‘Where did you sleep then?’

‘Sometimes we slept in buildings or barns, but most of the time we were just out in woods and fields in shell scrapes or trenches, or just lying on the ground.’

‘Under the stars?’

‘Aye lad, under the stars.’

‘I want to sleep outside one night, but Mummy says I’m too little.’

Jack wisely remains neutral on the subject. ‘Well, you listen to your mam for now. She probably knows best.’

The boy nods. ‘Is that the same uniform you wore when you were fighting?’

Jack laughs. ‘Aye, it is.’ He lifts his arm and sniffs the coarse khaki fabric. ‘Does it honk a bit?’

Tom giggles and shakes his head. Silence descends again like a stage curtain.

‘Were you scared?’ the boy asks at last.

‘Aye … sometimes.’

Tom rests his forehead on his bony knees. They listen to the crackle of a squirrel racing up a tree and the resonant hammer of a woodpecker in the distance. Beyond the shelter, bronzed leaves drift lazily to the ground, tipping and falling on the breeze ruffling the canopy.

Tom raises his head. ‘When you were away …’ His voice is little more than a shy whisper, but it catches Jack’s attention immediately. The bravery behind it is tangible. ‘… Did you think of me and Mummy?’

Jack finds he is unable to answer. His throat is too tight. He swallows down emotion he did not think himself capable of until, finally, he trusts himself to speak.

‘Aye, lad. All the time … all the time.’

Gwen notices the sea change straight away. On their return to the farmhouse Tom chatters away nineteen to the dozen, firing questions at Jack and making demands on his attention without stopping for breath. They are carried into the kitchen on the incessant tide of his voice. Jack gamely tries to find pause to answer the boy as best he can, before being cut off by the next enquiry that springs from his inquisitive mind. Gwen does not know how to react to the delighted amusement playing in Muriel’s eyes, while Nora just laughs as she ducks outside to make use of the privy. At last, Gwen takes pity on Jack.

‘That’s enough, Tom, give your father a rest.’

And suddenly the kitchen falls still; only Tom carries on, oblivious to his mother’s choice of words. Jack lifts his gaze to Gwen and in the ensuing moment they flounder in things left unsaid. She is relieved when Tom asks Jack a question, forcing him to break away.

Now he has discovered his father, Tom is reluctant to let him go. He trails after him, faithful and reverent. Gwen is astonished by Jack’s endless patience, but the growing attachment renders her uneasy: she knows it cannot last and she fears the damage that will be wrought when it ends.