Annoyed by Sybil’s arrogance, Matron snipped back at her, ‘Your kind friend, the Brigadier, mentioned he would look into the matter last time he was here.’

Completely sure that Monty for all his bluster would do no such thing, Sybil gave a careless shrug. ‘I think you might have the wrong end of the stick, Sister.’

‘On the contrary, Miss Harwood. The Brigadier recently wrote to me saying that he thought Mary Vale served the community well and was vital to the stability of the Home Front.’

Sybil gaped at her in disbelief: why on earth would stupid Monty say that a run-down dump of a home for unmarried mothers and their babies was vital to anyone or anything? Convinced that Matron had got carried away by Monty’s ridiculous blagging Sybil gave a tight smile before she continued, ‘As I said, I’m making arrangements to leave. I’ll let you have the details of my departure soon.’

Once Sybil was out of the office, she slumped against the corridor wall. What the hell was bloody interfering Monty up to? The Army’s issuing a requisition order to close down Mary Vale was her exit strategy. If the place were to be kept open, she might be well and truly stuck at Mary Vale for the length of her pregnancy; and, if that were the case, there was a very good chance that she would strangle the evacuee brats with her own bare hands before she or their miserable mother gave birth.

7. Running Wild

Poor Sister Mary Paul was run ragged by Ronnie and Sally. Though her gentle heart ached for their mother, whom she nurtured with wholesome soups and broths, her patience was frayed by the children. Their common swearing and blaspheming offended her; their bad habits, like refusing to wash their dirty hands before meals, literally meant forcing them into the bathroom three times a day, which was exhausting. And when they did arrive in the dining room, they ate like savages, pushing and shoving each other to get the last fish-paste sandwich or slice of pie. As time passed and the novelty of having children around the place passed, Sybil wasn’t the only resident who got fed up with Ronnie and Sally. She was without question the most opinionated on the matter, but a few of the other residents, especially the ones nearing their delivery dates, found Ronnie and Sally loud and tedious. There was no question that their arrival plus their constant bad behaviour had upset the Home’s peaceful equilibrium.