‘Good, I’m glad, as he deserves only the best. Now, you look tired. It’s been a lovely night – a distraction. I’ll see you back to your hotel. And, Sibbie, good luck for the future. I sincerely hope our lives cross again, but as long as I’m office-bound, I will be watching your progress.’

Marjie walked hand-in-hand with Wills. The pavements were icy and the air so cold it chilled them to the bone, but she didn’t care. How this had happened to her so quickly she couldn’t imagine, but it had, and her heart was heavy with the thought of them having so little time together.

‘Marjie, I’m afraid for you. It isn’t easy in the field. Please don’t take any chances.’

‘The nature of the work is all about chances, as I understand it, Wills. I have been trained. Try not to worry.’

He stopped walking and pulled her round to face him. ‘I can’t bear to lose you, Marjie. I know it was only today that we met, but I feel as though you are the completion of my life.’

She was looking up into Wills’s eyes, and although the darkness prevented her from seeing him properly, the small amount of moonlight captured the lovely depth in his look.

‘Oh, Marjie, I can’t understand what is happening. I’ve never felt this way before.’

‘Nor me. Not that I have had any boyfriends before . . . Oh, I – I didn’t mean that. I . . . I mean—’

‘I am your boyfriend. At least, I want to be. Will you have me as that, Marjie?’

‘I will. Oh, Wills, I will.’

‘And although it will be difficult, will you write to me occasionally?’

A deep sadness entered Marjie. Why – why did this happen now? She had been so ready. Ready to take on anything asked of her. Now she didn’t ever want to leave London and Wills’s side.

He didn’t speak again, but took her chin in his hand and bent his head towards her. The moment she’d ached for all evening was upon her. When his lips touched hers, Marjie melted into his body. The kiss consumed her, taking her to a place where her body floated, and her heart filled her chest. Wills’s muttered ‘I love you’, as he came out of the kiss, completed her world.

‘I love you, Wills. I don’t know how, or why, but I do.’

Wills chuckled as he pulled her into him and cuddled her in his arms. ‘The how is out of our control, darling Marjie; and the why is something that I am mystified by. But I am so happy that it really doesn’t matter.’

Marjie wanted never to come out of his arms.