‘Can you get hold of the horse and bring him along?’ she called back. ‘They’ve got out of a hole in the hedge here. He must have been in the same field.’

He seemed to hesitate a moment before he said, ‘Right.’

It took a good twenty minutes to get all the cows back into the field and lastly the horse, who seemed the most reluctant of all to return.

‘Come on, boy,’ Kate said, letting him nuzzle her hand. ‘I’d have brought a sugar lump if I’d known we were going to meet like this.’

Philip’s voice came out of the blackness. ‘Oh, I don’t mind about the sugar.’

Kate giggled. ‘Careful, he might hear you . . .’

‘Not him! He’s staying safely in the car. You’d never think he was a DFC and yet daren’t get in amongst a herd of cows.’

‘Can you grab hold of his mane on your side? Come on, boy.’ There was a pause while they struggled to get the horse to move. Suddenly it shot forward, through the hole and into the field.

‘Thank goodness,’ Kate breathed relief. Together they turned to walk back towards the car.

Philip sneezed three times in quick succession. ‘Maybe he’s getting ready to award you the DFC Through the darkness she heard his deep chuckle. ‘Not the Distinguished Flying Cross, of course. I was thinking more of something like . . . Dispersing Frightening Cows.’

Reaching the car, Kate stifled her laughter. As she started the engine, Group Captain Sellick asked casually, ‘Brought up on a farm, were you, driver?’

‘Yes, sir.’

‘Ah – that explains it then.’

Beside him, Philip sneezed again – three times.

When they delivered their passenger to East Markham, Kate thought fleetingly that maybe Danny was quite close . . . Then, in the dim light, Kate’s attention was caught by the sight of a dark patch on the right side of Philip’s face. And he was still sneezing every few minutes. As they pulled away from the gate, she asked with concern, ‘Are you all right, sir?’

‘Kate – we’re on our own now. Drop all this “sir” nonsense. Yes, thanks, I’m fine.’ He didn’t sound it, she thought. He sounded as if he had suddenly developed a dreadful head cold.

‘But – your face . . .?’

‘It’s only a rash. It was the horse.’

Mystified, she repeated, ‘The horse?’

‘I get a kind of hay-fever when I get near horses and dogs.’

‘Really? Oh, I am sorry. I wouldn’t have asked you to help if I’d known.’

‘It’s nothing. It’ll wear off after a time.’

‘And the rash on your face . . .?’

‘I touched the horse and then my face. It’s all part of the allergy.’ He grinned. ‘Pull over a minute. I think I’ll sit up front with you – at least until we get back near camp. I rather like sitting next to you, Corporal Hilton.’

‘Pardon?’