The Last Letter from Juliet - Melanie Hudson Page 0,56

fuel myself if it makes you feel better. And if wasn’t for my daddy – who’s working his ass off to make damn sure fuel and aluminium keeps on being delivered to this smoggy, soggy shithole of a country, with badly organised rationing and silly men with even sillier moustaches,’ She paused to look at me, ‘– no offence, Juliet – then the Nazis would have rolled in months ago.”’

Anna and I eyed each other.

I let Anna ask the obvious question.

‘And what did he say to that?’

‘He said to get the hell out of his office.’

‘Jeez, Marie!’ Anna said, following on with a suitably drawn out whistle. ‘You’ve been sacked!’

Marie stepped a few paces across the room to stub out her cigarette.

‘I haven’t, as it goes,’ she said, her cashmere two-piece hanging from her hips in all the right places. ‘I’m a damn good pilot. I went back in, told him he’d be a damn fool to lose me and offered to come here – a new start, I said, just with the gals. Once he’d calmed down, he saw sense and agreed. I knew he would. I know people, if you know what I mean, and he knows I know people.’

‘So, you’ll be flying from here, with us?’ I said, hardly containing my excitement.

‘Sure will. I just need to find myself somewhere to live and a place to park the Bentley – a good hotel, maybe?’

Anna looked at me. I knew what she was thinking and nodded.

‘Why not live with us?’ I said. ‘It’s not the Savoy, but it’s homey. And you could leave the car here. We always cycle in – you wouldn’t get the fuel ration to drive a car to and fro everyday anyhow.’

Marie mocked a shudder.

‘Cycle? With my hair?’ But then she beamed. ‘Well, smack me on the ass and call me a hootie dootie! You just got yourselves a roommate! How about we celebrate by going up to town tonight … we could go to the bar at the Dorchester first, and maybe move on to the Landsdowne at Hyde Park Corner for dancing? But then there is the Plygon …? Or how about the 400 Club at Leicester Square? Gerry hasn’t bombed it yet, has he? What do you say?’

Marie’s eyes burned with excitement, but with only two days off in ten, we didn’t tend to burn the candle at both ends. Anna frowned and rubbed her chin nervously.

‘Ah, come on, Anna,’ Marie persisted. ‘Live a little!’

‘But what about sleep?’ Anna asked. ‘We’re flying tomorrow.’

‘We’ll sleep on the way back, on the milk train! Then it’s just a short trip to Eastleigh and we’re home. I’ve looked into the whole thing. I’ll drive us to Eastleigh and leave my car at the station. We’ll be back by dawn, fresh and ready for another day. Ah, come on. What d’ya say?’

Marie had obviously done her homework and got the whole thing worked out.

Anna and I smiled at each other.

What else could we say, but … yes!

Chapter 20

Juliet

An explosive evening

We gathered in my bedroom after work – hair, lipstick, nails – just the usual preparations for a girls’ night out, except for the uniform, of course (Marie insisted we wear our uniforms into town) and there was also the minor issue of the chance of being bombed, and the gas mask holders slung over our shoulders …

‘I wouldn’t normally wear this colour for a night out,’ Marie said, slipping on her skirt over her stockinged legs and turning to me with a wink, ‘but you bet your sexy asses this little baby’ – she put on her chip hat at a jaunty angle – ‘will get us a date with any hot guy in town tonight, too.’ She turned to Anna and threw a lipstick in her direction. ‘Honey, you look too pale. Try this … it’s called Passion Blush!’

Anna opened her compact, applied a little lipstick and clicked it shut.

‘Listen, Marie …’ Anna began, handing the lipstick back. ‘I want to talk to you.’

‘What about, honey?’ Marie stood in front of the mirror, taking in a last admiring look.

‘It’s just … we need to be careful tonight …’

Marie rolled her eyes in my direction before placing a hand on her hip and turning to face Anna.

‘Here we go. What’s the buttoned-up Canadian prissy missy gonna preach to me now?’

‘That’s not fair, Marie. Not fair at all. I just don’t want you to get in trouble. And don’t pretend you didn’t get the brief about