Though Sybil’s family were comfortably wealthy she knew they were far more likely to disown her rather than assist her in such a sordid matter, which could bring disgrace to the family name.

‘Anyway,’ Sybil fumed. ‘Why should they pay for Monty’s catastrophic clumsiness? He’s the idiot that messed up; it’s his responsibility to at least pay for me to stay in a decent nursing home.’

When Sybil discovered that her lover had booked her into the Mary Vale Home for Mothers and Babies, she went through the roof.

‘I thought I could trust you to book me into a discreet nursing establishment in the Home Counties,’ she furiously declared. ‘Instead you’re planning on sending me off to bloody Grange-over-Sands!’

‘I’ve heard it has a reputable name, run by nuns –’

Monty got no further as Sybil exploded, ‘NUNS! Jesus, now I’ve heard it all. They’ll have me scrubbing the floors and saying the Rosary from dawn till dusk.’

‘Darling, don’t be ridiculous,’ Monty had soothed as he attempted to pull her struggling body close to his. ‘I posted off a few discreet enquiries to regimental chums with operational centres up north, pals who know the way of the world, if you get my drift.’

Knowing full well what he was inferring, Sybil scowled. ‘You mean chaps who have arranged terminations for their mistresses?’ she asked.

‘Sweetheart, please don’t be cross – this is a fine way to keep in touch,’ he coaxed. ‘I’ll be able to visit you when I’m up there checking on our Northern bases.’

Fumbling with her blouse, he grasped Sybil, who pulled away in order to dodge his odious wet kiss; as her pregnancy advanced and powerful hormones took hold of her body, she found Monty’s amorous advances increasingly loathsome. She had imagined that one of the perks of her enforced absence would be not having to put up with Monty, but now he was suggesting that he would visit her on a regular basis, even when she had been exiled to the far North of England. The thought of seeing Monty when she had a swollen belly and sore breasts revolted Sybil, but she knew she had to keep him sweet; otherwise she would finish up paying the fees for her stay in a Mother and Baby Home – which, as far as she was concerned, was the least the Brigadier could do.

‘Let’s drive you up there together,’ he volunteered, adding with a lascivious wink, ‘Stay over in a fine hotel along the way, what do you say?’

Sybil took a deep breath before answering coldly, ‘No, thanks. I’d prefer to make less of an occasion of it. I’ll go alone, by train.’

Smarting at her rejection, Monty had said huffily, ‘Then make it soon – you’re beginning to show.’