‘Well, yes, I know that.’ Dulcie buttered another slice of toast. ‘You’ve been engaged for as long as I’ve known you.’

‘No, you don’t understand. We’re getting married on Monday.’

Dulcie stopped, the piece of toast halfway to her mouth. ‘Monday? You mean – next Monday? New Year’s Eve?’ Anna nodded. ‘But that’s a bit soon, isn’t it?’

‘Hardly. You said yourself we’ve been engaged a long time.’

‘But how will you organise it all in such a short time?’

‘Oh, there’s nothing to organise, really. I’ve booked the register office and managed to get a special licence. All we really need are the two of us.’

She looked quite happy about it, but Dulcie knew a poky little register office in a back street of Bethnal Green would never do for her.

She was still thinking about it when she reported for duty that morning. It was one of her favourite daydreams, picturing her perfect wedding day. When she married, she wanted a big wedding, the kind that might appear in the society pages of Tatler. There would be a host of glamorous guests, but of course none would look more beautiful than the bride, in her stunning white gown.

And Robert Logan would make the perfect bridegroom. An elegantly cut morning suit would really show off his sleek dark good looks. She could just imagine the photographs …

‘Nurse Moore! You’ve been cleaning that same patch of floor for the past twenty minutes!’

Sister’s harsh voice brought Dulcie sharply back to earth. The beneficial effects of the medicinal brandy had obviously worn off, judging by the scowl on Miss Sutton’s face.

‘When you’ve quite finished, kindly take your mop and bucket to the toilets. They’ll need to be clean before the visitors come.’

At midday, the visitors began to arrive. They lined up outside the double doors, necks craning, faces pressed against the glass, eager to catch a glimpse of their husbands, sons, fathers and brothers. Inside the ward, the men sat upright, smoothing down their hair and straightening their pyjamas. Most of the men who could get out of bed had changed into hospital uniforms, so as to look their best for their loved ones.

‘I do look all right, don’t I, Nurse?’ Private Anderson looked up at Dulcie as she knotted his tie for him. He was smiling, but the anxious bobbing of his Adam’s apple gave him away. ‘Don’t want to frighten my missus and kids.’

Dulcie looked down at the young soldier, the empty left sleeve of his uniform carefully arranged so as not to draw attention to his missing arm.

‘You look very handsome, Private,’ she assured him.

Private Anderson blushed. ‘I dunno about that,’ he mumbled. ‘Anyway, you’d better not let my Elsie hear you saying that, or she might get jealous!’

As the bell in the clock tower struck noon, Miss Sutton gave the nod for the VADs to open the doors, and the families poured in.

‘Isn’t it wonderful?’ Eliza Parrish, the youngest of them, wiped away a tear as she watched them all hugging each other. ‘To see them all reunited again – well, it almost makes up for us not being with our own families, doesn’t it?’