mrs Grey, she was sure, was also worried for Peggy. Having Peggy involved with the pantomime would be a chance to befriend the girl, persuade her to let them know if she was unhappy.
Mrs Grey’s gaze flicked to Mrs Evans, who was speaking to Arnold Walker in a nearby pew. As she watched, Mrs Evans handed him a book. ‘For your dear wife,’ she said in a carrying voice. ‘I do hope she enjoys it.’ Then she trilled a laugh that set May’s teeth on edge.
A grim expression appeared on Mrs Grey’s face. ‘Leave it with me,’ she said.
As they marched back to the base, May’s stomach was in knots. She hadn’t resolved any of her existing problems, and now she had a new one: how to tell Jess they needed to include children in the pantomime. What if Jess hated the idea? With a sinking feeling, May realised there was no getting out of the pantomime now. She couldn’t ask Jess to involve the children as a favour to her, then back out of playing a role that no one else wanted. Besides, May needed to take part or she wouldn’t have the chance to befriend Peggy. No matter how much the prospect terrified her, May was playing Prince Charming.
May found Jess in the NAAFI at lunchtime. They took their meals to a table by the window and May toyed with her eating irons as she tried to think of a good way of telling Jess what she’d done.
Jess peered at the slice of pie on her plate, levering up the pastry with her fork, and wrinkled her nose. ‘The woman at the counter swore it was beef and potato pie, but I’m not convinced that’s beef.’ Then she shrugged and started eating. ‘Ah, well. What doesn’t kill me will make me stronger.’
The roar of several Hurricanes flying overhead set cups and plates rattling throughout the canteen. Used to the noise, May automatically held onto her mug to stop the vibrations tipping it over.
‘Jess,’ she began, once the noise had died down, ‘what do you think about having children in the pantomime?’
‘Never work with animals or children,’ Jess said without a pause. ‘I don’t know who said it, but they were right.’ Then her gaze sharpened. ‘Why?’
May related her conversation with Mrs Grey. ‘So you see, I thought it would be an ideal opportunity to befriend Peggy,’ she concluded. ‘Give her a chance to tell us if Mrs Evans is treating her badly.’
Jess looked at May thoughtfully. ‘What is it about Peggy that’s taken your interest?’
‘She’s all alone, with no one to turn to.’ Just like she had been after her mother had died.
‘You do know that even if Peggy did tell us something was wrong, there might not be anything we can do about it?’ Jess’s voice was gentle. ‘We don’t have any influence in the village.’
‘But I have to try. Please tell me you’ll let the children join in.’
Jess pursed her lips and pushed her remaining piece of pie around her plate with her fork. May waited, sure Jess would agree once she’d got over her initial reluctance.
Finally, Jess’s shoulders slumped. ‘Very well. I suppose I owe you a favour for playing Prince Charming. You can have your way.’
May gave her first genuine smile of the day. ‘Thank you. You won’t regret it.’
‘I already do.’ Jess finished her last mouthful then flung down her eating irons. ‘I don’t know. Between you and Evie, you’ve had me chasing saboteurs across the fields and saving evacuees. It’s a miracle my hair hasn’t turned white.’
May grinned, eyeing Jess’s beautifully waved blonde hair. ‘I think you’re safe for now.’
‘Well, I’d better get back to Ops.’ Jess picked up her tray. ‘Meet me in the schoolroom tonight and bring some paper. We have a script to write, and you’re helping now you’ve made me include a bunch of children.’
Several hours later, May and Jess were sitting at the rickety table in the schoolroom, bent over an old exercise book, pencils in hand. A brass table lamp lit the table in an amber glow while a squally wind rattled the window panes behind the blackout curtains.
‘The characters so far are: Cinderella, Prince Charming, the ugly sisters, the wicked stepmother, Buttons and the fairy godmother.’ Jess wrote the names down, adding the name of the person playing them beside each one. ‘We’ll also need extras for the ballroom scene, Prince Charming’s retinue, and so on. People can double-up with those sorts of roles. But what shall we do with the children?’
May chewed the end of her pencil. ‘We don’t want anything with too many lines to learn.’ She gazed at the page in front of her. The exercise book had belonged to Evie and the top of the page had something – May had no idea what it meant – written across it in Evie’s precise handwriting. The strange squiggles must be something mathematical, but it looked like a magical incantation. She gazed at it as if the symbols would resolve themselves into the perfect answer.
‘I think they should have a fairly simple song and dance routine near the start,’ Jess said, ‘then they can sit at the side of the stage for the rest of the performance and enjoy the play. Maybe join in with the song at the end.’
‘Songs.’ May had forgotten pantomimes involved songs. ‘I won’t have to sing a solo, will I?’
‘You’ve got a good voice.’
May looked at Jess in horror. ‘I haven’t. I couldn’t sing in front of all those people.’ She didn’t know how she was even going to speak in front of an audience, let alone sing, though if it meant helping Peggy she would do it. But sing? She thought she would die of fright.
‘Don’t worry. This is the advantage of writing the script ourselves. We can write it how we want. Any songs for Prince Charming will be with other people.’
May relaxed. She traced a symbol on the paper like an elongated ‘S’. ‘I’ve been thinking about what Milan said about Cinderella.’
‘You mean about how Prince Charming has to earn Cinderella in the Czech version?’
May nodded. ‘I’ve always thought…’ She hesitated, but then ploughed on in a rush, ‘I mean, how do Cinderella and Prince Charming know they’ll be happy together? They only dance together once. How can they learn all they need to know about each other from one dance?’ She had danced with Peter at the Midsummer dance. Being in his arms, swaying in time to the music, had been one of the most intoxicating experiences of her life. But that was because she already knew him, knew, deep down, that she loved him. If they had danced at the start of their acquaintance, she wouldn’t have felt that way.
She knew she wasn’t explaining herself very well and expected Jess to laugh off her objections, but to her surprise, Jess was nodding. ‘You’re right. We’re WAAFs, after all. We shouldn’t be doing a pantomime that shows a woman waiting to be saved. She needs to take destiny in her own hands.’
Flashes of the story appeared in May’s head. ‘We could have Cinderella escaping from the house at the start of the play, going into the forest to play with the other children – played by the evacuees.’
Jess picked it up. ‘Yes, and Prince Charming appears. Hunting deer or something.’
‘Only Cinderella hides the deer because she likes animals.’
Jess looked thoughtful. ‘A pantomime deer? That could work.’ She scribbled something on her page and her lips curved into a slow smile. ‘Yes! How about this? We get Milan and Jiří to play the deer – because we don’t see their faces, they can be made up as the ugly sisters inside the costume. The deer limps into the glade and Cinderella hears the hunting horns and knows she has to hide it.’
‘How does she hide a deer?’
‘This is panto, remember, it’s supposed to be funny. Cinderella wraps the deer’s antlers in ivy and leaves and pretends it’s a tree. It can do a funny dance behind the prince’s back and stand still every time he turns around.’ Jess scribbled something else. ‘We can work out the details later. But the point is, it gives them a scene together where they can take a fancy to each other.’
‘Cinderella and the deer?’ May said, laughing.
‘It would almost be worth it, to see Mrs Evans’ expression. No. Cinderella and Prince Charming. You don’t escape that easily.’
‘Oh! I’ve had another idea.’
‘Go on.’
‘Well, what if the fairy godmother isn’t just Cinderella’s fairy godmother, but a sort of guardian spirit of the forest? After the prince has gone, she can appear and thank Cinderella for saving the deer. Tell her if she ever needs help, to call for her and she’ll appear.’
‘I like it!’ Jess was writing down the ideas so fast, May thought the pencil would set fire to the page. ‘And we can also have a scene between Prince Charming and the king – no, wait, we’d need another man for that. Better make it a queen.’ She made another note. ‘The queen tells the prince she’s invited princesses from all the neighbouring kingdoms to a ball because it’s time the prince chose a wife, and the prince persuades her to invite all the girls from the village as well because he wants to meet Cinderella again.’
‘And that’s why Cinderella wants to go to the ball so badly,’ May said. ‘Because she wants to see him one last time. Although she knows she can never be his.’
Amazed at how quickly the story was evolving, the girls worked late into the night, only pausing every now and again to creep down to the kitchen to make more drinks.
Eventually, Jess glanced at her watch and gasped. ‘I’ve got to be on duty in four hours. I’ll have to turn in, or I’ll be useless tomorrow.’
She rose and stretched, then grinned at May. ‘You know, it was a good idea of yours to involve the children. We’re going to make this a Christmas to remember.’