‘Oh!’ For a moment he seemed nonplussed. ‘That’s – er – Danny from home?’

‘Yes, sir.’

‘I – didn’t realize he was stationed nearby.’

Kate remained silent, her gaze fixed on the top button of his jacket. Philip ran his hand distractedly through his short, springy hair. ‘I was worried sick, Kate. Don’t ever do that to me again.’

‘What?’ she could not prevent the surprise in her tone. His remark – nor the tone in his voice now – was not that of a commanding officer. Then she recollected herself. ‘No, sir.’

He stood up and came round the desk. ‘You can stop standing there like you’re on parade now.’

She relaxed and, for the first time, met his eyes. The anger had gone, but the anxiety still lingered. ‘A girl was injured last week walking back to camp in the night. It was an accident, of course, but in the blackout, the driver didn’t see her,’ he explained softly. ‘I couldn’t get it out of my mind when I knew you weren’t back.’

‘How did you know I wasn’t back?’ she asked in a small voice.

He smiled now, a little sheepishly, Kate thought. ‘Oh, I – er – sent for you. Your friends tried to cover for you valiantly, but it was obvious you weren’t there and that they didn’t know where you were.’

‘I’m sorry. Did you want driving somewhere?’

‘No,’ he said, but did not offer any further explanation.

Kate was thankful that Philip took no further action against her or Flight Sergeant Martin, although it rather surprised her. He had been so very angry at first, yet his fury seemed to stem from anxiety about her safety rather than that she had broken the rules.

She doubted Danny had been so fortunate and she waited anxiously for a letter. But the days went by, a week and then two, and no word came from Danny.

‘The Adj has just rung through,’ Chiefy bent his head under the raised bonnet of the Humber where Kate was changing the plugs. ‘CO’s been summoned to a high level meeting at Group HQ. You’re likely to be very late back . . .’ He grinned at her. ‘Officially, this time!’

‘Sir!’ Kate smiled and connected the final plug. She packed up her tool kit, wiped her hands on a rag and then sprinted to the wash-room.

Seven hours later she was dozing fitfully in the car parked in the sweeping driveway of Group Headquarters when the sudden sound of someone opening the passenger door and climbing in made her jump.

‘Oh, I’m sorry, sir . . .’

‘Don’t apologize, Kate,’ Philip said gently, his voice heavy with tiredness. ‘I hope you haven’t been sitting here all this time. Have you had something to eat?’

‘Oh yes, I’ve been fine. I only came back to the car about an hour ago when I heard the meeting was breaking up.’