‘Welcome home,’ they chorused joyfully as he stood at the bottom of the steps leaning heavily on a stick with Livvy supporting him. He was still very weak, but the doctors were certain that with love and care he would eventually make a full recovery.

Giles felt tears sting at the back of his eyes. There had been times when he was locked away in the camp that he had truly thought he would never see their beloved faces again but here they all were.

‘Come along in,’ Cissie said bossily. ‘You look tired and you’re all skin an’ bone. I can see I ’ave some serious fattening up to do wi’ you, young man.’

They headed to the kitchen where the kettle was singing on the hob and the delicious smell of roast chicken filled the air. For at least half an hour one or another of them chatted non-stop as they caught up on everything, but it was Sunday who eventually said, ‘And now we have another wedding to plan, how wonderful.’

Giles and Livvy exchanged a guilty glance and the room became silent as everyone stopped talking and looked quizzically towards them.

‘Have I said something wrong?’ Sunday asked with a frown. ‘I wasn’t trying to rush you if that’s what you’re thinking, only I—’

‘Mum, it isn’t that,’ Livvy interrupted as she took Giles’s hand. ‘It’s just that … Well, I’m not sure how you’re going to take this, so I’ll just come out and tell you … Giles and I were married three days ago in the hospital chapel in Plymouth. I’m so sorry to spring it on you like this, we both are, but Giles still has a long way to go before he’s fully well again and we just couldn’t face a big fuss.’

Sunday looked astounded and for the first time she noticed the thin, gold band on Livvy’s left hand glinting in the sun that shone through the window.

‘B-but how did you manage that?’

Livvy gave another guilty grin. ‘We had a long chat to the matron there – she’s such a dear soul – and we told her how we felt and, bless her, she organised everything from the licence to the service. She even stood as one of our witnesses. But you didn’t miss a lot, really! It was a very, very quiet affair, I promise you … Do you all forgive us?’

She held her breath as she glanced at each of them in turn. For a moment there was a stunned silence, but then they surged forward to shake Giles’s hand and kiss Livvy.