How she said all this without breaking down, Ella didn’t know. A lot of the courage that she had gained, when nursing just behind the front lines of the Somme and Ypres, had seeped back into her now. She’d experienced so much. She never thought to see it again and had managed to tuck it away, and get on with her life. Now that wonderful, beautiful life they had made lay in tatters and she knew not what the future held. But she had this moment, didn’t she? This one moment in time with her loved ones.

‘My darling, I . . . Oh, Ella.’

Arnie’s arms were around her. Every fibre of her was alive to his touch and the feel of his strong body. Ella was etching it into her memory, so that she could at any time close her eyes and relive this moment. His lips, when they touched hers, felt like warm velvet. She could taste the sweetness of him and clung onto him. When he gently removed himself from her, the soft glow of the early sun, peeping over the mountain top, lit up the tears in his eyes.

‘Smile, my darling. Let me leave you seeing your lovely smile.’

His face creased into a smile of his own, the beauty of which stunned her for a moment. His cheeks dimpled. A tear that clung to his lashes spilled over. Ella watched it trace a path down his beloved cheek, then wiped it with her thumb. ‘I love you beyond my heart and my life. I will be by your side in all you do, my darling. Stay safe for me.’

‘Oh, Ella. Thank you for this send-off. Our parting is breaking me, but your courage gives me strength. It lets me know that you will be all right, and so will our beloved Lonia, in your care.’

Ella wanted to scream out that she wouldn’t be, but she held on to her composure. ‘I will protect our daughter with my life.’

‘And I will do the same for our son.’

This warmed Ella’s heart, as it always pleased her that Arnie had accepted Paulo as his own. ‘Then he will be safe, as I know that Paulo, his father, is looking down on him, too – on you both. I know he will watch over you.’

‘That’s a wonderful thought, darling. As I have said many times, I wish I could have met Paulo.’

‘You have.’ As she said this, Ella turned and gazed over at her son, Paulo. ‘He doesn’t only have his father’s name; he is his father personified.’

Paulo smiled back at her. Yes, he had tears glistening in his eyes, but she could see his love and courage shining through. Passing Lonia to Arnie, he embraced Ella.