Will, tired and drained, had to turn down Philip’s offer to sample some of the local beers. He made up his mind to bring Kate to Canada for a holiday as soon as she was better.

‘Hey, if you do come out again you guys have to stay with us! And you too, Matt! And bring that Liz of yours, we’d love to meet her. We have some great places we can take you all to, and Sophie would love it.’

Sophie clung to Will all evening, until she was too tired to stay awake. He kissed her goodnight and promised to ring her often, and as Annette led her up to bed, she began to cry.

Before he left, Will went to her bedroom to see her. Sophie lay in bed, her chestnut hair spread over the pillow, and he saw his little sister again.

Mitch picked them up just before ten. ‘I just had a call from the base. You are on a flight tomorrow. It has been delayed a bit though. Take-off is now at twenty-two hundred hours. You should be in England by about three in the afternoon, local time. Which gives you almost a day here. I could run you out to Moose Jaw, if you like, show you around the base.’

Will glanced at Matt, who nodded. ‘Great, we’d love it. I’ve said my goodbyes here, and I don’t want to upset Sophie again.’

Soon, they were back at the hotel. Will was shattered. His back ached and his arm throbbed.

‘Come to my room and we’ll have a snifter before we turn in,’ said Matt. ‘It’ll help you sleep.’

Will agreed. Despite his fatigue, he wasn’t looking forward to climbing into a cold hotel bed. He wanted his wife and their own warm bed in Holland House. A whisky might deaden all sorts of pain.

After Matt had poured the drinks, he said, ‘I’ll just give Liz a quick bell, even though it’s around five in the morning there. She sent you her love when I spoke to her earlier, by the way.’

Will settled into an armchair, listening to Matt’s conversation with a pang of envy. No conflict, no silences, no trying to read between the lines. Why couldn’t his conversations with Kate be like that?

Matt’s face became more serious, and he said, ‘I’ll pass that on to Will, darling. Now, I’ll let you go, and hopefully I’ll see you later tomorrow night.’