The train whistle shrieked loudly, causing them to jump. ‘That’s me!’ said Gethin. Breaking away from Mabel, he slid his hand into hers and led her over to where his parents and Roz stood patiently waiting. His mother burst into a fresh bout of tears as he heaved his bag over his shoulder and kissed her on the cheek.

Waving a cheery goodbye, he jumped aboard the train, just before the guard slammed the carriage door shut.

It may have only been a couple of weeks, but Mabel and Roz felt as though they had known the Davieses a lot longer.

As the train pulled out of the station, Roz turned to Mabel, who was trying to smile through her tears. ‘At least you can write to him; I wish I could do that with Felix.’

‘I shall write the moment we get home, and every day after that,’ Mabel said firmly.

Heulwyn fell into step beside her. ‘I’m glad our Gethin’s found a good, honest, hard-working girl to come back to.’

The blush returned with lightning speed as Mabel looked cautiously at the older woman. ‘I didn’t know he was going to kiss me …’ she began, only to be waved into silence by Heulwyn who was smiling warmly at her.

‘Like I said, I’m glad our Gethin’s got a girl like you to come home to; it might encourage him to take extra care out there!’

Having had the seal of approval from Gethin’s parents, Mabel felt on top of the world. She just wished he was here to hear it.

Nearly three weeks had passed since Roz had written to Bill and Alan, and she was beginning to wonder whether they had received her letter when she finally got a reply.

Dear Roz

I’m so sorry we didn’t tell you about the Dunera, but we had no idea whether Felix had been involved in any of the unpleasantness and didn’t wish to upset you unnecessarily. With hindsight we should have realised you would find out eventually, which of course is worse than if we had just been straight from the start. We have been as worried as you, but hoped that no news was good news, and as luck would have it, it turned out we were right. We received a letter from Felix just two days ago, saying that he would be returning to serve in His Majesty’s army! Of course we were over the moon to hear that not only was he alright, but that he was coming home! I have written back with your address but it’s quite probable that he will be halfway back to Blighty before it reaches him. However, he knows where we are, and we’re certain he’ll pop round as soon as he docks, so we’ll pass it on to him then.

I hope this brings you some comfort, and I’m terribly sorry if we worried you unduly. We know you’ve heard about the bombings, but thankfully they aren’t as bad as they are in other parts of the country …