‘An American, very good-looking. Came to tell us that Tilly was safe and well when he left Dunkirk. That she missed theboat, but he was sure she’d find a way to get home somehow. No doubt he will be returning to France too?’
‘I don’t know that. None of us know if we’ll ever meet again,’ Tilly said, a misty look in her eyes.
Tilly left for the Isle the following morning.
‘When I get home,’ Tilly said, ‘I want to find Fliss. I have her home address. I do hope we get posted together again.’
* * *
Fliss and Tilly decided to meet in Ryde at a tea shop that they had frequented as trainees. When Fliss walked into the tea shop, Tilly thought she looked exactly the same as before they had gone to France. She’d had her hair styled in the latest fashion of the Victory Roll. Her voluminous head of hair swept up and away from her face in gentle curls. Her padded shoulders and a nipped-in waist accentuated her figure. Only Fliss could make the utility clothing available while the country was at war look as glamorous as a Hollywood film star.
Tilly stood and greeted her. ‘So good to see you. How are you, Fliss?’ she said.
‘I’m absolutely fine, apart from being bored out of my mind,’ Fliss replied. ‘I’ve got to get out from under my mother’s eagle eye. She’s driving me mad. How about you?’
‘Amelia has been looking after me, of course. Fattening me up and treating me to anything she can scrounge or barter with other villagers. How Amelia finds enough eggs to make a cake, I’ll never know. Dot is staying in Micklewell for the birth of her child now, though, so it’s just me and Amelia.’
They ordered themselves some tea and fruit buns, and then spent the rest of the afternoon exchanging news with one another.
‘I want to go back to the Royal,’ Tilly said. ‘Will you come with me?’
‘Would this be to meet a certain young doctor?’ Fliss asked.
‘What if it is?’ Tilly asked.
‘Haven’t you started something with Jed?’
‘What’s that got to do with it?’ Tilly replied. ‘We’re at war. Anything could happen to any of us at any time.’
‘Says the country girl who didn’t even know how to begin a love affair a few years ago,’ Fliss teased. ‘My, how you’ve changed!’
‘War changes everything,’ Tilly replied. ‘It changes all of us. How are your parents?’
‘No use trying to change the subject but now you ask, things are better at home. My father has joined the Home Guard and that has given him some purpose in life. Even my mother has decided to do her bit and she’s knitting socks and balaclavas for the troops. She drew the line at taking in refugee children from London, though. You could never accuse my mum of being maternal.’
Fliss did agree to accompany Tilly to the Royal and together they reacquainted themselves with old colleagues and answered a barrage of questions about ambulance work at the front.
‘Rather you than me,’ Deirdre Miles said, after listening to the two of them.
‘She wouldn’t have the guts to serve,’ Fliss whispered to Tilly. They both grinned.
They went to the canteen for lunch with Nurse Barnes who wanted to know more about volunteering with the Queen Alex’s as they called it. Tilly was hoping that Jonathan Burrows might be there. They’d just got their food and sat down when, there he was, coming into the canteen with a tall, blonde-haired nurse who Tilly didn’t recognise. They seemed to be deeply engaged in conversation.
‘Who’s that?’ Tilly asked Nurse Barnes. ‘I don’t recognise her.’
‘That’s Madeleine Walker. She’s managed to get all the young doctors fighting over her. Looks like she’s caught Dr Burrows’ eye now.’
Tilly felt her face colour up with a tinge of jealousy. She watched them surreptitiously out of the corner of her eye throughout the meal. Nurse Barnes excused herself saying she had to be off for her next duty, leaving Tilly free to talk to Fliss about what she had just witnessed.
‘No need to say anything. I can see it written all over your face. You’re jealous of Miss Walker. You haven’t taken your eyes off them.’
‘What should I do?’ Tilly asked.
‘Well, don’t just sit here and take it on the chin,’ Fliss replied. ‘Get in there and stake your claim.’
‘But I don’t have any claim. We didn’t promise each other anything when I left. He’s perfectly entitled to . . .’
‘Yes, and so are you. If I recall, you had a good thing going with our American surgeon before we left. You have to make up your mind, Tilly. He’s not going to wait for you if you don’t tell him how you feel.’
