London Dawn by Murray Pura

Author:Murray Pura
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9780736958882
Publisher: Harvest House Publishers, Inc.

7

June, 1940

Camden Lock, London

Paris surrendered on Friday, June 14. Kipp and Ben’s squadron left France the following Tuesday, June 18. Their wives were informed that the two pilots were alive and well and had left the battle-torn French Republic. Victoria ran down the street to Caroline’s house, crying and out of breath, where she threw herself into the other woman’s arms.

“Did they ring you?” Victoria could hardly speak. “Did they tell you?”

“Yes, yes, thank God, Kipp’s alive. Is that what they’ve told you about Ben?”

They hugged and kissed each other on the cheek.

“It’s too good to be true, isn’t it? After so many weeks of this and that and not knowing the truth?” Victoria hugged Caroline as hard as she could. “I feel like a massive weight has been lifted off my heart.”

“Come in, come in,” laughed Caroline. “We don’t need to make a scene in the street when we can make it perfectly well inside my house. I was just about to listen to the prime minister’s speech.”

“Another speech?”

“He’s trying to lift our spirits again, you know. France will fall any day now, we all expect it, don’t we?”

“Nothing he could possibly say would lift my spirits more than the phone call from Captain Harrington at Martlesham Heath.” She followed Caroline into the townhouse and saw Matthew, tall and dark, bent over the knobs on a large radio set positioned against a wall. “Hullo, Matt! Such wonderful news!”

He straightened with a grin. “Cheers, Aunt Vic. It’s astonishing, it really is.” He hugged and kissed her. “I heard you through the door. The RAF gave you good news about Uncle Ben too, didn’t they?”

“The best news of all. Our families have good reason to celebrate.”

“Where’s Ram?”

“Oh, I told him about the telephone call and rushed out the door to come here. Call him up, would you, Matt? Tell him to join us for the broadcast and a bit of a party.”

“Will do.” He left the room.

Victoria collapsed into a chair. “I’m done in. It’s only five minutes and I’m done in.” She laughed. “I suppose I should temper my enthusiasm, shouldn’t I? It’s not as if they’re back in England yet. The Channel Islands, the man told me. That’s their base for providing air cover for another series of evacuations, did they tell you?”

Caroline was in the kitchen brewing tea and putting biscuits on a plate. “From Brest and Cherbourg and Bordeaux…I can’t remember the names of all the ports, but it’s almost as many men as they took off the beaches and piers at Dunkerque.”

“Good show is all I can say. We certainly could use them here if Hitler thinks of crossing over.” She sank her head back on a cushion. “Ben’s made it to the Channel Islands. Well, if he’s made it that close to home, he has no excuse for making it all the way. I don’t care what sort of bombers he has to shoot down or how many of those Messerschmitts he has to cut his way through.

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