Screaming above the terrible noise, she cried out for Daisy.

‘They’ve gone, Florrie.’ Giles’s sobs registered his anguish and his fear, as he rolled his weight off her and pulled her towards him.

Florrie clung onto him. The angle of their bodies rushed the blood to her head. Water splashed onto her, making her feel so cold. ‘Giles, we’ve to get out of here or we’ll drown.’

He held her tighter. ‘There’s nowhere to go, Florrie, my darling. The corridor is blocked off both ways.’

‘What! Oh, Giles . . . Oh God, help us. HELP US!’

‘Florrie, Florrie, I’m here for you. I love you. I acted so stupidly. I – I’m sorry. Oh, my darling, if we were given the chance, I would make you so happy.’

‘You have made me happy, Giles . . . I love yo – you.’

The rising water choked her as the last word was spluttered out. Panic gripped Florrie as she stretched her neck, but she couldn’t get it above the water level. A sensation of falling seized her, and her body crashed into the cabin wall. Giles still held her, but one more violent lurching and her head split, with a blow that took her into a peaceful blackness. In the light in the far distance she saw Daisy. ‘Eeh, our Daisy, you look beautiful, lass.’

Daisy’s hand beckoned her. Florrie was filled with the greatest happiness she’d ever experienced in her life as her body floated towards her beloved sister.

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

Troyes, France

Sibbie and Marjie

The sound of the train bearing down on them terrified Marjie. But she carried on working away at attaching the detonators to the explosives they had taped to the bridge.

‘Are you finished, Marjie? We have to blow it now!’

‘Retreat!’

Looking up, Marjie made sure that Sibbie had followed her instruction, then set the detonator and ran for all she was worth into the long, thick brush. The thrust of the blast compelled her body the last few yards to safety. Still the train chugged forward, but as it came abreast to them, Marjie saw the driver lean out of his cab. She saw a look of horror cross his face, which was illuminated by the gas lights along the railway line, then the air was filled with the screeching of brakes as sparks flew from the wheels. Doors opened and soldiers tumbled out of the first and last carriages.

‘Fire!’