‘Are you going to tell me about the Air Race?’ She was not in the mood for conversation and getting Finlay to talk about one of his enthusiasms was the easiest way to avoid having to make an effort.

‘It was magnificent.’ He drew the word out into individual syllables. ‘The aircraft were going to land at Redford Barracks so everyone went there to watch them arrive. You had to pay a shilling to get close, and I wasn’t expecting there would be a charge, but I had money with me.’

‘Where did you get the money from?’

He blushed. ‘I had the cab money from when we went to The Great Lafayette. No one asked for it back, so I kept it, like an emergency fund in case we’re ever caught out again and need to get home quickly.’

Ann was not convinced. ‘I don’t think you should have kept it.’

‘I’ve never spent a penny of it, until the Air Race. And the rest is there if we need it. Like today, if you felt unwell again like you did a couple of weeks ago—’

‘Right,’ said Ann, quickly changing the subject and going back to her ice cream. ‘So, you paid the shilling and then what?’

‘Nothing happened for quite a while and I was worried that I’d need to leave to get back home before they appeared. But then some men came out with big white sheets and they made a cross on the grass, and they got some Boy Scouts to help with putting bricks on the sheets so they didn’t blow away.’

‘Perhaps if you hadn’t left the Scouts you wouldn’t have had to pay the shilling.’

‘Maybe.’ He licked his spoon. ‘We saw the planes approaching in the sky and we heard the engines. It was such a thrill. I’ve never seen anything so marvellous. When they landed, everyone cheered. Only four pilots finished the course. And that was it. I couldn’t stay any longer because I had to come home.’

‘It does sound exciting.’

‘I’m sorry I haven’t told you about it before but I couldn’t risk anyone overhearing.’ Finlay looked at her. ‘You’ve been very quiet lately.’

‘I know.’

‘Is there anything the matter?’

Ann thought about the fact that she would have a visitor every month for the rest of her life, which was how Ursula had described it. ‘No, nothing’s wrong,’ she lied.

‘Ann Black, I don’t believe you. You are keeping a secret.’ He put the final spoonful of ice cream into his mouth and licked his lips.

‘Me?’

‘There is no one else called Ann Black in the vicinity, so yes, you.’

She scraped the last drop of melted ice cream from the tall glass and managed not to let it dribble on her dress. ‘Well, yes. But you can’t tell.’