Kitty’s face broke into a smile. ‘Oh, yes.’

‘So I was right about him all along, was I?’ Laura asked, just a little smugly. ‘I’ll leave you two in peace, then. Night night. Or what’s left of it. It’s pretty well morning, but we won’t worry about that just now.’ She slipped from the room and Frank came in.

He sat carefully on the edge of the bed and took Kitty’s right hand.

‘How are you now?’ he asked.

‘Not too bad at all,’ said Kitty staunchly. ‘The doctor was marvellous, wasn’t he? Staying up for us like that. He’s patched me up good and proper. What about you, though? That was a nasty cut on the side of your head and you didn’t say a thing about it. I was a bit worried when you kept fading away.’

‘It’s nothing.’ Frank grinned. ‘Believe me, I’ve had worse.’ He tapped his leg. ‘Now that was pretty bad, I don’t mind admitting, after all this time. What a good job I had the false leg though. The ARP man took one look at it and noticed how crushed it was – if it had been my other good leg, I could have bled to death from the injury. So, in a strange way, it saved me.’

Kitty squeezed his hand. ‘Then I’m glad too. I couldn’t have borne it if you hadn’t survived, Frank. You mean the world to me, I see that now.’ She sighed but her eyes were bright, full of the knowledge that what was happening between them was exactly right. ‘Thank you for all you said when we were trapped down there. I might have given up hope without you.’

‘Nonsense.’ He squeezed her hand back. ‘You’re made of steel, Kitty Callaghan. You might not look tough but I know you are. You weren’t going to give up, not for a minute.’ He gazed into her deep blue eyes. ‘I just wish I could lie down here with you and take you in my arms like I’ve longed to do for so long.’

She grinned at him. ‘Well, you can’t. Doctor’s orders. Or at least,’ she added, ‘only if you’re very careful.’

‘As long as I know you want to as well,’ he breathed. She shuffled cautiously and he stretched out beside her.

Kitty looked at him seriously. ‘Frank, you’re the man I’ve wanted ever since I was old enough to know what these feelings meant. I can’t wait to be with you properly. You are my only love, and the thought of being without you is more than I can bear.’