Yesterday, Kathy replied to Ben's letter, and today, his sister, Abigail, comes with an invitation.
Two o’clock in the afternoon
of the shortest day of the year, and with heavy snow clouds in the sky, it
seemed to be getting dark already. Dad had gone to the football, Mother was
knitting, and I was roasting nicely by the fire, lost in thoughts of Ben coming
home in only three day’s time, when the doorbell rang. Sorry to be roused from
such a delicious daydream, I shuffled off in my old slippers to see who had
disturbed us.
Abigail stood at the door, wearing a camel coat and
hat trimmed with honey coloured fur that framed her pixie face, and matching
tiny ankle boots with buttons up the sides. Snowflakes clung to her like sugar
sprinkled on a cake.
‘Oh, Kathy, may I come in?’ She took a step forwards,
her eyes glistening, as if she’d been crying.
‘Yes, of course, what on earth’s wrong?’
‘Mother
is driving me mad. I’ve been trying to make her see reason about you and Ben,
but she won’t listen. It would be so nice if you could come over to our house
on Christmas Eve, like you used to, and sing carols, but she won’t hear of it.
Oh, Kathy, she seems to think that it’s all your fault, and that you led Ben
on. She even thinks that you are jeopardizing his time at Cranwell.’ Puddles of
melted snow gathered round her feet on the doormat.
I nodded, and sat down on the stairs. I’d heard it all
before. Abigail had been trying her best to make amends, build bridges and
generally smooth things over between me and her parents, but they wouldn’t
budge.
‘Oh, do come shopping with me, Kathy? I can’t bear it
at home any longer.’
‘But it’s snowing!’ My thoughts went back to the warm
fireside and my dreams of Ben. ‘No, I don’t really feel like it. I went with
Mother last week and the shops were so crowded that we were squashed to bits.
We could hardly carry our bags; they were nearly ripped out of our hands in the
crush.’
‘Oh, come on, it’ll do you good to get out. You can’t
spend all your time hiding indoors.’
‘I . . . but . . .’
‘I’ve got the car; Benson’s outside waiting.’
‘The Alvis Silver Eagle? I’ve been itching to go for a
ride in that. But, I can’t, Abigail,
what would your mother say?’
‘Oh, she’s busy this afternoon; she’s got her ladies
round for bridge, and Father’s gone up to London for some Reunion Luncheon.
Please Kathy, I’m all on my own. I miss Ben, and I never see you very much
these days, please come?’ She begged with her large blue eyes.
‘I’ve got all the presents I need; I really can’t face
all those bad tempered shoppers and gaudy gifts. Everything seems so glittery
and false this year.’
‘Please, Kathy?’
Abigail’s earnest expression made me relent. ‘Oh, all
right, but I’m only coming so I can have a ride in that car.’
Mother fussed that I was going out in the snow and
made sure I wrapped up warm, but she was as keen as Abigail to keep the
channels of communication open between our families.
Benson had the engine running at the kerb and the
headlamps lit up the falling snow like a sky full of shooting stars. We sat
back in the leather seats as if we were on a sleigh ride to fairyland.
GIPSY MOTH
It’s 1929, and Kathy’s greatest wish is to fly a Gipsy Moth like her childhood sweetheart, Ben. But when his parents find out she’s expecting his baby, they forbid them to marry, and Kathy is dispatched to her aunt’s in Devon in disgrace, whilst Ben is sent to Lincolnshire for his RAF officer training.
How can their love survive when they’re so far apart? Especially now that Kathy has met her aunt’s stepson, Paul, who encourages her to take some flying lessons at Haldon Aerodrome, despite her pregnancy, and her imagination has been captured by Amy Johnson who is proposing to fly solo to Australia.
But when Ben’s plane is lost at sea, Kathy is torn between raising her baby alone and being frowned upon by society, or giving it up for adoption and pursuing her dream of flying. On top of this, she uncovers a disturbing family secret which makes her decision all the harder.
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