His Very Own Girl by Lofty Carrie

Author:Lofty, Carrie [Lofty, Carrie]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Publisher: Simon & Schuster, Inc.
Published: 2012-09-04T04:00:00+00:00

“Lou, honey?”

Lulu jerked to wakefulness. She rubbed her eyes, her head throbbing. Wracked with chills, she pulled her blanket more tightly around her feverish body. A cup of tea and two slices of bread with preserves sat untouched on her bed table. Years of rationing had conditioned her to cringe at any waste of food, but the thought of eating or drinking made her stomach scream in protest.

Luckily, the nasty attack of flu had waited until after finishing at Marston Moor. It had been as exciting and satisfying as she could’ve imagined. But laid low, she hadn’t the strength to think fondly on her accomplishments, let alone take to the skies in one of the gorgeous airplanes. People all over Britain were doing their bit while she was entirely laid up.

“What is it?” she called, her teeth chattering.

“Lou, it’s Paulie. Open the door.”

“It’s unlocked.”

Paulie entered the room, her face ashen. “Oh, goosey, you look wretched.”

“I feel it,” she croaked. “What time is it?”

“Early. But you have to get up now. Come downstairs.”

“Paulie—”

“It’s important, Louise.”

Her grave use of Lulu’s given name propelled stiff, aching limbs to action. Something wasn’t right.

Feeling ridiculous wearing flannel and a bird’s nest of tangles, she slunk out of bed. “I’m coming.”

Paulie wrapped a knitted blanket around Lulu’s shoulders, then picked up the tea and plate of bread. Lulu almost smiled; it wouldn’t go to waste after all. She leaned heavily on the handrail as she slunk down the stairs. She was surprised to see Lee, Felix, Nicky, and Betsy in the lounge. Betsy still wore pin curls and a white bathrobe, when they all should’ve been dressed and ready for the first flight of the morning.

“What’s the matter?” Lulu asked. “Nicky?”

“Come listen,” he said.

He helped settle Lulu into a Morris chair. She was winded from the simple task of walking downstairs, her lungs overtaxed by a weeklong bout with the flu.

Margaret and Jack came down the stairs, both bleary-eyed. Todd emerged from the kitchen and placed a tea service on the lounge’s low central table, then proceeded to light his first cigar of the day. Nicky fiddled with the aerials of the wireless until a news broadcaster’s voice crackled into the room. The static cleared. Then came the words that tossed Lulu’s empty stomach and made her light-headed.

“This is the BBC Home Service with a special announcement. We can confirm that the invasion of Europe has begun.”

Gasps sounded across the room. Margaret leaned into Jack’s embrace. Todd asked Nicky to turn it up.

“And now,” said the announcer, “a special address from the Supreme Allied Commander, Dwight D. Eisenhower.”

Eisenhower’s steady, measured voice filled the room. “People of Western Europe: A landing was made this morning on the coast of France by troops of the Allied Expeditionary Force. This landing is part of the concerted United Nations’ plan for the liberation of Europe, made in conjunction with our great Russian allies. I have this message for all of you: although the initial assault may not have been made in your own country, the hour of your liberation is approaching.

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