‘Well, it began in Woodchurch in Kent and as a schoolgirl I used to catch the bus to Ashford. It was an eight-mile journey and I knew every twist and turn. It used to stop in a little hamlet called Stubbs Cross and the driver would call out, “Stubbs Cross … and so am I!” We all laughed, even though we had heard it countless times. Then Jeremy would climb on board and he would sit next to me. He was my childhood sweetheart. There was never any other.’

Lily watched the delicate movements and gestures of this considerate lady. She became animated as the fleeting pictures of her past were captured in her reminiscences. ‘I remember seeing a doodlebug and thought it was a noisy plane with fire coming out of the tail. Then three of them landed on our farm and I swept up the broken glass outside the cowshed.’

‘You were lucky to have survived,’ said Lily.

‘Petrol rationing meant a ride in a motor car was something very special, but Jeremy took me out to the coast one day in an old Austin Seven Tourer. After that, although the sea was only ten miles away, it was out of bounds. We had a picnic and he asked me to marry him. Of course, I said yes.’ Her eyes glistened with the memory of that moment.

‘That night Mother had made her speciality, rabbit stew covered in breadcrumbs. We thought it was a feast. It was our last meal together. He went off the next day and I was left behind. I never saw him again.’

In the distance the church clock chimed the hour.

‘So what’s your story, Lily?’ asked Prudence.

Lily smiled and shook her head. ‘Nothing like yours. I was in the Land Army and, after the war, I continued my education. I attended Royal Holloway and gained a General School Certificate in Maths and Physics. That was followed by a Diploma in Education at the London Institute, because I always wanted to be a teacher. They gave me a grant, which meant I had to agree to teaching in a southern counties school. Then, after my father died, I secured the vacant post here in Ragley and we moved to Yorkshire.’

‘And I’m so pleased you did,’ said Prudence. ‘The school has gained a wonderful teacher and I have a new friend.’

A new friend, thought Lily as she cycled home. The beginnings of an idea were forming in her mind.

It was late evening when Doris Clutterbuck took out her Ewbank carpet sweeper from the cupboard under the stairs and began to clean the floor of the Tea Rooms.

‘Important t’freshen it up,’ she said to herself.

Finally, she climbed the stairs to her flat and took a sip of the hot bedtime drink that was waiting for her. She smiled. ‘Sleep sweeter … Bournvita,’ she sang quietly to herself.