Over and Out Read online

  Also by Fenella J Miller

  The Spitfire Girl

  The Spitfire Girl in the Skies

  A Wedding for the Spitfire Girl

  THE SPITFIRE GIRL: OVER & OUT

  Fenella J Miller

  AN IMPRINT OF HEAD OF ZEUS

  www.ariafiction.com

  First published in the United Kingdom in 2020 by Aria, an imprint of Head of Zeus Ltd

  Copyright © Fenella J Miller, 2020

  The moral right of Fenella J Miller to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act of 1988.

  All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior permission of both the copyright owner and the above publisher of this book.

  This is a work of fiction. All characters, organizations, and events portrayed in this novel are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.

  A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

  ISBN: 9781838933463

  Cover design: Debbie Clement

  Aria

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  www.ariafiction.com

  Contents

  Welcome Page

  Copyright

  Dedication

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter Nineteen

  Chapter Twenty

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  Chapter Twenty-Eight

  Chapter Twenty-Nine

  Acknowledgements

  Bibliography

  About the Author

  Become an Aria Addict

  Dedication: This book is for my beloved husband, Dusty.

  One

  February 1943

  ‘I don’t think I’ll be able to do this up much longer,’ Amanda said as she pulled down her uniform jacket.

  ‘I told you that last week. Does Nigel know that you’re pregnant?’

  ‘Of course he doesn’t, Ellie, I wouldn’t still be in the ATA if he did, as he’d report me immediately.’

  Her friend was four months along and the regulations in the ATA were quite clear that a woman wasn’t allowed to fly when in an interesting condition. Ellie had been so relieved that although she and Jack had made love without protection, and right in the middle of her cycle, she hadn’t been so unlucky as her friend.

  ‘At least you’ve got a smashing house together which will be ideal for a family. I only see my husband for a couple of nights a month. He wants me to move to White Waltham like you have so we can find a place to live, but I don’t want to leave Hamble. I like being in an all-woman ferry pool.’

  ‘We’ve only got that because I agreed to move to where he’s based. It just means I have to catch a taxi Anson or Fairchild here every day and then do the reverse in the evening. I can’t see why you don’t do the same. Surely it would be better for your marriage?’ Amanda smiled. ‘You could live near us then.’

  ‘If I’m honest, I don’t think that Jack and I would get on nearly so well if we were together all the time. I love him, but we have such different opinions about things. Now when we do get together, we just tumble into bed and there’s no time for arguments.’

  Ellie was with her friends in the canteen, as were many of the other pilots, waiting for the weather to clear so they could begin their deliveries for the day. She wandered over and stared gloomily at the pouring rain. ‘I don’t think we’re going to get airborne today – this wretched weather, according to the Met report, is set for the next twenty-four hours.’

  ‘If it’s as bad at White Waltham, I don’t suppose that Lettice will be able to do the four-engined bomber conversion. Didn’t Alison say she had to do a minimum of ten solo landings before she was passed as proficient to fly one of the big beasts? I’m not sure I want to fly a Lancaster, Halifax, Liberator or Fortress—’

  ‘You won’t have any choice in the matter, Ellie,’ Margaret Gore, their CO, said from behind them.

  ‘Has something happened?’

  ‘I’ve just heard that two of our factories are going to be producing four-engined bombers and will require us to deliver them. I’m going to need four of you to do the Class V conversion. I’ve put your name forward which is why I was looking for you.’

  Margaret pulled out a chair and sat next to Amanda. ‘I’m sure you were intending to resign, Amanda, but I’ve taken the matter into my own hands. I’ll be sorry to lose you, you’re an excellent pilot, but pregnant flyers are just not on.’

  ‘How long have you known?’

  ‘I noticed last week as you were climbing out of a Spit and have been watching you carefully to confirm my suspicions. I’m assuming that Nigel doesn’t know yet.’

  Amanda nodded. ‘I’ll have to tell him now, won’t I? I’m really going to miss everyone here – I’ve loved being part of the ATA for the past three years.’

  Ellie blinked away unwanted tears. ‘We won’t lose touch, you’re my closest friend. Even though we missed each other’s weddings last year – if Jack hadn’t been kidnapped, we would have had a double ceremony.’

  ‘I’ll leave my Sidcot suit, parachute and so on, in my locker. I won’t need them now.’ Amanda’s voice was husky and she stood up hurriedly. ‘I take it that I can’t deliver anything else?’

  ‘No, sorry, old bean, just can’t allow it.’

  ‘Am I allowed to go back in the taxi when it arrives or must I make my own way home now I’m no longer a member of this organisation?’

  ‘Don’t be silly, Amanda, of course you can go in the taxi. However, I doubt there’ll be any flying today so why don’t you go back to the cottage with Ellie tonight?’

  ‘I don’t think I’ll need to. The rain looks to be stopping and it’s definitely lighter out there. I think the visibility might be good enough to fly shortly.’

  Before Ellie could stop her Amanda rushed off. Margaret patted her shoulder.

  ‘Rotten luck, I know how close you two are. I doubt that you’ll get much opportunity to see each other until this wretched war’s over.’

  ‘Things were supposed to improve now the Yanks are here. Yet a whole convoy was sunk the other day and Jack said there aren’t enough aircraft and ships in the Atlantic to protect them.’

  ‘The Americans haven’t got into their stride yet – I think it’s mainly airmen and aircraft that are here. The ground troops will be arriving next. Their servicemen, I gather, will be paid three times as much as our men and will have everything they could possibly want on their own bases.’

  ‘No rationing for them. When I landed in error on a new base in Suffolk last year, and looked around, I was astonished at how much they had. I can’t see them being welcomed by the locals after what we’ve been through these past few years.’

  ‘Unfortunately, we can’t do t
his alone. Even with the Commonwealth countries pitching in we just don’t have the resources that the Americans do. I’m certain that we’ll win the war now they’re fighting alongside us.’

  Ellie changed the subject. ‘Is she right about the weather?’

  ‘No, it’ll be dark before it lifts. Why don’t we organise an impromptu leaving party for Amanda?

  ‘I’m not sure that she’ll appreciate it but, as no one will be going anywhere today, it’s the perfect time.’

  The two local women who ran the canteen were delighted to help. ‘I’ve got a tray of cracked eggs that need using up, lovey, so I’ll make a nice big sponge and hard-boil the rest for sandwiches. I think there’s some bunting somewhere out the back and we’ll put that up as well.’

  ‘Thank you, Mary, that will be wonderful. Can you be ready by three o’clock?’

  ‘Righty ho, shouldn’t be a problem as that gives us more than two hours. If you ask the other girls to leave, we’ll close up for a bit so we can get things looking nice in here. It’s a shame Amanda’s leaving but she’s got to think of the baby.’

  Ellie was surprised Mary knew the reason why her friend was leaving but made no comment. This probably meant that the majority had guessed and were just waiting for Amanda to be asked to leave.

  This proved to be the case and everyone was eager to do their bit to make the day special. Ellie had managed to purchase a pretty card the last time she’d gone into Southampton and this was in her locker along with a matinee coat knitted by her stepmother, Mabel. She’d shared the news with her stepmother when Amanda had told her and the little jacket had arrived soon afterwards.

  She went to the Mess where the remainder of the flyers were sitting about knitting, sewing, playing bridge or standing on their heads. Well, only one of them was doing that. Jackie insisted it was good for her brain as it sent all the blood rushing to it.

  Her announcement that there would be a leaving party for Amanda at three o’clock in the canteen was greeted with surprise by a few but half of them had already guessed the reason. Several had, like her, something prepared for this eventuality.

  ‘What we need, Ellie, is some alcohol. I know it’s tipping it down but I think a bicycle ride to the nearest hostelry is called for,’ one of them said as she stood up. ‘Anyone coming with me? Can we borrow your bike?’

  ‘You can, of course, Joan. Shall we have a whip round to pay for whatever you can buy?’

  With almost five pounds collected, Joan and another volunteer braved the elements to go in search of something more interesting to drink than tea.

  *

  ‘Jack Reynolds, just the man I wanted to see,’ Nigel, Amanda’s husband, yelled from the other side of the Mess at the White Waltham ferry pool.

  ‘Good to see you. Bloody awful weather. Are you grounded?’

  ‘’Fraid so, old chap. Amanda’s stuck at Hamble so won’t be home tonight. She’ll stay at the cottage with your wife. Like a fool I gave her my door keys so can’t get into my house. Can I bunk down at your billet?’

  ‘There’s usually an empty bed at the pub. Has Frankie announced that there’s going to be no deliveries done today?’ Jack hoped this was correct.

  ‘Not the foggiest, but spoke to the Met girl and she said it’s set for the next twenty-four hours. Visibility is going to get worse as it gets dark.’

  ‘February’s always a shocking month. How are you liking delivering the big boys? Didn’t you do the conversion course for Class V last month?’

  ‘I certainly did. Like you I prefer to fly a Spit or a Hurry, but we do what we’re told. I heard on the grapevine that some of the girls are going to convert this year – can’t see how they can fly something so cumbersome. They can be absolute buggers in a crosswind.’

  ‘Ellie’s not said anything about it – but then we’ve hardly seen each other recently. I’m trying to persuade her to ask for a transfer here as it would make life so much easier for both of us.’

  ‘Have you asked Frankie if he’d be happy to have another woman on his books? We’ve only got three and they’re massively outnumbered. I wouldn’t want Amanda based here as there are too many predatory chaps on the lookout for a pretty girl for my liking.’

  ‘I did speak to him and he’d be delighted to have her. She’s a better pilot than many of the guys and certainly has more hours in her logbook.’

  ‘Then I wish you luck. Maybe if you found the perfect house first then she’d be hard-pressed to refuse. Good God, use your loaf and some of the money she inherited from that Dunlop chappie.’

  ‘Excuse me, I’m going to ring the pub and make sure there’s a bed for you tonight.’ He didn’t want to discuss the fact that Ellie was rich and that it had come from her previous fiancé. Greg had been a decent sort of bloke, but his leaving a massive fortune to her hadn’t helped their relationship.

  It wouldn’t be so bad if he was still whole. Losing his bloody hand in Africa two years ago had made him less of a man in his opinion. He could fly fighters, no problem, one-handed, but wasn’t prepared to tackle anything bigger even though Frankie had suggested he could do it.

  He would have thought when that German bomber had landed on the air raid shelter last Christmas it would have brought them closer but, if anything, the reverse was true. He couldn’t help resenting the fact that she was richer than him – he didn’t give a damn that she was higher ranked than him, but he was old-fashioned enough to think she should be living under the same roof with him as they were married.

  As he walked past the ops room one of the admin girls poked her head through the hatch. ‘Jack, can you find Nigel for me? His wife is on the phone and says it’s urgent.’

  ‘Okay, he’s in the Mess. I’ll get him.’

  As far as he knew, the entire country was blanketed in freezing rain and no one was airborne so it couldn’t be bad news. He hung around outside just in case his friend needed to talk after the phone call.

  Nigel came out beaming. ‘Congratulate me, Jack, I’m going to be a father sometime in the summer. Amanda’s been chucked out of the ATA and will be living permanently with me in future.’

  ‘That’s brilliant news. Congratulations. I’m very happy for you both.’

  Nigel’s happy smile faded. ‘The thing is, she’s devastated. She told me she didn’t want a baby, she wanted to keep flying.’ He stopped and frowned then recovered his good humour. ‘Only natural I suppose that she doesn’t want to give up her job. I’m sure once the baby arrives she’ll change her mind. After all, it’s what women are meant to do, isn’t it?’

  ‘You mean stay at home, raise a family whilst we men take care of them?’ Jack didn’t believe this for one minute but Nigel took his words at face value.

  ‘Absolutely right, my friend. The girls in the ATA are doing a splendid job. However, once this war is over, they’ll have to go back to domesticity whether they like it or not. The men will return from fighting and want their jobs back.’

  ‘Ellie’s made it very clear she doesn’t want children at the moment. To be honest, I think she’s right. Any woman can have a child but there aren’t many who can do what our wives are doing to help the war effort.’

  ‘True. I can assure you that this wasn’t planned but I’m thrilled to bits as it means I no longer have to worry about Amanda crashing. I know she won’t like being grounded but she’s pragmatic and will no doubt join the WI, WRVS or some such thing, and carry on doing her bit.’

  Jack hoped that Nigel’s optimistic view of the future was correct but he thought his friend was in for a nasty surprise. The fact that Amanda was pregnant wasn’t going to change her character overnight and their marriage might well founder, rather than improve, when she was trapped at home with a child.

  ‘I’m sure you’d be as pleased as punch if Ellie was in the same situation. I know you worry about her as much as I worry about Amanda. They’ve both had a few near misses over the years.’

  ‘It would be a disaster for both of us
. We want children, but not until this ghastly business is over. I heard there was a night raid over London the other night – I thought the bombing had stopped.’

  ‘Essen, Munich and Vienna are being flattened by our bods at night and by the Yanks during the day – hardly surprising the Nazis are retaliating.’

  He was relieved the conversation had turned to the progress of the war and away from his relationship with Ellie. His next leave was in two days’ time and he couldn’t wait to see her again. At one point he’d been fed up about her independence and her lack of commitment to their marriage, but now he’d adjusted his expectations and was just happy to have her on whatever terms she was prepared to offer. Life without her was just too awful to contemplate.

  *

  Amanda had pretended to enjoy her retirement party and it might have fooled the others but certainly not Ellie. The weather was so appalling they both decided to sleep in the Mess instead of braving the elements and getting soaked to the skin riding their bicycles back to the isolated cottage where she lived.

  They were all used to being stranded in various parts of the country and always had an overnight bag with them. The next morning, the torrential rain stopped, there was a temporary break in the weather and it was safe to fly again.

  ‘Amanda, I’ll come and see you as soon as I can—’

  ‘Don’t worry, Ellie, I expect I’ll be busy knitting booties and being the perfect little housewife.’

  ‘And pigs might fly! Jack’s coming here the day after tomorrow and for once our leave coincides. At Christmas, when I thought I might be pregnant, he was thrilled – but I was so glad it was a false alarm.’ Everybody else had congratulated her friend as if Amanda was pleased. Ellie had decided to be honest. ‘I know exactly how you feel and it’s going to be hard for you. If it happens to me, and it very well could, the amount of time we spend in bed together, I’ll be upset – but like you, I’ll just have to lump it.’

  ‘I just hope it will get easier the closer I am to my due date. I’m determined that I won’t resent this baby. It’s not his or her fault and I’m going to do my best to be a good mother. That said, if Nige thinks I’m going to turn out half a dozen more then he’s got another think coming.’