‘Far from it,’ Grace said. ‘I used to lie awake at night, worrying you’d break your neck!’

Anna grinned. ‘You’ve been a good friend, Duffield.’

‘So have you.’ Grace shook her head. ‘Listen to us, getting all sentimental. It’s a good thing I’m on night duty tonight, or I’d be in tears by ten o’clock!’

‘And it’s not as if we won’t see each other again, is it?’ Anna said. ‘I’ll be back on duty in a couple of days, once our honeymoon’s over.’

‘I must say, I’m surprised that Matron agreed to let you stay on.’

‘I think she’s desperate to keep hold of as many trained nurses as she can.’

It had all worked out very well for her and Edward in the end. Not only had Matron agreed to Anna staying on at the hospital, but today the Medical Board had given him a full discharge.

Grace was surprised. She had seen men in a far worse state than Edward Stanning sent back to the Front. She had expected him to be assigned light duties, probably at a local depot, but instead he had been discharged entirely.

Anna, needless to say, had been delighted by the news. It was more than she had ever dared hope for, that her darling Edward could come home and run the bakery.

‘I can’t believe it,’ she had said to Grace. ‘I feel as if I’ve spent so many years being miserable, watching everyone being taken away from me, and now I’ve got Edward back. It feels like a dream come true.’

She was still smiling as she dumped the clothes into her suitcase and looked around.

‘There, I think that’s everything.’ She closed the lid of the case. ‘It seems rather full,’ she said ruefully.

‘Here, I’ll help you close it.’ Grace leaned her weight on the lid while Anna fastened the leather straps. After much pulling and straining, they finally managed to get it done up.

Grace watched as Anna hauled the suitcase off the bed. It landed with a thump on the polished wood floor. Seeing it there made the move seem more real.

She dragged her gaze away and looked at the watch dangling from her apron bib. ‘Is that the time? I’d better be off, or the night sister will be wondering where I am.’

‘I’ll see you tomorrow, at the wedding,’ Anna said.

‘I’ll be there.’ Grace seized her friend’s hands impulsively. ‘I really am so pleased for you,’ she said. ‘You deserve to be happy.’

Tears brimmed in Anna’s eyes. ‘Thank you.’

Then, as Grace left, Anna called after her, ‘How awful of me, I’ve been so full of my own plans, we haven’t even talked about your Christmas with your family.’

Grace smiled. ‘There’s really nothing to tell,’ she said.

It seemed as if the year was determined to go out with an icy bluster. It was a freezing, bitter night, and flurries of snow swirled and eddied in the icy wind. Grace pulled the hood of her thick cape as far as she could, but the cold still made the bones of her face ache. She picked her way carefully along the path from Walford House to the main hospital building in the dark, her feet slipping on the slushy cobbles. Cold wetness had seeped through the leather of her shoes by the time she reached the hospital building.