‘But I thought you wanted a big affair?’ Cissie queried.

Lavinia shook her head. ‘It wouldn’t seem right now in view of what’s happened. How could we enjoy our day, knowing that young men and our loved ones were away fighting for our country? No, William and I will be quite content with a nice quiet affair. I was hoping that you would give me away, Tom.’

Tom flushed with pleasure. ‘It would be an honour. But now I must go and see to the horses if you’ll all excuse me. From what I heard whispered in town it won’t be only the men that are going to be shipped off to war. They intend to take all the healthy horses too.’ He left then without looking so much as once at his wife as she stood there tearing at the handkerchief in her hands.

Cissie and George drifted away too then. George had decided that for now he would remain at Treetops to try and keep the place running, although he couldn’t promise that he would never enlist if hostilities didn’t end as quickly as everyone was forecasting. There was no way he wanted to be branded a coward.

‘Why don’t you go and persuade Cook to make us all a nice cup of tea, darling?’ Lavinia suggested to William and he obligingly went off to do as requested although he wondered if he would get any sense out of Mrs Cotton. Her loud sobs had been heard echoing all along the hallway for most of the morning, for her grandson had enlisted too and she was already worried sick about how he would fare. Even the children were subdued; they had picked up on the uneasy atmosphere and were drifting about the house like silent little ghosts.

Once alone with her daughter, Lavinia told her, ‘William and I have also decided that due to the circumstances we shall live here rather than in his townhouse after the wedding. With Ben and Tom going you will need all the help you can get, but I’m sure we shall manage between us.’

Still stunned at the developments, Sunday merely nodded and deciding that it was time she spoke out, Lavinia said: ‘Don’t you think it’s time you and Tom were friends again? Do you really want him to go away to war with things so strained between you? I don’t want to interfere between husband and wife, sweetheart, but this estrangement has gone on for long enough. How will you live with yourself if anything should happen to him, knowing that you sent him away feeling unloved and unwanted?’

For a moment Sunday merely chewed on her lip as she blinked back tears. But suddenly they gushed from her eyes and poured down her cheeks. ‘But I do still love him and want him,’ she sobbed.

‘Then tell him before it’s too late,’ her mother advised and drawing her into her arms she held her convulsing frame close to her.