She regarded Danuta sharply. ‘You have decided not to go, haven’t you?’

Danuta nodded. ‘Reluctantly, it seems wise.’

‘Thank goodness for that.’ Rachel put her arm around Danuta’s shoulder and steered her gently through the hall into the elegant drawing room which had French doors leading out to a terrace overlooking the sweep of the back garden. ‘Just tell him straight, Danuta,’ she murmured. ‘Then he can’t argue.’

Danuta smiled at that, for Solly could argue black was white if he put his mind to it.

‘Look who’s here, Solly,’ said Rachel cheerfully.

He turned his great head and eyed Danuta with all the welcome of a bad-tempered bulldog before he got to his feet. ‘I suppose you’ve come to bully me too,’ he stated.

‘Not at all,’ she replied. ‘I’ve come to tell you I’ve changed my mind and will be staying here.’

‘I see,’ he muttered. ‘So Peggy got to you too, did she?’

‘It was entirely my decision,’ she said firmly. ‘And after hearing about that letter from the Foreign Office, I have concluded it was the correct one.’ She sat down in one of the wicker chairs and Rachel handed her a tall glass tinkling with ice.

‘A gin and tonic,’ said Rachel, shooting a glance at her husband. ‘Works wonders on tired bodies and bad tempers.’ She raised her glass. ‘L’chaim.’

Solly joined in the toast to life, then plumped down into the cushions of the sturdy wicker chair and glowered at the beautiful garden. ‘Who is this man Peggy talks about? The Pole who put these ideas in your head, Danuta?’

‘He’s just someone I met at Rita’s wedding,’ she replied lightly. ‘And it seems he was right to warn me if that letter from the Foreign Office is anything to go by.’

‘Hmph.’ He took a long draught of his drink, and then placed the empty glass on the table for Rachel to replenish. ‘We will all go back one day, Danuta. That’s a promise.’

‘Yes,’ she murmured. ‘But until then we must give thanks for the beauty of this home we have here, and for the people who love us.’ She smiled at him. ‘Is it not said by the Jewish people that when we are no longer able to change the situation, we are challenged to change ourselves?’

Solly nodded. ‘Everything can be taken from a man but one thing – the last of the human freedoms – to choose one’s own way.’ He smiled, bringing warmth to his dark brown eyes. ‘You are wise for one so young,’ he said softly.

She smiled back at him with great affection. ‘I have a very old soul.’

7

Doris had had a rather splendid day, and if it hadn’t been for Michael’s nasty letter burning a hole in her handbag, it would have been perfect.

She returned to her bungalow in Ladysmith Close, and decided to try her new hat on once more before going next door to check on John. He’d been resting when she’d popped in at lunchtime, and seemed quite cheerful as he’d told her to enjoy her shopping trip and not rush back, so she was taking him at his word.