‘We might have a long wait ahead of us,’ George pointed out as he steered the car past the five-sailed windmill in Tuttle Hill, but Kathy laughed for the first time in weeks.

‘I don’t care if we have to wait all night,’ she said. ‘They’re coming home! Oh, George, I can hardly allow myself to believe it! There have been times when I thought I might never see them again and if that had been the case, I don’t think I would have been able to bear it.’

‘Well, you won’t have to now, will you?’ His face was wreathed in smiles. ‘An’ young Peggy will be made up an’ all. She’s been mopin’ about somethin’ terrible since her mates have been gone, bless her. She were hoppin’ from foot to foot wi’ excitement when I told ’er just now we was goin’ to fetch ’em!’

The next two hours were spent restlessly pacing up and down in the waiting room on the station platform but at last the distant sound of the train approaching was heard and both Kathy and George dashed outside to meet it. It was quite late by this time and few people alighted from the train but then, suddenly, the twins appeared and when they caught sight of their mother they shrieked with joy and flew towards her, their feet barely touching the ground.

‘Mummy, Mummy!’

They were all laughing and crying at the same time as Kathy clutched her children to her as if she would never let them go again. ‘I missed you so much,’ she said through her tears as she rained kisses onto their grubby cheeks. ‘Are you both all right?’

‘We are now,’ Thomas said solemnly. ‘But we didn’t like living with Ben. He said he was our daddy but that’s not true, is it, Mummy? He’s not our daddy, is he?’

‘Er … we’ll talk about it later,’ Kathy hedged. ‘For now, I just want to get you safely home.’ Turning to the woman who had brought them back she gave her a grateful smile. ‘Thank you so much. Have you somewhere to stay for the night? I doubt the trains will be running back to London again at this hour. Why don’t you come with us and you can catch the first train back in the morning?’

The woman, who was portly with soft, brown hair and a kindly face, smiled her thanks. ‘Thank you, if you’re quite sure I wouldn’t be imposing I’d love to take you up on your offer. To be honest I was so keen to get them home to you I didn’t give a lot of thought as to how was I going to get back.’

Moments later they were all bundled into the car, Kathy in the back with her arms about the twins, and Miss Blake, as the woman had introduced herself, in the front with George.