‘I am going to miss you, Ivy,’ Rita murmured, giving her a hug, and then gasping in delight and awe. ‘Oh, my goodness, Ivy. I felt the baby move.’

Ivy grimaced and gently ran her hand over the small, hard swell beneath her nightie. ‘Yeah, he’s inclined to do that. Usually when I’m trying to sleep.’

‘Do you think it’s a boy?’ asked Rita.

‘It would be nice for Andy, but it don’t really matter what it is as long as it’s all right,’ Ivy replied. She pressed Rita down onto her bed and pulled up the covers. ‘Go to sleep, Rita, and don’t worry about nothing except them big bags under yer eyes you’ll ’ave in the morning if you lie there worrying about things.’

Rita slid down the bed and nestled into the pillows. ‘Thanks, Ivy. You always did know how to cheer me up,’ she said drily before jerking upright again and touching her face. ‘I won’t really have bags, will I?’ she gasped.

‘Course not, you silly mare,’ scoffed Ivy on a giggle. ‘But I will if you don’t shut up and go to bloody sleep. Me and the baby is wore out.’

Rita slid back down beneath the covers and closed her eyes. Ivy wouldn’t stand for any soppiness, but at this moment, she could have kissed her and told her she was the very best friend and sister a girl could have.

On that comforting thought, Rita drifted off to sleep and dreamed of floating down the aisle towards Peter in the fairy-tale dress Sally had made for her.

Peggy had slept surprisingly well considering that Daisy had crept into her bed sometime during the night and was rather restless, and it was barely light when she rose from her bed, eager for the coming day. As she quickly dressed in an old blouse and skirt and tied the wrap-round pinafore over everything, she could already hear that the rest of the household was up and about. They’d clearly caught wedding fever too.

Peggy left Daisy sleeping off her late night and went into the kitchen to prepare breakfast, only to find the porridge already simmering and the table all but cleared. It seemed that everyone had already eaten, but for Anne and her family

As she stirred the porridge to keep it from sticking to the pot, she could hear the usual squabbles over whose turn it was in the bathroom, which made her wonder for the umpteenth time if she should dip into her savings and turn the small single bedroom currently used by Danuta into a second bathroom with a toilet. However, the thought was fleeting. The expense and upheaval it would cause would be wasted, for once all the girls had left and Anne was back in her cottage, one bathroom would suffice – and there was still the perfectly good outside lav if one got desperate.

Peggy looked up from the range as Rose and Emily came running into the kitchen, closely followed by their mother. She hugged the girls and cheerfully wished Anne a good morning. ‘Did you sleep all right?’