All of it was very unlike Viv, who loved to add fanfare to any event, even something as common as afternoon tea.

Grace quickly acquired two cups and studied her friend. “Something is weighing on you. What is it?”

Viv sank into the opposite chair and sighed. Her gaze wandered to the barren garden outside where Colin’s planting efforts for Dig for Victory had been frozen over by the winter’s brutality. A mound humped up from the middle of the desiccated flower beds where the Andy was buried. Normally a garden would have been locked in winter dormancy, but now there was only bare earth, stripped to stark desolation.

“Do you ever feel like you don’t do enough?” Viv took a sip of her tea and left a red half-moon on the cup’s rim from her lipstick.

Grace wrapped her hands around the heat of her teacup. The last week had been cold enough to freeze a mix of snow and ice on the ground. Though the kitchen was the warmest room in the townhouse, Grace’s hands never seemed to thoroughly thaw.

“This war will continue until we do something.” Viv’s large brown eyes were apprehensive.

Whatever she had to say, she knew Grace would not like it.

Nervousness tightened in Grace’s stomach. “What are you going on about?”

Viv’s mouth twisted slightly, indicating she was biting her lip, a confirmation that she was indeed anxious. “I can’t do it any longer. You know I’ve never been one to sit around waiting for things to happen.”

Grace set aside her teacup. She did know. Viv had always run headfirst into life, ready for whatever she might face. “The ATS?” Grace surmised.

Viv nodded. “The uniforms are ghastly, I know, but the service suits my talents. And it’s far better than becoming a Land Girl.”

The Land Girls were part of the Women’s Land Army, a group of women who assisted with growing crops. While the service was voluntary, it didn’t mean people wouldn’t pressure Viv to join if they knew anything of her history with her parents’ farm.

She’d heard from her parents only once in the time since they’d arrived in London. In the letter, her mother had expressed her displeasure at Viv’s abrupt departure and told her to not bother returning. Viv had passed it off indifferently with a light jest, but Grace knew it had cut her deeply.

“You’d make a fine Land Girl,” Grace protested as she bit back a smile.