at the end of every shift, she was wrung out. Things had gone well to begin with, but as the weeks had gone on and she’d had to be rather firm over sloppy sewing, bad timekeeping, pilfering and too much gossiping during work, a few of the women had taken umbrage.
Their numbers weren’t large, but their whispering campaign had begun to wear Sally down – now they didn’t bother to lower their voices when they discussed her youthful lack of experience in management, and the fact they thought she was getting ideas above her station. It was even suggested she’d only got the job because she was Goldman’s favourite, and there was a lot of sniggering and elbowing as she made her regular trips to the office with the work-sheets.
She knew she should ignore them – there always had to be someone who was the focus of gossip, and she’d accepted the challenge of trying to keep them in order – but it was wearing to be constantly criticised, especially as she knew she was doing the job well.
Work was frequently disrupted by false alarms, but productivity was up, Goldman was pleased with her, and even Simmons gave his grudging praise when he saw the day’s output. At least she could rely on the majority of the women, especially Pearl, Brenda and Edie, a sweet, shy girl from Croydon who’d arrived in January, and was billeted with Pearl at the elderly couple’s house north of town.
‘Would the lady like a lift?’
She’d been so deep in thought she hadn’t noticed him waiting outside the gates on his motorbike. The weariness fled at the welcome surprise. ‘My dad said I shouldn’t accept lifts from strange men,’ she chuckled.
‘And my mum told me not to pick up girls on street corners,’ he replied, his handsome face creased in a smile. ‘But I’ll risk it if you will.’
She still blushed when he looked at her like that. ‘Go on then, but I’ve got to get straight back, cos Anne’s due for her last fitting.’
‘You’re a clever girl, Sally Turner, and I’m a lucky man.’ He hesitated for a moment as if he was about to say something else, then smiled and carefully placed the spare helmet over her head.
As Sally waited for him to fasten the buckle beneath her chin, she breathed in the scent of him. It was such a manly smell – of good woollen cloth, Brylcreem and Lifebuoy soap. He moved closer, his lips softly tracing kisses over her cheeks and nose before they lingered tantalisingly on her mouth.
She gave herself up to the kiss, swept away in the delicious sensations he was arousing.
‘Are you sure you have to go straight home?’ he murmured against her lips.
She gently pulled away from him. ‘I’m certain,’ she replied softly. ‘Anne’s wedding’s only three weeks away and there’s still a lot to do. Parachute silk isn’t the easiest fabric to work with, you know.’
He heaved a sigh, gave her a swift hug and helped her clamber on to the back of the motorcycle. ‘You have no idea what you’re doing to me, Sally Turner,’ he groaned. ‘I don’t get to see you nearly enough, and when I do, you’re always rushing off somewhere.’
‘I know, and I’m sorry,’ she replied, cupping his cheek with her hand. ‘What about we go to the pictures tomorrow night? I’m sure Peggy won’t mind looking after Ernie.’
‘I can’t,’ he said, his gaze fixed to a remote spot over her shoulder. ‘I’ve got to go somewhere.’
She frowned. ‘Anywhere nice?’
‘I can’t really say.’ He took her hands, his expression earnest. ‘Sally, you’ve got to trust me, all right? There’s something I have to do, but I’m not allowed to tell anyone about it – not yet anyway.’
She was still frowning as she regarded him suspiciously. He was behaving very strangely, and it was unlike him not to be open with her. ‘All right,’ she replied hesitantly. ‘We can go to the pictures the night after.’
He rammed on the helmet and took a moment to fasten it under his chin, his gaze still not meeting hers. ‘I don’t know, Sal. I might be away for more than one night.’
She eyed him suspiciously, the chill growing inside at his obvious reluctance to tell her the truth. ‘You’re beginning to sound like Ron. He’s been disappearing for two or three days at a time as well, and refuses to tell anyone where he’s been.’ She eyed him keenly. ‘Peggy thinks he’s finally managed to