Daughters of War Read Online Free PDF

it?’
    ‘Couldn’t we go, too – we FANYs, I mean?’
    ‘No chance. I heard someone raise the idea with Ashley Smith the other day and she turned it down flat. She said our duty was to our own people and we had to save ourselves in case we were needed here.’
    ‘But think of the experience!’ Leo said. ‘Vita, do you think Mrs Stobart would let us join her?’
    ‘I’ve no idea. Anyway, it’s too late now. See what it says in the paper? They left yesterday.’
    ‘How are they getting there, do you think?’
    ‘By train I suppose. On the Orient Express.’
    ‘Then couldn’t we follow?’
    ‘Are you serious?’
    A bubble of excitement was growing in Leo’s chest. She felt it almost choking her. ‘If we left tomorrow . . .’
    ‘I suppose we could catch them up and offer our services. Provided Stobart is willing to take us on.’
    ‘She could hardly turn us down, could she, after we’d come so far? And we are trained – well, you are, and I’m not exactly a novice any more.’
    ‘But Leo, would your grandmother let you go?’
    Leo’s bubble burst and she felt as if all the air had gone out of her lungs. ‘No, of course she won’t.’ For a moment she was silent. The past weeks had been a desert of boredom and frustration, and the only prospect she could see ahead of her was more of the same. Finally she said, ‘I’d have to slip out without telling anyone. I could leave a note.’
    ‘Would you really do that?’
    ‘Yes! I know it’s wicked but I want to do this so badly and if I don’t break out now I’m afraid I never will. Let’s do it, Vita! We may never get another chance.’
    Victoria looked at her. ‘I have a feeling I ought to be saying “no, think of the danger”. I ought to be sensible and responsible but . . .’ Leo saw the same excitement catching fire in her friend’s eyes. ‘To hell with it! You’re right. We may never get another chance. But we must plan properly. We can’t just jump on the first train. We don’t even know where they were heading, exactly. The whole of the Balkans is a war zone.’
    Leo nodded, forcing herself to be calm. ‘Listen, my father had an old friend who works in the Foreign Office. He specializes in Eastern Europe and my father often went to him for advice when he was planning a trip. He will know the best route, if anyone does.’
    ‘But if you tell him what we are planning to do . . . ?’ Victoria said.
    ‘Yes, that’s a point. But he’s not one of those men who think women should sit at home and knit. I’ve met him several times and he always encouraged father to take me with him on our travels. If I were to tell him that the FANYs are thinking of going . . . that we’ve been invited to join the WSWC and I’ve been asked to seek his advice . . .’
    ‘It would be a lie.’
    Leo chewed her lip. ‘Only a small one.’
    Victoria shook her head with a laugh. ‘I’ll say this for you. Once you get the bit between your teeth there’s no holding you.’
    The two women met again that evening at Victoria’s flat in Knightsbridge.
    ‘Did you get to see your father’s friend at the FO?’ Victoria asked.
    ‘Yes. He was very sweet. I felt bad about not telling the whole truth.’
    ‘What did he advise?’
    ‘In one word – don’t. But just the way he explained it gave me a pretty good idea what the situation is.’
    ‘Go on.’
    ‘Have you got an atlas?’
    ‘It’s on the table. I’ve been trying to get some idea of where we might be headed.’
    Leo seated herself at the table and opened the map. ‘Cutting out a lot of the preliminary warnings about the chaotic situation, what he said was this. He thinks that Stobart’s lot might have made a mistake taking the train to Sophia. The battle front is over here, at Chataldzha, almost on the Black Sea and the Turks have cut the railway line. The only way to get there from Sophia is to go to Jamboli and then travel by road and it would take the best part of a week,