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“You’re all dismissed,” he said.
Everyone, including Izzie, let up a cheer, and Corporal Tennyson walked off, smiling as he shook his head.
The balloon girls scattered. Lottie went off to say goodbye to her various boyfriends on base with the express intention of extracting promises that the men would come visit her at RAF Horsham St Faith if they ever were in Norfolk. Molly went to collect everyone’s post one last time. The rest of the women, including Izzie, hurried back to their hut.
Izzie didn’t want to waste any time. She had permission for leave, and she intended to use every bit of it.
“Where are you going to go, Nancy?” asked Amelia as they hauled out kit bags onto their beds and began to pack.
“I don’t really know,” said Nancy. “I doubt I’ll be able to make it to York and back in time to make base.”
“Then you’ll come home to Southampton with me. You too, Grace, if you think Northumberland is too far,” said Amelia firmly. “Mum will be delighted to meet you after all of my letters.”
Izzie, who was folding a shirt, saw the faint hint of a smile cross Nancy’s usually stern features.
“What about you, Izzie?” asked Grace. “Are you going home to London?”
“Wild horses couldn’t keep Izzie away,” said Alexandra with a laugh.
“Alexandra’s right. I want to go to the shop,” she said.
“And check in on that sister of yours, no doubt,” said Alexandra.
“Letters!” called out Molly as she walked in with the post and began distributing.
“Nothing for me?” asked Nancy.
“Just Amelia, Grace, and me,” said Molly with an apologetic smile. “The girls at the post office said that they’d forward along anything that comes while we’re gone.”
“What are the rest of you London girls going to do with your leave?” asked Amelia.
“I promised my little sister I would visit the first chance I got,” said Molly.
“My parents wrote to tell me they’ve given up the dower house because the army wanted to house some Polish officers there, so they’ve decamped to London,” said Alexandra.
There was a chorus of teasing “ooos,” but Alexandra just laughed. Izzie knew that her friend had been nervous about talking about her family when they’d arrived at RAF Titchfield, so she’d immediately made it clear that Alexandra was her friend and that neither of them cared that one was an earl’s daughter and the other made clothes for a living. It had worked a treat.
“You’ll stay with them then?” asked Nancy.
“One of my brothers, George, is on leave, so I will see him too. I’m almost as excited to clap eyes on him as I am to see this famous dress shop of Izzie’s.”
Izzie paused, the shirt she’d been folding suspended in air. “We only have forty-eight hours. Do you really want to take time away from George and your parents to see my shop?”
“Of course I do. Besides, I thought you could use some moral support going back for the first time.”
She blinked in surprise. “Really?”
“Izzie,” said Alexandra indulgently, “that’s what friends do for one another?”
Emotion rose in Izzie’s throat.
“All right,” she said, swallowing hard. “We’ll go.”
Chapter Twenty
No, that will not be acceptable,” said Sylvia down the office telephone she’d had installed three weeks ago after growing tired of taking all her calls in the corridor.
“I’m sorry, madam, but that’s the best I can do,” said Mr. Harding on the other end of the line.
