‘My, how we’ve risen in the world,’ Monty gasped, as the car swooped around the courtyard, coming to a stop in front of the stone porch. ‘And this was where you lived for a couple of years? Where you invented it all?’

Vic nodded. It reminded him of returning to school after an exeat: for twenty-four hours beforehand he’d have headaches and be too nervous to eat, but once he got there and saw his friends, it felt as though he’d never been away. To his relief, as they climbed out of the car and entered through the front porch, he saw no sign of Kath, nor any other WAAFs. They must all be at work or asleep in the new barracks they’d seen behind the clock house.

As they sat in the panelled hallway waiting for the station commander to arrive, he recalled that very first day, how overawed he’d been by Watson-Watt’s palatial, leather-lined office, and how he’d tucked into leftover cake and biscuits as the big man described his astonishing vision.

‘It’s Mackensie and Montgomery, the two M’s, I’ll be bound. Come to the rescue, I hope.’ The commander’s voice boomed through the hall. ‘Come in, come in, you are most welcome. Would you care for coffee?’ He rang a bell, and a batwoman arrived to take their orders.

Vic found himself sitting in the very same spot, on the very same overstuffed leather sofa in front of the manorial fireplace. ‘By golly, we’re pleased to see you,’ Padmore said, after the batwoman had left. ‘We’re in a bit of a fix with the IFF receiver. Stanmore’s shouting blue murder and the girls are going spare.’

Vic glanced out of the window at the darkening sky. ‘You want us to fix it now, sir?’

‘There’s a big push on tonight, and we’ll need to count them back again tomorrow morning. Sooner you can fix it, the more likely you’ll save me from getting court-martialled,’ he added without the hint of a smile. ‘Just wait a sec while we get your passes. They’re a lot tighter on security than when you were here last, Mackensie. Get a bit jumpy around chaps in civvies. Oh, and you’ll need a room key. Here you go; it’s one of the guest rooms just above here.’

The key fob said Room Six. The same one Vic had shared with Johnnie. Wish me luck with this one, old friend, he murmured as he turned the key.

Of course he had no idea which of the radar systems Kath would be working on, or how the shift patterns worked, but as they made their way in darkness across the courtyard and past the clock house, he prayed that she would not be on duty tonight. He still hadn’t worked out how to react, should they meet. And how would she respond, on seeing him? She would be startled, of course, and it would be no surprise if she blanked him completely. Perhaps that would be for the best.