‘Ah well, what will be will be,’ Sunday said quietly as she carried his drink to the table. ‘But now come and have this while it’s hot. And take those boots off. There’s snow melting all over my clean floor.’

With a guilty grin he did as he was told.

‘And now you can tell me what else is wrong,’ Sunday said bossily when he was seated and staring into his cup with a worried expression on his face. She knew him well enough by now to know that something was on his mind.

‘It’s young Bobby. He set off for London yesterday to check on his family and we’ve no idea where he is. I’ve reported him missing to the police, of course, but all we can do now is wait and pray that he turns up safely.’

Sunday frowned. They had all grown to be very fond of John’s little evacuees, especially Edith, and Sunday could only imagine how upset she must be.

‘Try not to worry; he’ll turn up. He’s a tough little chap,’ she said reassuringly as she gently squeezed John’s hand and they both lapsed into silence as they thought of the missing child and prayed that he was safe.

At the RAF airfield in Lincolnshire, Livvy was heading for the canteen. She had just done a ten-hour shift straight through the night and was so tired she was sure she could have fallen asleep on a clothesline. It had not been a good night. Two of their pilots had not come back. One of the pilots who had returned safely had chokily told them that he had witnessed one plane take a direct hit and go up in a ball of flames, so there was little hope the pilot had survived. The other plane had been hit in the wing and the pilot had managed to bail out as the plane spiralled to earth. Now all they could do was hope he had made it safely to the ground and managed to escape, or at worst been taken prisoner. So, all in all, Livvy was not feeling or looking her best as she entered the steamy canteen that smelled strongly of boiled cabbage and mince. There was no need to guess what they would be having for lunch today.

She was standing at the counter with a tray in her hand when someone tapped her lightly on the shoulder and, turning quickly, she found herself staring up into Giles’s handsome face. He was dressed in his flying gear and due to go out on a raid in less than an hour.

‘Small world, eh?’ he said teasingly. ‘Fancy seeing you here.’

She wondered whether she should tell him that she’d known he was there but then quickly decided against it. He would only wonder why she hadn’t sought him out.

‘Hello, Giles, how are you?’