Millie believed that she’d grown into her position as the lowest NCO. The others, even the older two, appeared to have accepted that she was in charge. She’d made sure they paraded smartly when receiving their pittance once a fortnight and thought if anybody from Victory House made an unannounced inspection then they’d have nothing to complain about.
The solicitor had visited Goodwill House the other day and since then the atmosphere had improved and nobody was tiptoeing around in case they thought they might offend someone. Lord Harcourt might never have existed – she hoped her family and friends would be a bit more upset about her demise than this poor gentleman’s wife and mother were.
The two ladies now seemed on much better terms. After supper that night, Joanna told Millie she and her mother-in-law were planning to go to London the following week.
‘You’re probably wondering why I’m telling you this, Millie, but we intend to spend two nights in Town, which means Liza and Joe will be doing your evening meal. I hope that won’t be a problem.’
‘Of course it won’t. We’ll help out with the washing-up and so on and, if necessary, with the cooking as well. You’ve got the two ladies from the village here during the day so with Betty as well I can’t see anything will change very much.’
‘It’s just the evenings, my dear, and if you’re quite sure you won’t mind doing a few extra chores, that will be absolutely splendid.’
‘If Di or I are free, I’ll see if I can borrow the Hillman and give you a lift to the station. What time are you thinking of going?’
‘Not hideously early – we thought the eleven o’clock train in both directions. That will mean we’ll be back, even if the train is delayed, before any of you finish your shifts.’
‘Will you be able to see your daughter whilst you’re in London?’
‘Absolutely – she couldn’t get more than a couple of hours free, which wasn’t long enough to come back, so we intend to meet up for luncheon. I hear there’s to be some sort of dance at the base this Saturday? I attended one with my daughter in January, I think it was – a very enjoyable occasion.’
‘We’re all looking forward to it – it’s RAF personnel only – apart from any girlfriends of the airmen who are also included.’
They made their way to the kitchen, which was pristine, and no evidence remained from the meal a dozen people had eaten an hour or so ago. Joanna was about to put the puppy in the sitting room but Millie prevented her.
‘Leave him, I’ll let him out before they get back and then take him to your sitting room.’
‘Thank you, Millie. Did you know they have a social at the village hall on the first Saturday of the month? Of course, it was cancelled this month, but if you have the time free you should all go. It’s a good way to get to know the villagers and it’s terrific fun.’
‘If there is one in July then I expect some of us will go. Mind you, we should have moved onto the base by then. Do you know if you’ll be getting land girls when we go?’
‘Actually, Millie, Bert Smith – Betty’s husband – said that half his farm workers have been called up – anyone fit enough to fight up to the age of twenty-seven has got their papers. I thought farming was a reserved occupation, but it appears only the farmer himself and the foreman are exempt.’
‘That’s good news for you, as the government will have to allow Mr Smith to take a team of land girls if they want him to continue to produce the quotas they’ve given him.’
Joanna raised an eyebrow. ‘Good heavens, how do you know so much about these things? I’m constantly surprised at young people today. I rambled on and didn’t actually answer your question, Millie, but yes, it would seem that a dozen assorted young women will be coming shortly after you move onto the base.’
‘Do you think you’ll ever restore the park, or will you leave it as arable after the war?’
‘I’ve no idea what I’ll do after the war. We could all be blown to smithereens – according to my mother-in-law – so no point in worrying about a future we might not have.’
For a moment, Millie was shocked, and then she saw Joanna was smiling. ‘I’m quite sure that Ruby and Cora have adopted that as their motto. They’re getting a bit of a reputation for being far too friendly with the airmen and when I had a word with them, they said more or less the same thing.’
A squadron of fighters screamed overhead and she wondered whether it was Hurries or Spits. Knowing they were patrolling the sky keeping watch for the Luftwaffe made her feel just a little safer. Ted might well be up there with them and she prayed he got back safely. Then hastily added the second prayer that they would all get back safely as it seemed rather unfair not to include the others in her message to the Almighty.
Joanna retired and Millie got out what she needed for their nightly hot drink. It didn’t seem to matter that it was really too warm for cocoa.
She’d decided to stay up and make the cocoa for Di and Cora when they returned. It would be nearer eleven than ten by the time they got in. Thank goodness the weather was fine – although the nettles were becoming a nuisance on the path and she must remember to ask Joe to go in with his sickle and cut them back again.
The milk was coming to the boil, she’d used hot water to mix the cocoa powder and sugar in the bottom of the mugs, so all she had to do now was combine the two. The grandfather clock in the hall struck the hour – the others should have been here by now.
She pulled the milk off the heat, closed the lid over the hotplate and decided to go in search of them. The night was warm, no need to find her coat or boots, all she needed was her torch.
Lazzy shot through her legs and vanished into the darkness before she could reach down and grab him. She’d forgotten he was still under the kitchen table and that she’d promised to take him out. He was making a strange noise halfway between a howl and a whine, and it made the hair on the back of her neck stand up.
Something was wrong – the puppy had sensed it. Should she go back and rouse the girls asleep at Goodwill House or investigate herself? She wasn’t sure if calling out loudly in the blackout would be breaking the rules, but she couldn’t see how shouting would attract the attention of a German bomber.
‘Di, Cora, can you hear me? Call out if you can? I’m coming down the path and the puppy is ahead of me.’
She paused, listening, but there was no response. The puppy was so far ahead she could no longer hear him. She increased her speed and twice went flat on her face in her hurry to get to the base. She was close enough to hear sounds and movement from Manston and caught a glimpse of the fence. Still no sign of either girl or the dog.
Where was he? Then she heard him snarling, growling ferociously and then someone yelled in pain. The dog continued to growl and bark and whoever he was attacking was using language she’d never heard before and hoped never to hear again.
She followed the noise and suddenly in front of her she saw a shape stretched out on the ground – she couldn’t see if it was male or female. The man Lazzy was savaging was raining blows on the dog, but he didn’t let go.
She shone the torch directly in the man’s face. ‘Lazzy, heel. Good dog.’ The puppy relinquished his hold and stepped back, still growling. Despite the fact he was scarcely half-grown, he seemed to have metamorphosed into the dog from hell. He had a large piece of RAF blue cloth in his mouth and blood dripped from between his jaws.
Ted had an uneventful sortie and his flight returned, having seen nothing untoward in their patrol along the coast. He landed and taxied off the runway onto the apron where the ground crew, not the two who took care of his Hurry, were ready to check the magnificent kite for any mechanical problems whilst he hung up his Mae West and chute and joined the other chaps at the NAAFI van. This vehicle was now on duty whenever the men were, which meant hot drinks and sandwiches were always available.
Tonight, Di had been the driver and he’d exchanged a smile and a nod with her. Did she know that he and Millie were going out together? He’d not mentioned it to anybody but he thought that girls probably talked about personal things more readily than chaps did.
Freddie joined him at the van. ‘Good show, Ted. I want you in my squadron – would you be prepared to join us if the CO agrees to the transfer?’
‘Do I have a choice?’
Freddie slapped him on the back. ‘Not really, I want you and it just depends if Jimmy’s prepared to let you go. We’ve been told to stand down – that there’s no need for more than one squadron to be on alert. Transport’s on the way. I expect I’ll see you in the mess.’
It wasn’t a WAAF driver, so presumably the girls didn’t have to work nights at the moment. He wasn’t tired after having had a few hours’ kip that afternoon so thought he’d go for a stroll before turning in. Spending a couple of hours downing warm beer in a smoke-filled bar didn’t appeal to him. Maybe he should start smoking like most of the bods did, but that was unlikely; his father smoked a pipe and he associated the smell of tobacco with the man he’d come to loathe.
There was sufficient moonlight for him to see without the necessity of putting on his trusty torch. He rather liked the quiet area behind the officers’ accommodation – there were bushes, trees and grass to walk on.
He was approaching the gate when he heard a dog barking – damn it – he recognised the sound. It was Lazzy from Goodwill House. He shone his torch at the fence and saw the gate wasn’t padlocked as it should be.
He was running by the time he reached the gate as he’d heard Millie calling the dog. Something was wrong. Then the barking changed to snarling and the recipient of the attack was yelling and swearing.
He erupted into a small clearing in the trees as Millie was shouting for the dog to desist. He flipped the top off his torch so he could use the full beam. There was a WAAF spreadeagled on the ground and an airman leaning against a tree, blood dripping from his head.
‘Thank god it’s you, Ted,’ Millie said. ‘I don’t know how you’re here, but I’ve never been more pleased to see anyone in my life! I need to see to my friend – see if she’s seriously injured. This man is to blame so don’t let him go anywhere.’
He recognised the airman as a particularly unpleasant member of the catering corps. ‘Shut up and stay where you are. If you move an inch, I’ll flatten you. That’s an order.’
The man stopped swearing and threatening Millie and shrank back against the tree. No need to worry about him.
He dropped to his knees in the dirt beside Di. She still hadn’t moved and this was worrying. ‘Let’s turn her over carefully. We need to see why she’s unconscious.’
Thank god the girl was wearing overalls or he thought they might be dealing with something even worse than a physical attack. He stripped off his jacket and was ready to use it as a blanket or a pillow, whichever seemed appropriate.
‘Di, we’re going to move you. It’s Millie and Ted here to help you.’
Together, they gently rolled her over. Only then did he notice the girl was holding a lump of wood in her hand. Good for her – she’d obviously fought back.
The dog was still snarling and his hackles were up. The man he’d bitten wouldn’t be moving as long as Lazzy was on guard.
Millie gasped and he swore under his breath. ‘Look at her poor face – he must have done this. Why isn’t she awake?’
He was about to answer when someone from the other side of the fence shouted. ‘What the bloody hell’s going on over there? Turn that bloody light out if you don’t want to be put on a charge.’
‘Flying Officer Thorrington here. I need urgent medical assistance and at least two members of the RAFP – at the double. Inform whoever is on duty that there’s been a serious incident just outside the base.’
‘Yes, sir, on my way. Could you please dim your torches?’
‘I’ll do that now.’
Millie had pushed his jacket under her friend’s head and was carefully running her hands up and down her body to check for injuries. While she did so, he obscured the main beam of both torches and left them both with just a thread of light.
He lowered his voice. ‘There’s somebody in the bushes watching us. Don’t look round – we’re vulnerable here. The Royal Air Force Police can deal with whoever’s lurking there when they arrive.’
‘I think I know who it might be. Di would have been coming home with Cora. I think Cora must have gone into the bushes with some man and this one followed, hoping to persuade my friend to do what she was doing.’
There was a faint noise from the girl on the ground and he shone the torch on her battered face. Her eyes flickered open.
‘Di, where does it hurt?’
‘Millie, did I kill him? I hit him really hard.’
‘No, but nobody would blame you if you had,’ Millie said.
The puppy arrived at her side and gently rubbed his nose on the injured girl’s arm.
‘No, Lazzy, you know she doesn’t like dogs,’ Millie said. ‘Di, he knew something was wrong and raced ahead of me and has really savaged the man who attacked you.’
‘Good for him. I thought I heard him growling.’ She managed a lopsided smile. It looked as though she might well lose a couple of teeth as her mouth was full of blood. What a shocking thing to happen to such a lovely young woman. Ted was tempted to do the same to the brute who’d attacked her, but the man would be court-martialled and imprisoned – possibly for the rest of his life.
‘I can hear the medics and police coming. I’ve just realised that as this took place outside the base, it should be the local constabulary dealing with it, not our chaps.’
‘I hardly think that matters, do you?’ Ted said. ‘He attacked a member of the RAF – albeit a female one – and was within touching distance of the boundary fence.’
The voices were approaching. ‘This gate will be locked permanently after this so nobody will be able to take the shortcut. I really should have reported it myself.’
‘Di, do you have the key to the padlock?’
‘Cora’s got it – she wouldn’t give it to me and I couldn’t understand why not. She’s somewhere in the woods with an airman. Ted, I’m pretty sure she’s getting paid for her services.’
The conversation ended abruptly as the dog began to bark ferociously at the approach of the rescue party. ‘Shush, Lazzy, these are friends,’ Millie said firmly, and the dog subsided.
‘What’s going on here, Ted?’ It was Freddie – he must have been the most senior officer present when he’d sent for assistance.
Ted took him to one side and quickly explained. Freddie spoke to two of the RAFP and they headed for the woods where the other man and the girl were hiding. Two medical orderlies carefully transferred Di to the canvas stretcher, although she protested that she was feeling a lot better and able to walk under her own volition.
‘We’ll carry you, love, you don’t look in any fit state to be wandering about in the dark.’
Millie approached Freddie and saluted smartly. ‘Excuse me, sir, but could AWC1 356 be taken to Goodwill House? Lady Harcourt will call out the local doctor to attend to her injuries. I believe there’s an epidemic of some sort of influenza on the base so the infirmary’s full.’
‘Of course, you’re right, she can’t come back with us. Okay, men, you follow LACW 342. We’ll take this bastard back to the base. How did he come by his injuries, Ted?’
‘The WAAF hit him with that piece of wood when he attacked her and then the dog did the rest.’
‘Excellent – he deserves everything he got and more.’
The puppy – already the size of a normal dog – trotted beside the stretcher and Ted could hear Di talking to him. Maybe this event had cured her fear of dogs.
‘From the racket, it would appear the other man and his companion have been arrested. The girl will go on a charge – I think she’ll be dismissed from the service for dishonourable behaviour. I’ll take care of that. Thank god you were out for a stroll, old man, could have been so much worse.’
It certainly could have, Ted thought, as he followed Freddie through the bushes and back onto RAF property. If it had been Millie he’d attacked, the man responsible would have had more than a dog to worry about. Thank god Millie hadn’t been hurt.