‘It looks like bad news about a finishing school on the continent,’ he said.
‘Oh, really?’ Fitz kept her face neutral. Inside she was mentally jumping up and down for joy. She’d love to go to Europe but not to a finishing school.
‘Things aren’t looking good with Germany. I’d sooner you stayed here in England, where you’ll be safe.’
Fitz had overheard a lot of talk about Germany between her father and stepmother and then again at a dinner party last week. It seemed to be the main topic of conversation.
‘What shall I do instead?’ she asked.
‘I’m considering the options,’ replied her father. ‘Camilla has suggested you go to stay with her relatives in Scotland.’
‘Scotland! Why would I want to go there?’ Fitz couldn’t think of anything worse than being hundreds of miles away from home stuck up in Aberdeenshire with nothing to do, with a family she didn’t know. Ugh. Perhaps that was the whole idea. Somewhere to keep her out of trouble.
‘It was simply a suggestion,’ said her father.
‘One I don’t much care for,’ she found herself replying before she could check herself.
Her father frowned at her. ‘Geraldine,’ he said, in warning.
Fitz quickly apologised. ‘Sorry.’
Her father gave a nod of acknowledgement before speaking again. ‘I think while there is so much uncertainty, you should stay here at Badcombe House.’
Fitz breathed a sigh of relief. ‘Thank you, Pa.’
‘But on the condition you don’t do anything reckless or anything to upset Camilla. And I mean it this time.’
Fitz realised she had been played. Walked right into the trap her father had set for her, maybe unknowingly. The brains behind the barter would, of course, have been Camilla. Fitz didn’t want to make things difficult for her father and she reluctantly agreed to the deal.
She spent the next few weeks keeping a low profile and only went down to the airfield once a week for a quick fly in the Tiger Moth. As long as she didn’t perform any more antics like before, she was safe.
As the summer holidays drew to a close, the tension between Britain and Germany was at its height. So much so that Fitz had been denied access to the airfield.
‘I’m sorry,’ said Johnny. ‘But no civilians are allowed on the airfield now. The RAF are going to be taking it over.’
‘Are things that bad?’ asked Fitz, pushing back a wisp of hair that had escaped from the pins.
‘Yep. Things are going to kick off any day now with Hitler. That’s the word on the base anyway. You mark my words.’
Fitz had cycled back to Badcombe House utterly dejected, not only at the thought of war, but at the idea of not being able to fly.
Gazing up to the sky as she cycled along Church Lane towards home, she caught sight of a plane, the engine growing louder as, turning, the pilot lined the aircraft up with the runway. He dropped lower and lower as he brought the plane into land. Fitz wished she was up there in the clouds.
Johnny’s prediction turned out to be accurate. It was a week later when Fitz had been out for a cycle ride in the morning and had arrived back at Badcombe House, having deposited her bike in the garage.
Fitz came in through the kitchen and was surprised to see there was no sign of Cook or Annie.
She could smell the chicken roasting in the oven and the potatoes were simmering on the stove unattended. How odd. She glanced at the clock, it was just gone eleven-fifteen.
Fitz left the kitchen and went through to the front of the house. From the sitting room, she could hear someone talking on the radio.
‘This is London. You will now hear a statement from the prime minister.’
Fitz stepped into the room and was surprised for the second time that morning to see not only her father and Camilla sittingby the radio, but Cook, Annie and George the gardener were standing there, too.
Her father looked up at her but didn’t smile. With his brow furrowed and his mouth downward, Edward looked incredibly worried, and fear coursed through her. His eyes were dark with consternation. The last time she’d seen such a grim expression on his face was when he had told Fitz her mother had died.
Neville Chamberlain’s voice was the only sound in the room.
