She was thankful in one way that beating her was all he had done. It could have been so much worse. From her work at the hospital and the Red Cross post, she’d come across horrendous stories: men forcing themselves on women under cover of the blackout, taking advantage of the most vulnerable. She shivered. All the same, her head was ringing with the agony from the punches and she was sure her body would be bruised in the morning. She hadn’t exactly got off lightly.

When she’d done all she could, she rinsed out the ruined tea towel and wrung it tightly, before hiding it under the sink – she didn’t want Georgie to see it in the morning. She hoped he and Tommy had slept through everything, and were safely in their beds. She thought she’d better find her first-aid kit, which she’d brought with her from habit. It would be in her bag, back up in the bedroom. She would check on the boys while she was up there. She stumbled a little as she mounted the stairs, at once weary and yet with no inclination to sleep, shaky with energy from the shock. She had no idea for how long she’d passed out, or been in the kitchen, or what the time was now.

Tommy came out of his room as she reached the top. She angled her torch so he wouldn’t see her face.

‘Sorry, did I wake you? I just needed something from the kitchen.’ She tried to make her voice as normal as she could.

Tommy shook his head. ‘It doesn’t matter,’ he said. ‘I had a bad nightmare. There was crashing and banging and screaming, I didn’t know what was going on. I just woke up. But where’s Georgie?’

Kitty awoke from a doze, confused and thirsty. She could feel pins and needles in her legs and the earthy smell was growing stronger. The air seemed more fetid. She knew she had to stay calm, but the temptation to give in to panic was strong. The tiny glimmer of light had vanished now.

‘Frank?’ she called hesitantly, afraid he still wouldn’t answer. For a moment her heart nearly stopped as there was only silence, and then she heard him give a quiet cough. ‘Sorry, Kitty, must have drifted off there for a moment.’

‘Me too.’ That was an understatement, and she knew he must have been drifting in and out of consciousness for much of their time underground.

‘It won’t be long now.’ He sounded weaker this time, his voice hoarse. ‘They’re bound to be with us soon.’