‘I’ll keep them all in here so they stay safe,’ said Jane, taking charge of the envelope and tucking it away in her handbag. ‘Jeremy sends his regards, by the way, and I already have a letter from him to Mother asking formally for my hand in case … Well, you know,’ she tailed off.

‘Indeed I do,’ murmured Peggy as she caught sight of Sarah looking wistfully at Jane’s beautiful ring which had caused such surprise and delight. She wished she could do something to ease the girl’s pain of knowing she’d burnt her boats as far as Delaney was concerned.

Unwilling to linger on such sad thoughts, Peggy went to check on the evening meal. Jack had brought a chicken over earlier this morning and it was now roasting in the oven with stuffing and potatoes; the vegetables had been freshly picked from the garden and they’d have the last of the bottled plums for pudding, so there would be quite a feast.

Soon after, Jack arrived with Rita and Peter, who would be leaving for Australia in a matter of days, but despite the air of sadness that lay beneath the jollity of the evening, it seemed everyone was determined to make this last night for Sarah and Jane special.

Peggy sat back in her chair and lit a cigarette once the meal was over and listened to the excited chatter going round the table, all too aware of the impending loss in Jack’s eyes and the ache in Sarah’s heart. She wished she could console and comfort them, but it was impossible, for she too was beleaguered by the knowledge that soon these young ones would stretch their wings and fly the nest – perhaps never to return – and she was finding that very hard to deal with.

She glanced across at Cordelia, and as their eyes met, she realised she was not alone in her sadness. Reaching out to take the elderly woman’s hand, she gave it a gentle squeeze to let her know she understood how difficult she was finding all this upheaval and loss.

‘Whatever happens out there, our girls will be all right,’ said Cordelia quietly beneath the chatter. ‘And they’ll come home again, I’m sure of it.’ She glanced across at Rita and Peter and gave a shallow sigh. ‘But we must make the most of those two while we can, Peggy. For once they’re gone, I doubt we’ll see them again.’

Nodding her agreement, Peggy caught the look on Jack’s face as he watched his daughter with such tenderness, and knew his heart was breaking. ‘We’ll have to take very good care of him once they’ve left, Cordy.’

‘Of course we will,’ she murmured. ‘He’s family.’

The quiet moment between them was broken by the arrival of Ron and Rosie with Harvey and Monty. After greeting everyone with great enthusiasm, both dogs flopped down on the old hearth rug to promptly fall asleep.

‘We thought you might enjoy a wee dram of the good stuff,’ said Ron, pulling a bottle of Jameson’s Irish whiskey from his coat pocket.