When Holly flushed she frowned. ‘You saw Richard, didn’t you?’

Holly nodded miserably and Ivy gave an exasperated sigh. ‘Look surely if you still have feelins for him you could patch things up?’ Holly had never told her the reason they had split up, which was surprising because they usually told each other everything.

‘It’s not as simple as that.’ Holly lowered her eyes and played with the fringe on the chenille tablecloth.

‘Then in that case, for goodness’ sake give Harry a chance,’ she scolded. ‘He’s clearly crackers about you an’ good blokes like him don’t come along every day.’

Holly knew she was right but she didn’t want to talk about it, so after kissing Alice she went up to her room in a solemn mood.

A week later Harry took her out for a leisurely stroll through Riversley Park on a sunny Sunday afternoon, after which he hired a rowing boat on the River Anker.

‘Have you ever done this before?’ she asked anxiously as he helped her into the boat and lifted the oars.

‘Huh! It’ll be a piece of cake,’ he assured her but minutes later she was laughing helplessly as they found themselves going round and round in circles on the sluggishly moving water.

‘I, er … I’ll get the hang of it in a minute,’ Harry assured her as he battled with the oars, which only made her laugh all the more. The boat was rocking dangerously and Holly half expected to be pitched into the river at any minute.

‘It’s not quite as easy as it looks,’ he panted. ‘I think I’ve decided I’d rather be a doctor than an oarsman!’

Eventually they were back on dry land.

‘Right, I think it’s time we treated ourselves to an ice cream, don’t you?’ Harry asked.

Holly giggled. ‘I think you’ve earned one after all that effort.’

They sat on the banks of the river to eat their ices beneath the shade of a weeping willow tree and Holly was shocked to realise that she was actually really enjoying herself. But Harry was on duty at the hospital that evening so soon he walked her home.

‘Will you come in for a cup of tea?’ she invited but after glancing at his pocket watch, a present from his parents for his twenty-first birthday, he shook his head.

‘I’d love to but I’ll be late if I stay and I don’t want to get into Matron’s bad books.’

Holly shocked both herself and him when she suddenly leaned forward and gently touched her lips to his. There was no explosion behind her eyes as there had been when she kissed Richard but she found that it was pleasant all the same.

‘What was that for?’ Harry touched his lips as if he could hardly believe what she had just done, suddenly feeling as if all his birthdays and Christmases had come at once.

‘I just felt like it, and thank you for this afternoon. It’s been really lovely. Now get off with you and no doubt I’ll see you sometime tomorrow at the hospital.’