‘I’m far too hot,’ moaned Kitty, taking the top sheet of the paper and fanning herself with it. Then she caught the headline and stopped. ‘That’s such good news, isn’t it? That’s a real milestone. Imagine what those people must be feeling after all that time. Did you read this page?’

‘Of course,’ said Danny. ‘I was as keen to find out what was going on as you are. It’s what we’ve all been hoping would happen for ages. We’ve got Hitler on the run, now. I didn’t just turn straight to the crossword.’

‘Well, you usually do,’ Kitty pointed out, sinking into a chair on the opposite side of the table to her brother. It was still early evening and the light was shining through the back window. It was far too warm to argue for long. ‘How was your day? You look as if there’s something on your mind.’

Danny squirmed. How was it that his sister could tell when he was worried? He thought he was pretty good at hiding his feelings when he had to, but it never worked with Sarah or Kitty. ‘Make me a cuppa and I’ll tell you,’ he suggested.

‘Danny, you are the limit.’ But she rose again and did as he asked, as she could now see something was wrong. She ran the cold tap, putting her wrists under the cool stream of water, and instantly felt better. Reaching for the milk, she asked, ‘Where’s Tommy?’

‘He went across to ask Pop about something.’ Danny was bending the truth a little – he’d sent his younger brother over the road with a question about spare parts for bikes. He knew that there was a strong likelihood Dolly would offer him something to eat and he’d be out of the house for a while. He didn’t want to share his news while his young brother was in the room.

‘So, then,’ said Kitty, setting down the teapot in front of him, ‘out with it.’ She pushed a stray dark curl out of her eye and sank back on to the chair.

Danny poured his tea, putting off the moment as long as he could. He slowly stirred it, adding a drop more milk to cool it down. He had no idea how his sister was going to react.

‘The thing is,’ he began, staring at the old table top. ‘I was called in to see Commander Stephens today. He asked me to go on a course.’

Kitty looked at him. ‘But that’s good, isn’t it? It shows that they rate you highly.’

Danny shrugged. ‘That’s as maybe. The trouble is, it’s not around here. It’s down south somewhere. An old house that’s been taken over. Bletchley something or other.’

‘Oh,’ said Kitty. ‘Will it be for long?’

‘Depends,’ said Danny. ‘I might not be any good, for a start.’