‘Of course, if you forgive me.’

‘Well, we’re here now, and that’s all that matters.’

They sat in silence, hand in hand. Even though they were only yards from the sea, the walls of the dell seemed to insulate them from the sound. They could hear only the faintest of roars as the waves hit the beach, and the sigh that followed as the shingle shifted beneath the retreating waters.

‘I heard about the problems last night,’ he said, at last. ‘Monty said it was a really difficult shift, counting back the stragglers after that raid.’

‘He doesn’t know the half of it,’ she said quietly.

‘Do you want to tell me the other half?’

She gave a great, weary sigh. ‘My brother was on that raid. That’s why I’m out here. Can’t sleep for worrying about whether he got back safely.’

‘Most of them made it home, Monty said.’

‘But there was one – he probably told you – acting strangely, who we couldn’t identify. Flying along the coast, then wheeling and coming back again. We couldn’t see any “friendly” signal. I had to alert Stanmore, and they sent out the fighters.’

‘Which was the right thing to do.’

‘But what if it was him, Vic? What if it was Mark? And because of me he was shot down?’ Her voice broke.

‘You mustn’t allow yourself to think that, Kath. The IFF was working fine – we checked it again this morning.’ Even as he tried to reassure her, he heard the voice in his head: what if the receiver had failed, even after his adjustments? His mind flashed to that long-ago day in the old receiving room, the glow of pride when the test system worked, and the sickening moment when Scott uttered those terrible words, ‘They’re saying the plane is down, sir.’ He could still smell the new paint, even now.

Her voice brought him back. ‘I’m sure it was nothing to do with that. I heard about your heroic climb up the mast, Vic. I keep trying to tell myself that it was just circumstances. Maybe the plane’s transmitter was damaged; or perhaps it really was an enemy plane.’

‘You just reported what you saw. Stanmore would have verified everything before acting, and anyway the fighter crew would have checked the plane before firing at it. You did what you had to do in the circumstances. Whatever it was, it’s very unlikely to have been your brother. He’ll be safely cuddled up in his bunk, completely unaware that you’ve been worrying about him. It’s all in a day’s work for those guys,’ he said.

‘I hope you’re right. I put in a call to his base, but they never give out information till they’ve made completely sure . . .’ She shivered slightly. He put his arm around her shoulder and she snuggled up against him. In spite of her obvious distress, an unfamiliar feeling of contentment seemed to invade every pore of his body as he felt her warmth against his chest. He seemed to have been locked into a frozen state for weeks, but now something inside was melting, like frost on a lawn yielding as the sun chases the shadows away.