Suddenly, it was Sunday. The morning before the swim dawned a dazzling, rose-petal red. I’d been allowed a few days off school to ‘accompany Nate’ so refused to believe the sky was a bad omen, despite the old saying. It was incredible to think we’d got this far, even if it was without Lena. Nate’s prep school term had officially finished so he was, in theory, safe. Even when our ruse was discovered, he wouldn’t be sent back there. The big challenge now was swapping places on the boat. We’d be in trouble with the officials, we accepted that part of it all. We just had to make sure no one stopped the swim before I got to France. People could say what they liked afterwards: it wouldn’t matter once I’d broken a world record.
‘Be outside at seven o’clock sharp,’ Captain Farley warned. ‘Punctuality wins the day.’ 220
We were driving the two hundred and fifty miles to Dover in his car. I was ready a whole two hours early.
‘They’ll have life jackets on the boat, won’t they? The captain will keep an eye on you?’ Ma Blackwell said, looking as nervous as I felt.
‘I can swim,’ I assured her, adding quickly, ‘If I have to.’
‘So could people on the Titanic,’ she answered darkly.
All through breakfast, my nerves increased. I kept checking the window and pacing about the kitchen. When Captain Farley finally arrived Nate was already in the car and in a similarly jumpy mood. His family were setting off for France on the ferry later that morning to cheer him on when he reached Cap Gris-Nez.
Though, of course, if our plan worked, it would be me walking out of the sea, not Nate. I didn’t want to think about how his family would react. In helping me he was disappointing them, that was the truth of it. At very best it was going to be painfully awkward.
‘If my father’s disappointed, so what? He’s always been disappointed in me,’ was Nate’s response. ‘I escaped going back to prep school, and made two glorious chums. I’d say I’ve done very nicely out of our arrangement, thank you.’
Maybe.
Personally, I thought Nate was being remarkably 221brave. I’d have loved to have someone there on the beach in France, waiting for me to come ashore. More than that, I wished Lena was here with us. But I had to accept that she wasn’t, and I could still do this without her.
Thankfully, Captain Farley’s car was noisy enough for us to talk in whispers and not be heard. Against the drone of the engine and the rumble of the tyres, we went over the finer details of what we were planning. The pilot boat would leave Dover harbour at two in the morning with us on board, then Nate would be dropped by Shakespeare Beach to start his swim from the official point.
‘I’ll have my costume on under my sweater,’ I reminded Nate. ‘And when you’re about to go in, I’ll distract them—’
‘By shouting “buoy” in the water!’
‘And when they turn round, I’ll jump in—’
‘And by the time they notice it’s you not me it’ll be too late because you can’t touch a swimmer once they’re in the water.’
It was a flimsy plan, and talking it through again didn’t exactly fill me with confidence. But it was too late to change it now.
Then, as we neared Salisbury Plain, Captain Farley dropped a bombshell. 222
‘You’ve heard about the film crew, yes?’ he asked, watching for our reactions in the mirror. ‘Mr Wrigley’s chartered his own boat. They’ll be following us to film the entire swim.’
Nate and I looked at each other, horrified.
‘A film crew? Cripes alive!’ gasped Nate.
I felt suddenly ill. Our entire plan rested on the pilot boat’s crew not paying proper attention, but this meant even more pairs of eyes on us, more torches lighting up the dark. Even if we did manage to swap, the whole escapade, including Nate’s family’s reactions, would be caught on film, for ever. I slumped into my seat, defeated. If Lena was here she’d know what to do. But she wasn’t, and Nate, I sensed, was looking to me for answers that I didn’t have.
*
By the time we reached Dover, I’d recovered a little. If we stuck to our plan then we could do this. We just had to hold our nerve for a few more hours. But at the hotel, we were met by a room full of cameras and reporters, and I was terrified all over again.
‘They’re here for us, aren’t they?’ I croaked.
‘I believe so,’ Captain Farley replied, glowering. 223‘Though I’d hoped we might catch our breath before the press conference.’
Mrs Lamb, immaculate as ever in suit and pearls, ushered us into the hotel’s ballroom and to a raised area at the front. There we sat, facing a frighteningly large audience. My shoes needed a polish, I realised. I’d dropped butter on my skirt. Worse of all was that Nate and I were lying to everyone, and couldn’t back out now, even if we’d wanted to. Like me, the captain was uncomfortable with all the attention. Nate was the complete opposite, smiling pleasantly, sitting easily in his seat.
One by one the reporters put their questions:
‘Sam Patel, Dover Mercury. You Channel swimmers are the new movie stars. How does it feel being part of the latest craze?’
And:
‘Cynthia Bloom, London Evening Herald. What’s the first thing you plan to do when you reach France?’
Then:
‘Scott Kauffman, Washington Post. When are you coming to America, Nate? I hear President Truman is very keen to meet you.’
The president?
I’d never felt so out of my depth in my life. Yet 224Nate took it all in his stride, and spoke to the reporters as if they were old friends. Would they still be chummy towards us when they realised they’d been duped, I wondered? Would Mr Wrigley cancel his sponsorship?
Thankfully, the press conference soon ended after that. We were then introduced to our pilot.
‘Johnny Hawkins is the name,’ he told us.
He wore a blue cap and old tweed coat that was freckled with sand and sea salt. I found the sight of him oddly reassuring.
‘Are you missing one?’ he asked, eyes skimming over us all. ‘Wasn’t there supposed to be another girl?’
The captain looked a bit baffled. ‘I’m sorry?’
‘Ah, never mind. Must’ve been a mistake.’
I was grateful he hadn’t mentioned Lena by name.
‘You’re the swimmer, aren’t you, lad?’ he asked, turning to Nate. ‘Ready for the challenge?’
Nate squared his shoulders, deliberately not looking at me. ‘I am, Mr Hawkins.’
‘Glad to hear it. Can’t say I’m going to enjoy having a film crew following us – a lot of fuss and hoo-ha, if you ask me – but it’s what Mr Wrigley’s paying for.’
‘Nate will be fine,’ Captain Farley assured him. ‘He simply needs a little—’ 225
‘Because your pal here,’ the pilot interrupted, indicating me. ‘She can swim alongside you for a wee while for support, if you need it.’
This was news to us.
‘I can?’ I cried.
Nate’s entire face lit up. ‘By jove, Nellie! What do you say to that?’
I seized the chance with both hands.
‘We do need it. Definitely!’ I insisted.
A swap in the water, at a safe distance from the captain and the pilot, would be far easier than swapping on board, right under their noses.
‘You’ll have to keep your distance,’ Mr Hawkins cautioned us. ‘No touching or the swim will be void. And only for a couple of hours, that’s the rules.’
‘Absolutely, Mr Hawkins,’ Nate replied.
‘You’re a lucky lad to be allowed a support swimmer. Must’ve made a strong case in your application, eh?’ the pilot mused.
Nate smiled politely, though we both knew it wasn’t his doing. It was Lena’s.