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unguarded moments, but under that calm exterior, there’s a fighter.’
    ‘I’ve noticed. The chairman suggested it would be more appropriate to have her with me if she was in uniform. I don’t know why he suggested that. There are plenty of civilians here, and if she joins one of the services we would never see her again. James would be furious with us!’
    ‘Almost certainly. He can really let rip when he feels the need.’ George pursed his lips. ‘There might be a way to get her into uniform without losing her.’
    ‘How?’
    ‘The organisation called the FANY – the First Aid Nursing Yeomanry – have a women’s transport service. With your injuries you could claim the need for a driver.’
    ‘Hmm.’ Dan thought the idea over, and then shook his head. ‘Grace would have to volunteer for the FANY, and I’m sure she would if we asked her to. She would have to go away for training, though, and there’s always the risk she wouldn’t be assigned back here.’
    ‘That is always possible, of course. I could ask James what he thought about the idea. We can make all sorts of plans, of course, but the final decision would be up to Grace. If we start trying to arrange her life for her, she would have every right to tell us what to do with the job. And I’ve no doubt she would do just that. She can walk out of here any time she wants to.’ He looked at his nephew with an amused glint in his eyes. ‘James wasn’t too pleased when I told him she was working for you.’
    ‘Oh, why?’ Dan asked, innocently.
    ‘He said you were too volatile for Grace.’
    ‘Volatile? Where on earth did he get that idea from?’
    ‘I wonder?’ They both burst into laughter.
    ‘You two are trying to make me into some kind of monster. You can tell James that I’ve calmed down since we were children. No, don’t bother – I’ll tell him myself!’
    ‘You’ve learnt a few lessons since you were young boys, but your strong character can still overwhelm some people. There is also an added edge to you since your experiencesin France. You are angry, Dan. You must deal with that or it will cloud your judgement.’
    ‘Of course I’m angry, George! I lost too many of my men out there, and that doesn’t sit well with me. I’ve got to get back on active duty again. I’m wasting my time here.’
    ‘I know how you feel, but you need the breathing space to regain your full health and strength. You are still mentally fighting the enemy, so sort yourself out, and quickly. We’ve got a hard struggle ahead of us, and we need men like you in the field.’
    Dan’s expression became serious. ‘We are also going to need good pilots in the near future, if my hunch is right. I wish James hadn’t joined the RAF. I hope he’s going to be all right. Grace told me her mother is always saying that we should take each day as it comes and not try to cross our bridges until we get to them. It’s hard to do that. I don’t know how to stand on the sidelines and see what happens.’
    ‘None of us know exactly what Hitler is going to do. There’s no doubt that he will be making plans to invade. When and how, we don’t know yet. All we can do is strengthen our defences, and wait for him to make his move.’
    ‘My role here is purely advisory, so I’m going to need to keep busy. I’ve found a friendly sergeant who is going to knock me into shape. Did you know Steve Edwards is still MO at Bordon?’
    ‘No, I didn’t. You’ve been down there, then?’
    Dan nodded. ‘I was having a look at the assault course.’
    ‘Just looking?’
    ‘There wasn’t anyone around and I was tempted to have a go. Sergeant Dickins arrived and suggested I see the MO first.’
    ‘So, how fit are you?’
    ‘Quite good. With the sergeant’s help, I’ll be out of here in three months. I’ll be going down to Hampshire three times a week, so I’ll take Grace with me. I’ve arranged for her to have driving lessons while I’m working out.’ A slow smile spread