At least until Mrs. Weatherford gave a bark of laughter. “As though you’d listen. But I’ll keep saying it, and you’ll keep ignoring me up until the day you understand why I’d been warning you.” Mrs. Weatherford lifted Tabby into her arms. The cat nuzzled her chin, and she spoke around his head-butting affection. “I assure you, I’d never send someone on my behalf when I’m more than capable of haranguing you on my own.” She hesitated. “Though I did wish to speak to you on another matter.”

Grace braced herself for something awful. As it seemed most news was these days.

“I’ve considered going through the necessary channels to adopt Jimmy and Sarah.” Mrs. Weatherford set Tabby down amid a puff of dispelled cat hair. “I wanted to see where your thoughts might lie on the matter of them living with us.”

The children had been doing so well, their progress noticeable with each week that passed. Not only did they both attend the readings now, but they were often at Mrs. Weatherford’s townhouse, either for supper or to help out in the garden. They brought laughter back into a house that had gone far too silent, and the idea of having them there permanently left a smile tugging at the corners of Grace’s mouth.

“That’s how I thought you might feel,” Mrs. Weatherford said with a grin. “I’ll speak with them tomorrow to see if the idea would be amenable to them as well.”

Grace nodded in reply and went up the stairs to her room. Fatigue had her in a tight grip, exactly the way she liked it. There would be no painful memories shuffling about her mind when she tried to find sleep, leaving her restless and tossing back and forth. It would be a sweet surrender to darkness later that night.

She opened her wardrobe to hang her coat and caught sight of her ARP uniform. They’d recently been given the new blue serge attire, with men in battledress and women in tunics with skirts. She wouldn’t have need of it this night when she was off duty.

Grace forced herself to stay awake and take supper with Mrs. Weatherford, who used the ration and guilt to encourage Grace to eat. Any meal made with bacon, butter, a sprinkle of cheese or a decent cut of meat was too precious to waste.

Once their meal was done and the dishes washed and put up, they prepared for a night at Farringdon Station. Though the air raids were less frequent, it was still preferable to spend the night in the tube station as a precaution.