Kate stifled a snort of laughter. It was Danny who was the innocent one, she thought. If what she had heard was true, then young Rosie Maine knew exactly what she was doing.

When Rosie had turned fifteen, she had found a job in Reynolds’ store in Lynthorpe. She was still the same bright chatterbox and, as Danny rightly said, had now blossomed into a very pretty young woman. She was always smiling and friendly and was liked by customers and the other staff as well. It was impossible not to like Rosie Maine, and strangely, even though she was so pretty, she did not seem to cause jealousy. Now, at nineteen, Rosie still had no steady boyfriend but seemed to run a string of them, carefully balancing the attentions of several, never deliberately hurting anyone. When she went dancing in the town on a Saturday night, she was never short of partners. And now her partners were in uniform.

‘I’ll have a word with her,’ Kate promised.

‘Aw, thanks, Kate,’ Danny said.

It was more than likely, Kate thought wryly, that young Rosie could teach her a thing or two instead of the other way round.

‘You’re getting yourself a bad name, our Rosie,’ Kate said, with some of her mother’s bluntness coming to the fore.

The girl fluffed her blonde hair and then smoothed down her skirt with the palms of her hands. ‘Oh, Kate, I’m only having a little fun. I’m not doing any harm.’

‘It’s the harm that might come to you, Rosie, that we’re worried about.’

Kate heard the girl draw in her breath sharply. Rosie whirled about to face her. ‘We? Who’s we?’ Suddenly, her eyes were shining with an extra brightness.

‘Danny and me.’

‘Danny? Danny said something about me? What did he say?’

‘He’s worried about you – and the soldiers billeted at the Point.’

‘Who – Taffy and Don? Don’t be daft, our Kate. I’m only friendly with them. They’re a nice couple of boys and a long way from home. They’re lonely.’

‘That’s the whole point, Rosie . . .’ Kate persisted.

‘What else did Danny say about me, Kate?’

‘Nothing – he just said he was worried about you. We both are.’

Rosie pulled a face and turned away. ‘Well, you’ve no need. I can tek care of mesen, ta. Tell Danny he – he’s no need to worry himself about me.’

If she hadn’t known her better, Kate could have sworn there was a tearful catch in Rosie’s voice.

When Kate reported her talk with Rosie to Danny, far from being reassured, he frowned. ‘She’s too flirty for her own good, Kate. I’ve tried having a word with her brothers, Mick and Jimmy, but all Mick can think about is joining up in December when he’s eighteen. Not even going to wait for his call-up papers, he ain’t.’