He stood on the landing, unsure of what to do. No sound came from behind the door, but he knew she was in there. He called her name, softly at first, then a little louder, but she did not reply.

He wanted to beat on the door, kick it in if necessary. Drag her out and scream at her to pull herself together. But he stood where he was, mute and powerless to act.

After a while, he returned to the garden with a can of lager for each of the men. He had nothing to say about Kate’s behaviour, but he didn’t want the village hearing that the woman at Holland House was crazy, so he mumbled something about her being very overtired after completing a gruelling assignment, and working so many late nights had stressed her out a bit. Then he attempted to turn their attention back to their rather strange find.

Neville said that the air-raid shelter was set low in the ground with an awful lot of soil heaped on top of it. They could still continue with their original design, or they could pull the whole thing out and get rid of it. What did he think?

To Will, there was no question. Get rid of it. It was a sad reminder of a horrible and frightening time. For a moment, he heard the drone of the enemy bombers and saw the flashes as the baskets of incendiaries fell. He heard screaming.

He shook himself. This was not like him. Heavens, when he was born the war was just a memory. While realising that Kate was not going to be happy with a decision concerning her precious Holland House that she had not been privy to, he told the men to rip it out and get shot of it.

Neville glanced skywards and said it looked as if it would have to be a job for the following day. Great boiling black clouds had gathered, and before the men could collect up their tools and run for cover, a violent storm had descended upon them.

Will shouted that he would see them the following day, but his words were lost in the wind. By the time he reached the kitchen, his clothes were soaked, and water was streaming from him on to the tiled floor. He ran to their bedroom, stripped off his wet clothes and towelled himself down. Wearing a dry sweatshirt and joggers, he went back out on to the landing.

‘Kate. Darling, come out and talk to me. Please.’

The silence ate into him. He wanted to scream, to break something. But instead he slipped slowly down the wall until he was sitting outside her door. ‘Kate, I’m staying here until you come out. If it takes a week, fine, I’ll still be here.’