Before retiring for the night, Josephine got on her knees at her bedside and prayed. I wrote a letter to Manno. He had been such a big part of my journey so far that I decided to tell him about the portholes. I had to tell somebody; it was eating me up. I needed to discuss it with an older, wiser person before it slipped out by accident. I thanked him for the way he had cared for us all, and told him I was sorry we parted, and that I would come back one day, if I could. I sealed the letter and placed it in my apron pocket. The post was censored, so the last thing I wanted was for someone to read it. I would post it from whichever port we called into next.

Then I slipped out to search for Perkins and found him on a bed in the medical centre. ‘Ah, here we are. How are you doing, Corporal?’

‘For a soldier with his head sliced open by a twenty-four-foot propeller, arm shattered by the back axle of a three-ton jeep, and leg chopped off by an overzealous surgeon, I can safely say I’m as well as can be expected. Kiss me.’

‘Behave, Corporal! You’re exaggerating, and the man I’ve come to care for is bigger than that.’

‘Do you really care for this wreck of a man, nurse?’ He peered at me with forlorn eyes, a man lost in his situation with no idea how to handle it, and wondering where he will end up. ‘I feel so completely alone. Sometimes, I wish you hadn’t saved me.’

Oh, poor man. ‘Don’t you dare talk like that, Corporal. You have my blood flowing through you, and let me tell you; I am courageous, and I come from a long line of courageous people! So you just gather up all that courageous blood of mine and keep a grip on it, do you understand me, soldier?’

‘He kissed you, I saw. They were taking me on board.’

‘He took a liberty and admittedly I should have slapped him, but I was too shocked, Corporal. Now, no more nonsense. I’ll thank you not to mention it again. Did they feed you?’

‘I think they forgot; but it’s not food I’m hungering after, Nurse Gertie.’

I ignored his boldness. ‘I’ll go and see if I can get you something from the galley.’

‘I love you,’ he said.

‘Don’t talk such nonsense! You hardly know me.’

I dared to glance into his eyes and caught a sudden flash of the truth.