‘I promise I’ll be safe,’ she said. ‘I’m a good pilot. You know that. I won’t do anything reckless. I need to do something more tangible than drive a tractor up and down a field. With the ATA I’ll be on home ground; well, air and zipping about in planes.’
Her father was silent, and Fitz watched him mentally adjust his stance on the whole subject. His shoulders dropped and he let out a defeated sigh. ‘I don’t suppose I’m going to be able to change your mind.’
She shook her head. ‘No. This is what I want to do,’ she said, not unkindly. ‘I’m not cut out to be a lady’s companion.’
‘You weren’t surprised when I told you.’
‘No. I overheard you and Camilla talking,’ she confessed.
‘She was only thinking of your safety,’ said Edward. ‘We both were.’
‘I’d like to think that were true,’ replied Fitz, choosing her words carefully so as not to upset her father.
Edward let out another sigh but also smiled. ‘Well, I’d sooner you didn’t join the ATA, but I also know the importance of not simply wanting to do your bit, but your need for autonomy. I suppose I must face the fact you’re not a child anymore but a young woman with her own mind.’
Fitz hugged her father. ‘Thank you, Pa.’
‘Please be careful, though,’ said Edward. ‘No fly-pasts or looping the loop.’
‘I promise I’ll be on my best behaviour.’
He squeezed her hand. ‘So, when do you start?’
‘In a couple of months’ time,’ said Fitz, standing up. ‘I have to report to Central Flying School in Maidenhead at ten o’clock on the fourth of March.’
Edward got to his feet and hugged Fitz. ‘I’m very proud of you and you have my blessing. Your mother would be proud of you too.’
And that last sentence meant the world to Fitz.
Chapter 4
March 1941
‘Don’t be sad,’ said Fitz, giving Michael a hug. ‘I’ll be able to come back and see you when I’m on leave and, you never know, I might be back here in Badcombe one day delivering a plane. I’ll come and see you.’
‘Promise?’ asked Michael, looking up at his sister with teary eyes.
‘Of course, I will. And I’ll write to you anyway and tell you about all the planes I get to fly and all the places I’ll be visiting.’
Michael gave a small smile.
‘Come along, now,’ said Camilla, placing her hand on her son’s shoulder. ‘Don’t be crying. Geraldine has to leave now.’
‘Goodbye, Camilla,’ said Fitz, embracing her stepmother briefly. It felt odd to have this kind of personal contact with the woman.
Camilla patted Fitz’s back and pulled away. ‘Good luck,’ she said.
‘We need to go otherwise you’ll miss your train,’ called her father, getting into the driver’s side of the car. He was taking her to Badcombe train station for the first leg of her journey to Maidenhead.
Fitz climbed into the car next to her father and waved from the passenger window all the way down the drive.
‘Don’t worry about Michael,’ said her father. ‘He’ll be all right.’
‘I know. I do feel a bit guilty leaving him,’ admitted Fitz, although the excitement at joining the ATA far outweighed any sense of duty to stay in Badcombe.
The parting with her father was perhaps more emotional than Fitz had anticipated. He hugged her tightly and kissed her cheek.
‘I will miss you,’ he said, with a soft smile.
