She could be proud of herself too, for taking on this position and doing it well. It wasn’t big-headed to say so; she’d been praised by her superior officer only this last week, and she knew she commanded the respect of her colleagues. She and Danny had made a safe home for Tommy, and guided him into a relatively safe job; that was a very big thing to be thankful for. Rita had had her baby safely, Jack had had a few shore leaves in the last year, and he and Rita were happy at last, against all the odds. Violet had had twins and they were thriving, despite the tragedy of Eddy’s death, which they had all felt so deeply. So there was much to be thankful for.

If only Danny didn’t have to go back to his residential course. It wasn’t for ever, but they evidently thought so highly of him that he’d been selected to continue working on a special project. She would never have admitted it to him but, after that night when Alfie Delaney had tried to get into her house, she kept expecting him to try again. He wouldn’t dare if he knew Danny was there. Perhaps he didn’t know Danny was going away again. She would have to hope that was the case.

If Frank had still been living across the road she’d have felt much safer, but he’d gone back to his billet and she hadn’t seen him since Christmas, as their shifts hadn’t coincided. She paused as she drew her scarf around her neck – a soft, warm one in elegant royal blue, a present from Laura. Heaven only knew how she’d come by such a gorgeous thing. For a second Kitty imagined Frank draping the scarf around her neck, tying it gently, tucking it into her collar. She shook her head to dismiss the image. There was no point. Frank had Sylvia, and anyway, when all was said and done, Kitty was nothing to him but a kid sister, no matter what her professional ranking. All the same, that look in his eyes as he’d sat by her fire at Christmas, as they waited for news of the birth – and then the stolen dance to the gramophone record … She took a deep breath, checked the blackout blinds were in place, and left the office. She knew what her midnight wish would be, no matter how fanciful it seemed. It was just that she couldn’t see any way that it would come true in the next year.

CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE