Seeing she was going to get nowhere with grumpy Dora, Ada decided positive action was the best way forward. ‘Come on, dear,’ she said, as she hauled her heavy bucket out of the sink too. ‘We’re needed in the nursery – the babies will be screaming the place down by now.’

Just a mention of her darling babies instantly brought a smile to Dora’s face. ‘Best not keep the little lovies waiting,’ she said fondly and hurried to the door.

Walking behind her, Ada recalled how Mary Vale’s babies had saved Dora’s life after her beloved sons had died fighting the enemy; Dora’s tiny, helpless charges in the nursery had given her a reason to go on living, something which Ada repeatedly thanked God for.

3. Sybil Harwood

Sybil Harwood was not in a good mood. Her lover, Brigadier Monty Baldwin, had not been able to get tickets for the cabaret show she had been longing to see, and for which she had bought the most gorgeous, full-length, sleek, Grecian-style dress in shimmering emerald satin that perfectly set off her striking witch-green eyes and long, dark, lustrous hair. Glaring crossly at her reflection in the bevelled dressing-table mirror that matched the other bedroom furniture in her elegant Mayfair flat (on loan from her father since she had been appointed to the War Office), Sybil sighed moodily. In normal circumstances beautiful and thoroughly spoilt Sybil wouldn’t have given Monty Baldwin the time of day. In peacetime she had been a debutante who effortlessly worked all the young men in the room – handsome, titled, rich, witty and educated, Sybil had the pick of the crop. But now, two and a half years into the war, they were all gone, fighting on active service or killed. Though married to the beautiful and very wealthy Lady Veronica Baldwin, the Brigadier was a great one for the ladies. Overweight and full of himself, the Brigadier was a powerful figure both in and out of the War Office. In no time at all after Sybil’s appointment, Monty had set his sights on her small curvy body and glamorous film-star looks. Clever Sybil with a gift for maths and languages had risen effortlessly through the ranks, until she was appointed Monty’s own personal private secretary.