She took a breath. ‘Besides,’ she added, ‘neither of us have flown before, and I’m not sure I want to risk it.’

Jane plumped down on the bed and giggled. ‘I never took you for a scaredy-cat, Sarah. Flying’s much safer than it ever was, and cuts the time of travel right down. Anyway, the money isn’t really a problem,’ she added airily before shooting her sister an impish grin.

Sarah wondered fretfully what her sister was up to. ‘Since when? I’m sure the MOD didn’t pay you that well.’

‘That’s true,’ she admitted cheerfully. ‘But I didn’t have time to spend much of it, so I have quite a little nest egg. And Jeremy promised to help out with the cost on the proviso I came back and married him.’ Jane blushed. ‘Silly, sweet man, he didn’t need to bribe me – I’d have married him anyway – but it does mean we can afford the tickets.’

She paused to take a breath, her gaze fixed steadily on Sarah. ‘So I went ahead and booked them for the first post-war flight on the third of September – and sent a telegram to Mother telling her our plans,’ she finished in a rush. Her face was alight with excitement. ‘What do you say to that, Sarah?’

Shocked that her sister had done such a thing, Sarah sank down beside her and tried to absorb this startling revelation. ‘I don’t know what to say, or how to feel about you rushing into things like that without talking it over with me first,’ she murmured.

Jane took her hand. ‘I’m sorry I didn’t consult you, but I felt I had to strike while the iron was hot. The tickets were already selling fast, and I didn’t want us to miss out – not as we’ve already waited far too long to get back home.’

‘I understand your reasoning,’ Sarah said hesitantly. ‘It’s come as a bit of a shock, that’s all, and I’m finding it difficult to take it all in.’ Her gaze drifted to the photographs on the mantelpiece. ‘The dream of returning to Singapore is something I’ve clung to ever since we left, but now we have the chance …’ She paused, her thoughts in turmoil. ‘I’m almost afraid of what we might find there.’

Jane gripped her hand more tightly. ‘I feel just the same, for it’s bound to have changed after the Japanese occupation, and it will seem strange to be back after all this time – but we need to know what happened to Pops and Philip.’

Sarah shivered. ‘That’s what I’m afraid of, Jane. If they’re both dead, then I’m not sure I want to know how and where it happened – and I simply can’t be like Mother who is so adamant that they’re still alive despite everything we’ve seen and heard to the contrary.’

She regarded her sister evenly. ‘I do wish you hadn’t involved her in your madcap plan, Jane, for I really don’t know if I could bear seeing her hopes and dreams destroyed, and have to witness her falling apart.’