She opened a bottle to please him, to keep the conversation going.

‘But there’s another thing, and it’s harder to put a finger on . . . now I feel as though I have a proper purpose.’

‘But you had a purpose before. You’ve always worked hard, Mark.’

‘This is real, Kath. It’s serious. They won’t be needing those trenches they’ve dug in the Crescent, ’cos we’re not going to be invaded from the sea, not any time soon. The next war – and there will be a war, despite what our mealy-mouthed politicians are saying – will be in the air. The Germans have hundreds of bombers and fighters, thousands even, and at the moment we wouldn’t stand a gnat’s chance. They could bomb us into oblivion. But we’re getting ready. We’re building planes like there’s no tomorrow, and training hundreds of pilots . . .’

She’d never heard him talk like this before. ‘You said it’d be ages before you start flying.’

‘That was just to reassure Ma. I start training after Christmas.’

‘That’s exciting. And terrifying.’ Now she wished he hadn’t told her.

‘I can’t wait, Kath. I just can’t bloody wait. We’re going to show those ruddy Germans.’

‘You will be careful, Mark?’

He shook his head. ‘It’s not a matter of being careful, Kath. You can be the most skilled pilot ever, but much of it is down to luck. Look at what happened to Ray.’

‘Did they ever find out what caused that crash?’

‘Airframe failure.’

‘I don’t understand.’

‘Nor do I. All they’re saying is that for some reason the structure of the plane failed, which is why it broke up and fell into the sea. There was nothing Ray could have done.’

‘Whose fault would that have been? Surely the engineers should have picked up the problem?’

‘I’m not sure it was anyone’s fault. These things aren’t always obvious on inspection. Like I said, it was just bad luck.’

From the fact that Vic had reappeared for meals and seemed to be back at work as normal, Kath assumed he had probably been exonerated from any blame. The few times she’d served him at lunch he’d been friendly, although more subdued than normal, quite thin and pale. She’d concocted some extra-special meat-free meals to try to encourage him to eat, and felt satisfied to see that his appetite was slowly returning.

But nothing could alter the fact that both Johnnie and Ray were gone, forever. ‘I’m so sorry, Mark,’ she said.

‘It’s fine, honestly, sis. Getting away has been good for me. I’ll always love him, but . . .’ He upended the bottle. ‘I’ve made new friends. There are plenty of men like me in the forces and no one questions our choices, so long as we’re discreet. Life is good.’

As they clinked glasses he smiled, happier than she’d seen him for ages. She was beginning to understand. Her brother was still the same person she’d always known, now grown into a remarkable, brave and wonderful young man.