‘That’s awful,’ Holly said as her grandfather gave her a rare hug.

But then Ivy saw the dark shadows beneath her friend’s eyes and the droop of her shoulders and she dragged her off towards the kitchen saying, ‘It’s a cup of tea and bed for you, my girl. You look done in. But how long are you home for?’

‘Two weeks.’ Holly raised her hand to cover a yawn. ‘And I might just spend the whole of it in bed.’

Ivy would have loved nothing more than to sit up all night and catch up on what each of them had been doing but it would have to wait till morning. She could see that Holly was ready to drop and for now just knowing that she was home and under the same roof was enough.

Chapter Forty-Seven

Over the next few days Emma called to see her daily with Katie and Florence and Holly was thrilled to see her mother looking so happy. Walter called in to see her most evenings too after finishing work and gradually Holly began to relax. She had been under so much strain since going overseas and had worked so hard that she hadn’t realised how tired she was, but now suddenly she was exhausted.

One morning towards the end of the first week as Holly sat in the kitchen with Cook and Ivy her mother entered looking strained. Holly knew instantly that something was wrong. Emma’s eyes were red-rimmed from crying and she was as jumpy as a kitten.

‘Hello, we didn’t expect to see you until this afternoon.’ Ivy too could see that all was not well as she pulled a chair out for her. ‘We’re just having a tea break, would you like a cup?’

Emma swallowed. What she was about to tell Ivy was not easy but it had to be done.

‘Actually, it’s you I’ve come to see, Ivy. I’m afraid we’ve had rather bad news this morning.’

The colour drained from Ivy’s cheeks as she clutched the back of the chair and a terrible sense of foreboding came over her. ‘I-it’s about Marcus, ain’t it?’ Her voice came out as a squeak.

Emma nodded, her face grave. ‘I’m afraid it is. We had a telegram just as Walter was about to leave for the factory. It said he was missing in action and is presumed dead.’

Ivy swayed and Holly jumped up to guide her onto the chair before she fell as Ivy’s head wagged from side to side. ‘He can’t be!’ She sat as if turned to stone as she fingered his latest letter in her dress pocket, which she had received only days before. She always carried the latest one about with her until the next one arrived. And then finally the dam broke and she began to cry, great tearing sobs that tugged at Holly’s heartstrings.

‘I’m so sorry, darling.’ Emma patted her arm. ‘As you can imagine Walter and the girls are in a terrible state so I said I would come and tell you.’