Daisy was head over heels in love with Alex; and Florrie and Giles, Daisy knew, were very attracted to each other. Giles was a little hesitant, though. He didn’t believe in the kind of romance that could occur in such a place, and thought that the place to meet the love of his life must be England. However, Daisy suspected that his feelings for Florrie were breaking down this resistance, which she thought had its roots in snobbery. Florrie, with her northern accent and lovely open nature, which displayed no sophistication whatsoever, wasn’t exactly officer-wife material. Despite this, Daisy liked Giles and felt sorry for him being trapped by convention.

As she listened to Matron now, Daisy’s heart felt heavy. The rumours were terrifying and a whole different atmosphere permeated the hospital than had been their first experience. Bett nudged her. It was something she often did when she’d seen something to giggle at, so Daisy was shocked when she glanced at Bett’s face and saw a look of terror.

Bett’s lovely face, which dimpled when she smiled, distracted from the rest of her body, which showed that she liked to eat a lot. Normally a jolly person, taking everything in her stride, it was disconcerting to see that happiness desert her. Moving a little closer to her, Daisy found Bett’s hand and squeezed it, trying to offer reassurance.

When Matron dismissed them, Bett’s voice shook with fear. ‘If the Japanese come, we’ll all be killed. They slice your head off. Oh, Daisy, I’m so afraid.’

‘I knaw, we all are, but we can’t show it. Matron said there are plans to evacuate us all, if it looks like the defence of the island won’t hold. Take every note of the procedures and you’ll be fine. We all will. The army will protect us, and there’ll be plenty of ships to take us away from here. Try to be strong for the younger ones, Bett. It’s our duty.’

‘I will, Daisy. I suppose, where you come from, you are born tough. But I’ve known nothing but a gentle life, being protected from harm, and I don’t know how to do that for myself.’

‘I were protected by the best ma that a girl could have, but not mollycoddled; we had to learn to stand on our own two feet. You’ve done that, too, Bett. You left the family home and trained to be a nurse; you cope in some dire situations, when we ain’t got enough beds and men are screaming in agony around us. I’ve even seen you give your own blood for a soldier and carry on working to administer it, to save his life. You are brave and strong, Bett – you are. And it is now our turn to protect those in our charge. We can do it.’