Having separate rooms was the right and proper thing to do, but she would’ve liked a cuddle from Ted and for him to tell her that everything was going to be all right. She was so deep in thought that she started as someone knocked gently on her door.

‘Toff?’ Ted’s voice came from the corridor outside.

Her heartbeat quickened. Was he going to make an excuse to come into her room and spend the night in her bed? What would she say if he suggested it? ‘Yes?’ She paused before opening the door a crack.

‘I just wanted to check what time you wanted to go down for breakfast in the morning?’

Olivia almost laughed with relief. ‘Eight thirty?’

He smiled. ‘Eight thirty it is.’

Closing the door softly, she heard the door to Ted’s room shut behind him. How could she have doubted his integrity? Relief washed over her as she got herself ready for bed. She set the alarm clock on the bedside cabinet for eight o’clock then slid between the sheets.

It seemed to Olivia that she had only just shut her eyes when the alarm clock beside her bed rang loudly. She pushed down the knob and stared blearily at the face, half convinced that she must have set the wrong time, then her eyes shot open as she saw that it was eight o’clock. She jumped out of bed and headed for the shared bathroom, quickly brushing her teeth before filling the sink with warm water. She ran her flannel over her face, neck, and underarms, rinsed it out, then tied her hair into a neat bun. She rummaged around the inside of her washbag until she found the small bottle of fragranced talcum powder, put a small amount into the palms of her hands and ran them over her chest and arms. She clapped her hands together to rid them of the excess talc. There was nothing worse than talcum powder to make a uniform look messy. She quickly nipped back to her room, dressed and finished packing her bag just as Ted called her name and knocked on the door.

‘Coming!’ She opened the door and smiled at him as he held his hand towards her.

‘Pass me your bag.’

Olivia picked up her holdall. ‘In case you’d forgotten, I handle whopping great barrage balloons every day – I think I can manage to carry my own bag.’

His eyebrows raised, he took the bag from her hands. ‘I’m sure you can, but that’s not the point. I don’t feel comfortable watching you carry this round, it goes against my principles.’

They descended the stairs and headed for the dining room. Olivia stared around the elaborately decorated room. ‘I bet they don’t do sausage baps here!’

Ted pulled out a chair for her. ‘This is Glasgow, how posh can it be?’