‘This arrived for Sarah and Jane minutes after you left,’ she said, handing her the telegram. ‘It’s from Jim.’

Peggy’s pulse was hammering as she took it from her and swiftly read the abrupt message.

Chaos here * Vital stay England * Will inform when have news * Jim *

Peggy carefully folded the slip of paper back into the brown envelope, the guilt of having left Cordelia to worry over the telegram weighing heavy. She gently helped Cordelia to her feet and gave her a hug before steering her into the kitchen.

‘It’s too late to do anything about it now,’ she said softly. ‘But the girls are intelligent enough to realise that it’s bound to be chaotic over there.’

She settled Cordelia in her favourite armchair and briefly cupped her sweet face in her hands. ‘They know their way around Singapore, and will have Jim and their mother to look after them, so please try not to worry, Cordy.’

‘Easier said than done,’ Cordelia replied, dabbing her nose with a handkerchief. ‘I know our Jim will look after them if he can, but he’s there to do a job and simply might not be able to. From what I’ve learnt about Sybil, she’ll be as useful as a chocolate teapot, and if the Bristows’ bungalow isn’t available, heaven only knows where they’ll end up.’ She grasped Peggy’s hand. ‘We must do something, Peggy. They can’t go.’

‘I don’t really see how I can stop them,’ said Peggy. She glanced up at the clock. ‘They’ll be in Southampton by now, I should think, and about to board the plane.’

‘Then telephone the airport or whatever it is and try to get a message to them,’ Cordelia persisted.

Peggy couldn’t see what good that would do, but to appease Cordelia, she went back into the hall and lifted the telephone receiver.

‘Hello, April, dear. I wonder if you could help. I’m trying to get hold of the flying boat station at Southampton.’

‘Oh. I don’t know if I have the number for that,’ the girl replied. ‘I’ll have to put you through to directory enquiries.’

Peggy silently blessed her for not wasting time by asking questions, and stood fidgeting for what felt like ages until the operator on directory enquiries put her through. It seemed to ring for hours, but when it was finally answered, she was informed that the plane had already taken off.

‘They’ve gone, Cordy, I’m sorry,’ she said, returning to the kitchen. ‘The chap in the office said they could have relayed a message to the pilot, but only in a dire emergency situation – and as I didn’t want to cause the girls any further worry, I decided to leave things as they are.’

Cordelia gave a tremulous sigh. ‘We’ll just have to wait to hear from them, then. I’ll make a fresh pot of tea while you wake Daisy. Charlie’s up and about already, but Danuta left for work shortly after you went to the station.’