‘Tomorrow on the early tide. We should be in England by the end of May, then it will take another half-day to get from Portsmouth to home – unless the trains haven’t improved since I left, and there are the usual hold-ups and delays.’ He grinned at her. ‘I’ve prepared so many times for this day, that I won’t actually believe I’m going home until I’m on the ship and sailing.’

‘Well, I’m glad for you, Jim. You’ve been away from home for too long. Here’s to a safe journey.’ She sipped her drink and then lit a cigarette. ‘I’m off at the end of the week too,’ she said as they settled on either side of the empty desk. ‘As you can see, my work here is all but done, and I’m missing my daughters.’

‘Won’t you miss Singapore?’

‘Not really,’ she admitted. ‘I lived here for years when my husband was alive, but it’s changed, and with the unrest simmering between differing factions as the elections loom, it doesn’t feel like home any more. Besides,’ she added, ‘I much prefer the climate in Sydney. There are four seasons, and the humidity is much more bearable.’

‘It’ll be spring when I get back,’ Jim said, ‘but that’s no guarantee that the weather will be nice. My Peggy said they’ve had a wet winter, and it doesn’t look at all hopeful for a good spring or summer.’

‘Ah, the famous English weather everyone moans about,’ she said on a laugh. She shifted in her chair. ‘I don’t know why we’re sitting in here. Let’s go into the bar where it’s comfortable, and I can buy you a drink for a change.’

‘I’m sorry, Elsa, but I can’t stay long. Jumbo will be boarding his ship soon, and I wanted to say goodbye to him.’

Her disappointment was clear, but she quickly covered it up with a smile. ‘Oh, that is a pity, but of course, I quite understand. How come he isn’t on the same ship as you?’

‘He’s going straight to Scotland on the Stradivarius to prepare a proper home for Myfanwy on the Isle of Skye. She’ll return to Wales and stay with her family, and once he’s sorted out somewhere decent to live, he’ll go to fetch her and take her back there.’

He grinned. ‘I don’t think it’s hit him yet that being married involves a huge amount of organisation and cost if he wants to keep his wife happy.’

‘And what about you, Jim? What will you do when you get back?’

‘Well, I was working as a projectionist in the local cinema, but that was blown up, and by the sound of it, there are no plans to build a new one, so that idea’s out. Peggy tells me an old pal has started up a motor repair shop and is desperate to find a decent mechanic to help with the workload. But I’m not sure I want to do that.’

Elsa cocked her head and frowned. ‘Why ever not, if it’s something you’re good at?’