Hushed activity at the church door incites the organist to break into a flourishing voluntary. Jack peers around as Gwen retakes her seat and hangs up her hassock. He catches his breath.

The last of the congregation has arrived. The Allinghams have appeared in full force – the parents, the son, the pretty fiancée. Jack watches Gordon shake hands with the vicar but returns his eyes to the front as the family begin to glide up the aisle with an inherent air of privilege, bestowing a gracious nod here and a beatific smile there.

But there is no such offering for Gwen or her father. They walk straight past, the click of their heels just discernible beneath the sound of the organ as it builds to a wheezing crescendo in perfect time for them to take their seats. Jack notices how attentive Gordon is to his fiancée, placing his hand on the small of her back as he guides her into the family’s boxed pew. He is struck by the adoration in her eyes as she darts him a grateful look, her pink-painted lips twitching. Gordon pinches up his trousers and sits down beside her. He does not once look at Gwen, and her head remains bowed.

There is a flow to the service that Jack, to his surprise, finds calming – stand, sit down, stand and sing, sit down. The vicar’s words wash over him and for a while, he almost forgets why he is there – until his name is read aloud for all to hear. He looks up, blinking, confused as it resonates into Gwen’s. She stiffens beside him. Whispers circle the congregation.

For a fleeting moment, Gordon Allingham unwittingly betrays some emotion that Jack can’t quite construe, before his mask of idle disinterest returns. As the vicar concludes, Gordon’s gaze sidles across the pews until it settles on Gwen. And then his eyes snag on Jack’s. They stare at each other down the length of the nave. The muscle in Jack’s jaw twitches.

He takes some satisfaction from the fact that it is the other man who looks away first.

Nobody lingers in the graveyard after the service, which has served as little more than a prelude to the day’s main event. All feel an irrepressible need to return to their wireless sets and tune in for the latest developments. There is a sombre air of expectation.

They walk quickly back through the village. Muriel invites them into her little cottage, but hearing the banns read has left Jim agitated and he wants to get home. He carries on walking, leaving Gwen to mutter their apologies.