Summerset Abbey: Spring Awakening (Summerset Abbey Trilogy) by T. J. Brown

and she noted the newly hatched gray hairs threaded through his hair. “All of that takes time and a single-minded goal. We’re not there yet. Hell, some of the powers that be still aren’t convinced of the value of aeroplanes for use during wartime. Excuse my language, Miss Rowena. I forget I’m talking to a lady sometimes.”
    She gave him a sad half smile. “Sometimes the situation warrants strong words, Mr. Dirkes.”
    “That it most certainly does. And right now I’m frustrated that I can’t move the birds to where they’re needed faster. You saw all those aeroplanes, right? I have several that need to be taken to Plymouth and two more to be taken to Hampshire, but the government has my pilots doing other things and they won’t be back for several weeks. In the meantime, I’m left with a logjam in production.”
    She sat up, excitement kicking her pulse up a notch. “So let me do it. I can do it. You know I can.”
    He shook his head. “That’s not the point. Of course you can do it. But should you? That’s a whole other ball of wax. Now eat your sammies, lass.”
    He calmly took a bite of his cucumber sandwich while she fumed. “Give me one good reason why I shouldn’t.”
    He snorted. “I can give you several.” He ticked the reasons off with his fingers. “One, your uncle wouldn’t like it. Two, we’re in a war and it could be dangerous. Will be dangerous. Three, you would be ferrying the aeroplanes to naval and air bases where there are any number of army officers who would not appreciate a young woman flying their aeroplanes. Four, we would be dependent on these same officers to bring you back to Kent, and you would be left alone with them for hours. Un-chaperoned.”
    “Are you saying that officers in the King’s army would not act like gentlemen?” she pushed.
    “I’m saying that seeing you fly a plane like a man, dressed in trousers and leather like a man, might lead them to behave in ways that are not gentlemanly.”
    She ground her teeth, thinking of how the two men at the barn had treated her just that morning. But there had to be a way around it. She didn’t answer, but ate in silence for several minutes, thinking hard. She noted that he watched her closely, knowing she would refute his words. Why could young men go off to war and make a real difference and the only avenues open to her were nursing or volunteering to write letters or read to wounded soldiers? She knew that if the war went on for too long, women would be participating more from sheer necessity, but it hardly seemed fair that Victoria could be helping the wareffort because she had a knack and a heart for nursing, while women like Rowena were overlooked and underutilized.
    Finally, she pushed away her food and put both hands on the table. “Why couldn’t I be a support volunteer for the RFC? If I wore some sort of uniform, that would lessen the confusion.”
    He shrugged. “I’m not sure if you could. I’ve never heard of a woman in the RFC, and I’m fairly sure it’s never been done.” He stroked his chin thoughtfully. “But the uniform is a good idea. Or at least an outfit that wouldn’t garner as much attention as trousers.”
    “We could arrange for me to arrive in the evenings when there are fewer officers about.”
    “But then you would have to either stay the night or drive home with a young man in the dark, which neither your uncle nor I would approve of.”
    She felt a spurt of anger. “Why do you keep bringing up my uncle? I am twenty-three years old, for heaven’s sake.”
    Mr. Dirkes shook his head. “Things haven’t changed that much, Miss Rowena, and you know it. Don’t be naïve.”
    “I’m not being naïve. You have always said adapt or die, and quite frankly, this is the time to adapt. We’re at war and people are dying. To make our troops wait for the training aeroplanes they need because you don’t want a fully qualified woman to pilot them is not just silly, it’s