Page 53 of Royally Drawn

“That’s sweet,” Ingrid sighed, turning her body back towards me.

“I didn’t want to fight with you, Ingrid.”

“Do you really admire me?” Ingrid asked. “Because I’m going to sleep with you. You don’t have to continue to puff up my ego or sell me?—”

“I’m not. And I do,” I said. “You already made your mind up?”

“I climbed on a potential death trap with you to get some, yes,” Ingrid said. “It’s probably the most ridiculous thing I’ve done—maybe second to riding a pony through a flaming hoop.”

“I am sorry,what?”

“Oh, I had a pony. He was a real knob at times. He loved to bite you or even lay a sucker punch or a kick on you. However, he was brilliant over fences. Point-and-shoot and would jump anything. I was with my schoolmates. We all rode, you know? We decided to rig up a jump and set a ring on fire. None of the horses were dumb enough to manage it, but Chance did. And that is a story I never tell anyone because I will get told off still to this day.”

“That’s the bone-headed bravery I appreciate, Ingrid,” I laughed.

“Well, it’s what you’re getting. I am a loose cannon.”

“Same.”

We flew on until we got to pick up the tower from Valley. We were entering restricted airspace, so I had to do a couple more things than if we were just on a pleasure cruise.

“Hello, you old bastard, what are you doing?”

The voice on the radio was more than familiar.

“Ah, Wales, you are on desk duty today,” I said.

“All weekend. You knew that. And yet you decided to go out and fly around?”

“I didn’t know that,” I protested. “I thought you were in Surrey.”

“Shortage. Stuck here.”

“Well, put me down. I’ve got the 601 out.”

“Mum’s favourite, yeah? Lucky bastard. It’s a nice day to fly, and I’m stuck here.”

“Is that Duncan?” Ingrid mouthed silently.

I nodded back.

“I’ve got you in the rotation. I couldn’t believe it when I saw you come up. I thought you were doing something else.”

“Like what, Duncan?”

“Golfing?”

“I don’t golf.”

“At your age, it’s time to start.”

It must be slow as fuck if he was going to take the piss like that. If I’d been his CO, I’d have written him up for the chatter.

“You’re cleared whenever you want to enter the pattern,” Duncan said. “At your discretion, Chef.”

He gave me a vector. We got the plane down as smoothly as ever,even if Ingrid looked like she was preparing for a mid-air breakup. I tried not to take offence. She had no frame of reference.

“How did he end up on that side and you out here?” Ingrid asked.

---