‘Code again, and this time it tells me that Paulo has joined the Maquis, the underground movement. See: “would not work” and “gone to Monsieur” – which she spelt wrongly – “Marqs’s coop”, which tells me it’s the Maquis group. And then “our youngest”, meaning my brother Monty, “will do whatever is asked of him” – means that he is willing to go to Germany, if called. Oh God, Sibbie, it just gets worse and worse. Poor Mama cannot express how she feels, but I know that her own heart, and Papa’s, must be breaking. Look, here she has written: “We are well, but often sit with the river flowing from the heart of the villag.” Code again, shown by the misspelling of “village”. So I decipher, this doesn’t mean they sit next to the river, but that through their hearts flows a river of tears.’

‘I’m so sorry, Marjie. It is all so awful for you – and for me, as I love them all dearly. Oh God, Paulo is in such danger!’

They fell silent again and held hands. In the distance they could hear a plane take off, followed by another, and then the sky above them darkened as they were encased in the roaring sound of the engines. Their eyes followed the craft travelling south, indicating that even more bombing was expected in the London and Kent regions. Had she thought her dear Rosie, Daisy and Florrie were safe? Please, God, don’t let any of the hospitals they are working in take a hit. And please take care of all of our families.

When the bombers had passed over, Sibbie realized that she and Marjie were clinging to each other as if their life depended on it.

‘Marjie, I know that letter brought sad news, but the coded messages are so clever. Look what she wrote, before her talk of birds: Life here goes on as normal. The grapes were good this year, though our hobby of keeping pigeons isn’t helping, as when they fly around, they peck the grapes, which annoys your papa. They don’t have pigeons, do they?’

‘No. And that is something that also alerted me there was a coded message to come. But now I fear that Mama will have to be even more careful, because with Paulo not answering the call to work in Germany, they will be looking for him, unless Aunt Ella has a reason for his whereabouts. And I’m thinking that part of their looking might be to intercept any mail.’

‘Yes, I can see that, but the code itself is brilliant. Your mama has even typed it, which makes it more authentic, as the misspelling could be typing mistakes. I think we should practise it. Write notes to each other. It will be fun to see if we always get the message. Then, if ever we need it, we can use it to communicate in secret.’