She shook her head and dashed into the bathroom, locking the door behind her, before sinking down to the floor and resting her head on her knees.
It took her a few minutes to compose herself. She splashed some water on her face and brushed her teeth. She couldn’t hide out in the bathroom all night and she didn’t want to – she just didn’t want to have any deep and meaningful conversation with Sam. It was too much for her.
When she went back into the bedroom, Sam was lying on his back. He smiled and pulled the cover back for her. ‘The night is still young,’ he said with a wink.
Fitz relaxed. This was the happy-go-lucky Sam she could deal with. ‘And so are we!’ she declared and with a flourish whipped off her dress and hopped back into bed, relieved to be back in chartered waters.
That had been three weeks ago, and Fitz had resolutely refused to even visit the conversation she’d had with Sam about their fast-moving relationship in her head, let alone discuss it with him. To her relief, he hadn’t brought it up either. They were simply enjoying the moment as much as possible. She had admitted to herself that it was a barrier, but she didn’t care to look beyond it.
‘Lucky you, you’re off to Tangmere again,’ said Elsie as they looked at their chitties. ‘I’ve got Farnborough first thing and then on to Biggin Hill and then Detling.’
It was mid-September and the demand for aircraft was increasing by the day. In fact, four days earlier the Luftwaffe had carried out an assault on Fighter Command’s forward airfields and radar stations across Kent, Sussex and the Isle of Wight.
‘Lucky in that she’ll see her sweetheart,’ said Marjorie. ‘Things are hotting up in the air. I think we’re going to be busy for the next few days.’ She looked at her chitty and reeled off the three airfields she was ferrying planes to and from.
‘Of course, I want to see Sam,’ said Fitz, ‘but it’s literally drop the plane off, and straight off again. I’ve got to take a high-ranking officer from Tangmere to Farnborough.’
‘You’ll probably be back here for tea,’ said Elsie. ‘Not sure if I’ll make it back tonight.’
‘Well, good luck, girls,’ said Marjorie as she fastened her flight helmet. ‘First one home puts the coffee on.’
For the first time in a long time, Fitz felt apprehensive as she climbed into the Supermarine Spitfire she was to deliver to Westhampnett, a satellite airfield to Tangmere, then she was to get herself back to Tangmere, then on to Hamble to collect a Hurricane and bring it back to Tangmere. It was a lot of back and forth that day but Fighter Command was keen to get all the right planes in the right places. Fitz assumed there had been some sort of intelligence come in that the likes of her wasn’t privy to. She simply had to do her job and not ask questions.
The bombing raids by the Luftwaffe a few days ago had unsettled everyone. They had been told to keep their eyes peeled and to make themselves scarce pretty damn quick if they spotted enemy aircraft. In reality, they knew they wouldn’t stand a chance. They were civilians trained to fly not fight.
As it happened, Fitz had a very uneventful flight across Hampshire and into Sussex, landing at Westhampnett. It was less than a fifteen-minute flight and she was pleased to touch down. There was a whole line of Spits lined up ready to take to the skies at a moment’s notice. At times like this when the crew were on standby, they took to sitting in their squadron group on garden chairs, listening to music on a gramophone and sipping tea or coffee. It looked more like an afternoon tea party, than a group of elite pilots ready to defend the nation.
‘I need to get down to Tangmere,’ she said to one of the ground crew once she’d handed over the aircraft and completed the necessary paperwork. ‘Anyone going that way?’
‘Fitz, isn’t it?’ said the chap.
‘Er, yes,’ said Fitz, surprised that he would know her name. ‘Has transport already been arranged?’
‘You could say that. Take a seat over in the mess room. I’ll give you a shout when it’s here.’
Fitz hadn’t been to Westhampnett before and was impressed with how efficient it appeared. She made her way over to the building, stopping at the toilets to apply her lipstick and fluff her hair. If she was going to arrive in style at Tangmere and see Sam, she wanted to look her best for him.
The mess room was fairly quiet and the pilots there were very polite, making her a cup of tea – one of them even managing to find a biscuit for her. It was all very civil. One could have been forgiven for imagining the war wasn’t going on.
She had just finished her tea when the door opened and a pilot popped his head around the door. ‘Ah, you must be Fitz,’ he said.
‘Amazing powers of deduction,’ said one of the pilots. ‘Seeing as there aren’t any other women in the room.’
Fitz got to her feet. ‘Is my lift here?’
‘Yes. Come this way please, Miss.’
Fitz followed the chap out, waving goodbye to the pilots as she went. She was a little surprised to find herself being walked out to the gate and wondered whether she was catching the bus rather than actually being picked up by someone.
‘There you go, Miss,’ said the airman.
Fitz stopped in her tracks. There on the edge of the road was Sam, astride his motorbike. He held up a crash helmet for her. ‘What are you waiting for?’
Fitz sauntered over to him. ‘Well, you’re certainly a sight for sore eyes,’ she said, planting a kiss on his mouth, not caring whether the guards on the gate or anyone else were watching. She took the crash helmet and slipped it onto her head, sighing inwardly at how it would flatten her hair once again but at least Sam had seen her beforehand.
Sam revved the engine and after ensuring Fitz was safely on the back of the bike with her arms around him, he sped away from the airfield. Fitz had to hold on with one arm and grip her flight bag tightly in the other hand. It felt ridiculously dangerous as Sam zipped his way along the winding country lanes towards Tangmere. Fitz whooped and squealed in delight as Sam took the roads at speed, leaning the Brough over frighteningly close to the ground and then accelerating hard out of the bends and along the straight, with a canopy of trees above them.
All too soon they arrived at Tangmere and although Sam had eased off the throttle, he still travelled down towards the airfield at an alarming rate. One gentleman had to step back from the road to avoid the oncoming motorcycle.
