The man in the bed was sitting up, rocking backwards and forwards, his head nodding continuously as if he had no control over it. His arms were clasped around his own body, and his eyes stared unseeingly into the darkness. From low in his throat came a whimpering sound, like an animal in pain and suffering.

Esther drew in a breath and held it as she stared at the man in the unsteady light from the flickering lamp. His hair was cropped short to his head and there was a growth of stubble masking the gaunt jawline and yet there was something about him that made her pause instead of moving on.

She saw him become aware of the light, conscious that there were people standing at the foot of his bed. She saw him blink and run his tongue over swollen lips, saw his gaze flicker and come to rest on her. For a long moment they stared at each other. She saw the frown on his forehead as he struggled to remember.

Then he held out his arms to her, arms that trembled. His voice was a hoarse, pleading whisper, ‘I knew you’d come. I’ve been waiting for you. Take me home. Take me home!’

‘Goodness me!’ the sister said in a stunned voice. ‘That’s the first time I’ve ever heard him speak. We don’t know who he is – he had no identification on him and he couldn’t tell us – couldn’t seem to speak.’ She looked at Esther. ‘Who is he?’

Esther looked down at him. She was overwhelmed with compassion. In that moment as she stood in this makeshift hospital ward, a dark, cold, damp place, she remembered him as he had been. Once so strong and vibrant, his life had now been destroyed. He was no more than a trembling wreck. In that moment, Esther Hilton passed from girlhood to womanhood. Gone in an instant were all her naïve, immature dreams of happiness, all her hopes for the future. Before her, grim reality stretched down the years and became her future. Loyalty and duty and yes, love, but a very different kind of love, must, of necessity, come before the desires of her own heart.

After a moment’s hesitation she put out her own hands and grasped his outstretched, shaking fingers.

With infinite gentleness, she said, ‘Yes, my dear. I came to find you. I’ll take you home.’

The man’s thin shoulders were shaking with racking sobs and he pulled her hands up to his cracked lips and kissed her fingers.

As she leant towards him, only she heard the name he whispered.

‘I’ve been dreaming about you. Oh, Beth, Beth – thank God you’ve found me.’

‘Is he the man you’re looking for?’ the sister asked.

‘I—’ Esther hesitated fractionally, trying to evade answering the woman’s question directly, then added, ‘I – know him.’

‘What’s his name, then? Who is he?’