Soldier's Daughters by Fiona Field Page A

Maddy had forgotten that Jenna had such good taste. She’d transformed her quarter back at the old barracks – although some of the transformations had been completely against army housing regulations. Jenna’s flat was light and airy, with a blond wood floor and some stunning prints on the walls.
    ‘Thanks,’ said Jenna. ‘Better than a crappy quarter, eh?’ She led Maddy through to the bathroom.
    ‘This is really kind of you to fit me in today. I felt a bit bad about interrupting your weekend but I haven’t found a childminder yet for Nathan.’
    ‘It doesn’t matter. I’m glad of the business, to be honest. And Dan’s out playing footie for the battalion so I’ve nothing better to do.’ She held out a gown for Maddy to slip into and then pushed a stool across the bathroom floor. ‘What do you want done?’
    ‘A bloody good cut, please. Work your magic on it.’
    Jenna lifted a clump of Maddy’s hair. ‘I’ll do my best. Right, then, lean over the basin.’ She tucked a towel around Maddy’s neck and attached a shower head to the taps. ‘Tell me if the water’s too hot,’ she said as she drenched Maddy’s head.
    ‘Perfect,’ said Maddy with her eyes squeezed shut to stop water running into them. She mightn’t have approved of the backwash unit Jenna had had installed in her bathroom in her old quarter but it made for a more comfortable hair wash.
    ‘I had that new captain ring me today,’ said Jenna, conversationally, as she dolloped on the shampoo and began to bring it to a lather.
    ‘Which new captain’s that?’ mumbled Maddy, clutching the towel tight around her neck to keep the water from running down it.
    ‘Dan’s new boss. The REME girl.’
    ‘Oh, her. Is she nice?’
    ‘Dunno about nice; Dan says she’s a bit of a looker. I asked him what he meant by that and he said she’s got big tits.’
    ‘Really?’
    ‘Well, not that big, but he said she’s very curvy. Typical bloke, isn’t he, to notice something like that?’
    Maddy nodded. ‘Good luck to her, I say. It must be tough to be in such a minority.’
    ‘Dan said she looks like a much younger Kylie, with short hair and bigger boobs. It’s got to help that she’s pretty, though.’
    ‘I suppose,’ said Maddy.
    ‘Although Dan also says Mr Williams – he’s the warrant officer in the workshop – is giving her a hard time. Obviously her looks cut no ice with him.’
    And why should they? thought Maddy, but she didn’t say so. However pretty Sam Lewis was, Maddy didn’t think Jenna would have to worry about Sergeant Armstrong’s eye wandering.
    ‘Bet she has a blinding social life, though.’
    ‘How do you work that out?’
    ‘Stands to reason – being the only woman officer in the mess.’
    ‘You think?’
    ‘Of course. They’ll all be falling over themselves trying to get her to go out on dates so they can get into her knickers.’
    Which didn’t sound like an ideal social life to Maddy. ‘I think a lot of the livers-in already have girlfriends,’ she said carefully.
    Jenna snorted dismissively. ‘Like that means anything when there’s totty on tap. Trust me,’ said Jenna, ‘I know exactly what soldiers are like.’
    Maddy didn’t doubt it.
    ‘They’re all the same,’ continued Jenna. ‘If they think they can have a crafty shag, and not get caught, they will.’
    ‘Seb’s not like that,’ said Maddy staunchly. Of course he wasn’t.
    ‘Maybe it’d be nice if you made friends with her,’ said Jenna. ‘Dan says she’s only young – your age-ish, I think. You ought to have her round one evening, maybe when your old man goes rowing training. He’s always doing that, isn’t he?’
    ‘Well, not so much in the evenings. Weekends, usually.’
    ‘But he’s not training this weekend.’
    ‘No – I think it was because of the hiatus of all the move here.’
    ‘She’s coming to have her hair cut next Saturday.’
    ‘Who?’
    Jenna began to rinse Maddy’s hair. ‘That new