Kate shuddered. Suddenly, amidst all the jollity, she felt lonely. It was all false, a forced gaiety to hide their fear, their terror of tomorrow. But what else could these brave young men do? Sit around moping, waiting for death in the morning? No, this was their way of being courageous; it was the only way they knew.

The music seemed to grow louder, the laughter became strident; Brian’s arm around her was suddenly too tight, the smoky atmosphere oppressive, cloying and stifling. She wanted to push her way through the crowd and escape into the fresh air. A sudden longing for the peace and tranquillity of the end of the Spit overwhelmed her. The desire would not be wholly denied. Kate gave a little sob and thrust herself away from Brian’s clutch.

‘Hey, what did I do?’ he asked, bemused.

‘Nothing, nothing,’ she mouthed above the noise. She put a hand to her head. ‘I must get some – air.’

He grinned stupidly at her, misinterpreting her reasons. Lurching towards her, he grabbed her arm again. ‘What a good idea,’ he leered.

Kate twisted herself from his grasp. ‘No!’ She pulled away from him, knocking against the couple dancing nearby. The whole dance-floor was crowded now, there was scarcely room to move.

‘Aw, now don’t be a spoilsport . . .’ he began. Blindly, Kate turned away, but found her face pressed against another blue uniform, the buttons digging into her cheek. Two arms were around her holding her tightly. She gave a cry and began to struggle.

‘Kate – it’s me . . .’

With a gasp of surprise, she pulled her head back to find herself looking directly into a pair of laughing brown eyes.

‘Danny, oh Danny!’ And she flung her arms around him.

Behind her, her former dance partner shrugged philosophically. ‘Oh well, I know when I’m beaten. Hope you have better luck than I did, mate.’

Danny pushed his way through the throng, with Kate in his wake. When they reached the edge of the floor, he said, ‘Come on, let’s get out of here,’ and together they almost burst through the doors of the hall and out into the open air.

‘Whew! I don’t think I could have stood another minute!’ Danny took great gulps of air. ‘It’s worse than being in the belly of a Manchester!’

‘What are you doing here? How did you know where to find me? How did you get here?’

‘Rescuing you, in answer to your first question. And not a moment too soon, by the look of it. As for your second question, you told me in your letter. Forgotten already?’ he teased gently. ‘And your last question – by truck, like you, I expect.’

‘But I thought you were miles away.’