Promising that she would, Danuta finished helping to clear away everything before setting off on her bicycle for her final two house calls. She felt lighter in spirit now she’d decided to stay, and the sun seemed to bring out the colours more vividly in the window boxes and small gardens. Yes, she thought. I’ve made the right decision – but I still have to tell Rachel and Solly.

Rachel and Solly Goldman lived at Starlings, a large house set back from the main road which led out of Cliffehaven and over the hill towards the next town. It wasn’t as far away as the Memorial Hospital, but it was far enough, and the hill steep enough to leave Danuta fighting for breath that early evening as she reached the imposing gateway set into a high rhododendron hedge.

She waited to catch her breath before opening the gate and wheeling her bicycle along the neat brick path lined with pretty red flowers that led to the front porch which was smothered in roses and clematis. She loved this house, and never tired of drinking in its tranquil atmosphere.

Starlings had given temporary shelter to numerous Jewish refugee children who’d been sent to England when it became clear they wouldn’t be safe in Europe, and both Solly and Rachel still kept in touch with them. The house was old and rambling, with whitewashed walls and dark beams beneath a thatched roof. The diamond-paned windows glinted in the late afternoon sun, and the heady scent of roses and clambering honeysuckle filled the still, warm air. Lawns as smooth and green as billiard tables stretched to the hedged boundaries on three sides, and the flower bed borders were positively bursting with colour.

Danuta could hear the busy humming of the bees as they flitted in and out of the flowers, and she stopped to watch some goldfinches swoop down to eat from the bird table, or splash in the ornate basin held in the hands of a stone nymph. She gave a deep sigh of pleasure. It was truly a paradise, and she could have sat in this garden for hours, dreaming away the day in these peaceful surroundings.

She reluctantly pulled the black metal rod by the door which rang a bell in the hall, and breathed in the fragrance of the cascade of pink roses which rambled over the porch.

‘Hello, Danuta,’ said Rachel, looking cool and svelte in a cream linen dress and strappy sandals. ‘We were expecting to see you after Peggy visited this morning. Come in, my dear. We’re in the back garden as it’s such a lovely evening. Have you eaten? Would you like a drink?’

Danuta smiled, for Rachel was the consummate hostess, always worrying that her guests didn’t have enough food or drink. ‘I will eat at Beach View later,’ she replied. ‘But a drink would be welcome after tackling that hill.’

‘Of course, of course. Everything is waiting outside.’ Rachel touched Danuta’s arm and drew her to a standstill in the large, galleried hall. ‘Solly has been in a terrible mood all day, but I think I have persuaded him against going. The letter from the Foreign Office was the clincher, really. But it will do no harm for you to dissuade him.’