‘I’m hoping you might change your mind as well. I love you and want you to marry me.’
She withdrew her hands and put them in her lap. She hated to disappoint him but she wasn’t ready to become anyone’s wife at the moment. ‘I promise I’ll think about it. When I do want to get married it will be you who’s top of my list. Now, can we talk about something else?’
His smile made her toes curl. ‘Then I’ll settle for that. How many on this list of yours?’
She smiled back. ‘Oh, dozens, I’m a very popular girl. It’s the smell of pigs that attracts men you know.’
His laugh turned several heads but they ignored the disapproving looks. No one seemed to laugh much nowadays. He raised her hands and kissed her knuckles. Then released her and carried on as if nothing momentous had just happened.
‘Will Neil or George be home for Christmas?’
‘Neil is coming but George is going to his fiancée’s family. Jack thinks he might be able to get home as well. I hope so as he’s part of the family now. He doesn’t have anyone else and I think of him like another brother.’
‘Do you have any family traditions I need to be warned about?’
‘My mother disapproved of anything remotely frivolous so we never had a tree or decorated the house. This year is going to be different. I suppose we’ll still go to church as it would look bad if we didn’t, but apart from that I’ve no idea what Mrs B and Dad have planned for us.’
‘What about gifts? Also, what should I bring to add to the feast?’
‘Don’t go mad; just bring something small for each of us that can go under the tree. If you can get hold of any chocolates, fancy biscuits or something like that, that would be marvellous. We always have a goose which Dad prepares. I don’t mind doing anything on the farm apart from ringing the neck of any of the chickens, ducks or geese.’
‘I should think not – it takes a strong stomach to do that. To tell you the truth, although I’m a good shot, I don’t like killing anything which is one of the reasons my pa thinks I’m a disgrace to the family.’ His smile faded and he looked away pretending to need something from his pocket.
There was no need to ask why he looked so sad. He was thinking that he was going to have to drop bombs on people, which would be far worse than slaughtering a game bird or two.
‘Will you have enough petrol to drive down? Although even with the top on your MG is horribly cold.’
‘It depends how much of my petrol ration I’ve got left. What I need is an old bike so I can cycle to the pub and not have to use the jalopy.’
‘I’m sure there are a couple of dilapidated cycles somewhere on the farm. My brothers both had bikes and they certainly haven’t taken them with them. I’m not sure how you’d get one to your base.’
‘If I come on the train and you picked me up at Romford and then give me a lift back in your dad’s truck, I can travel in the guard’s van. It’s only five miles from Needham Market station at the other end.’
The thought of having his own bicycle had cheered him up. Now she knew exactly what to give him for Christmas. One of the bikes could be renovated and would be an ideal present.
They walked hand-in-hand to the station and he waited until she boarded hers before crossing the line and catching his own train. Every time she saw him her feelings grew stronger and she thought if he asked her again to marry him she might agree. To be his fiancée – not to get married until the war was over.
She was squashed into a corner of the compartment by an overweight lady with what looked like a bowl of fruit attached to her hat. Watching this kept her amused until it was time to fight her way to the exit. The only good thing about being so crowded was that you hardly noticed the lack of heat.
*
The morning of Jack’s departure arrived too quickly. Mrs B cooked an extra special breakfast and Dad came in from the fields to eat it with him.
‘I’m going to miss you, son, even with Ellie working here full-time it’s hard to keep up. It will be a bit easier when they send us a couple of land girls.’ Dad waved his fork full of bacon in the air. ‘I don’t think I told you, love, that there’s going to be some sort of hostel in the village and the girls are going to live there so we don’t have to provide accommodation.’
‘We’ve got plenty of room here, I wouldn’t have minded them staying. I think we’re too close to London to get any evacuees.’
Mrs B put a rack of hot toast on the table and they all helped themselves. ‘When I was in the village the other day they were talking about evacuees. It seems that half of them have gone home again and they’re going to have to re-open the schools in London after Christmas.’
‘I’ve got to leave in twenty minutes, Ellie, if I’m going to catch the train. I’ve got to take a load of examinations in the next few weeks on navigation, instrument flying and so on. If I pass I can go straight to training in whatever capacity they want me.’
‘If you had a choice, Jack, what would you prefer to do?’
‘A fighter pilot,
