The three other girls giggled. ‘I don’t know about that,’ said Jane. ‘The look you gave the poor man when he kissed your hand should have felled him right there and then. It’s no wonder he’s been avoiding you ever since.’

‘I avoid him,’ she said firmly. ‘Not other way round.’

She breathed a short sigh of relief as the taxi turned into the club car park, for this conversation was becoming too awkward. She didn’t miss the silent exchange of knowing looks from the others, but said nothing as she climbed out and, with as much dignity as she could muster, made her way up the steps to the entrance.

Rita and Peter were standing with Jack, Ivy and Peggy in the doorway to the large reception room to greet their guests. Danuta was all too aware of Stanislaw watching her and knew she could avoid him no longer.

He bent over her hand, refraining from kissing it but keeping it firmly within his own. ‘Spotykamy znowu, piekna siostra Aleksy,’ he murmured in Polish. ‘Będę zaszczycony jak będziemy rozmawiać o twoim bracie?’

‘I prefer if we speak English,’ she replied, not at all flattered by being called beautiful. ‘Is polite in such company. But yes, I would like to hear about your friendship with my brother.’

‘Later then,’ he said, his dark, soulful gaze steady on her face.

Danuta felt pinned to the spot by his penetrating gaze, but managed to nod before swiftly retrieving her hand and moving away from the line-up. Gratefully, she accepted a glass of chilled wine from the waiter. She understood perfectly well how easy it would be for most women to be enraptured by his charm, and wasn’t impervious to it, but she had more important plans to fulfil than falling for a large Pole with an even larger ego.

Peggy had witnessed that short exchange, and although Danuta had been stiffly polite, she’d seen the flush on the girl’s cheeks as she’d turned away from Stanislaw, and had wondered if that brief moment might lead to something. Romances often started at weddings, and surely their meeting here was a sign that it was meant to be? She quickly pulled herself together. She was getting ahead of herself with all these wistful, romantic thoughts, and should concentrate on the delicious luncheon the club had provided.

Minestrone soup was followed by roasted local lamb with mint sauce and all the trimmings and a tinned peach Pavlova smothered in thick cream. The white wine was chilled to perfection, the red was dark and fruity, and according to the men, the beer was excellent.

Cigars and cigarettes were lit and buttons and belts discreetly loosened after this feast, and as the staff quietly went round to fill glasses with champagne for the toasts, they waited for the speeches.

Stanislaw struggled to his feet. ‘It has been my honour to stand by my friend on this very special day,’ he began. ‘He is brave and clever, and I could tell many stories about him – but I have promised to keep them to myself today, for he is too modest, and I will not embarrass him.’ He beamed a smile at his laughing audience. ‘But of course, after today I can share some of our adventures with you.’