‘I doubt it,’ said Elsa softly. ‘Your mother’s tougher than she looks, and I think she’s already accepted that Jock would most likely not come back.’

Jim entered the room with a tray of glasses and a bottle of brandy. ‘Don’t ask where I got the brandy,’ he said, pouring generous measures. ‘Just drink it and let it do its work.’

Jane took a huge gulp which made her cough. ‘Was Philip with Pops, Jim? Or had they been separated?’ she managed when she’d recovered.

‘They were together until the end of 1943, and then Philip was sent to another labour camp further down the line.’

Jane digested this and took a tremulous breath. ‘They were both on that horrendous railway then,’ she said flatly. ‘Is that where Pops died?’

Jim nodded, and Jane could see he was deciding how much to tell her.

‘I’ve heard enough from the men who survived that horror, Jim. Tell me what happened.’

Jim took a breath and told her. ‘It was swift, Jane,’ he finished. ‘And I suspect a blessed release.’

‘Poor Pops,’ she murmured, the tears streaming down her face. ‘At least now that we know where he is the burial teams can give him a decent resting place.’

She finished the brandy and collected her things. ‘I’d better go and tell Sarah so we can face Mother together.’

Jim had driven Jane to the hospital and waited outside as she’d gone in search of her sister. He paced back and forth, smoking one cigarette after another until his head began to throb and his throat went dry.

He’d lost track of what time it was when he spotted Jumbo, who was in charge of a group of Japanese prisoners repairing the brickwork at the side entrance to the hospital clinic. He went over to tell his friend what had happened, and warned him he probably wouldn’t make the supper he and Myfanwy had organised for this evening.

Jane appeared with a red-eyed Sarah, and he silently opened the car door for them and then drove towards the bungalow. He glanced repeatedly in the rear-view mirror and saw that the sisters were now dry-eyed and holding fast to one another, probably preparing themselves to face their mother with their devastating news, and as they approached the bungalow, his heart sank.

Sybil was just paying off the rickshaw boy, and she turned to smile and wave at Jim as he parked outside the front gate. She looked so animated and attractive in that summer frock, that he hated the thought of destroying all that with what was to come.

He swiftly climbed out of the car and opened the door for the girls.

‘Hello, Jim, what are you doing here?’ she asked cheerfully before glancing behind him and seeing her daughters. ‘My goodness, you are arriving in style,’ she teased. And then, as she saw their expressions, her smile faded.

‘What is it?’ she breathed, her hand fluttering to her chest. ‘What’s happened?’