He moved towards her and kissed her gently, careful not to jolt her arm. ‘There, that’s just for starters,’ he said. ‘We need never be separated again, Kitty. When you’re well again we can celebrate properly. Make up for lost time.’ He folded her into his arms, stroking her back, breathing against her neck, closing his eyes, and taking in all the sensations that were pulsing through him.

Kitty sighed and stroked him back with her good arm, burrowing her forehead against his chest, where she fitted as if she was made to be there. Finally she gave a little sigh. ‘Frank … I’m sorry, I can’t keep my eyes open any longer.’

‘Then sleep tight, my darling Kitty,’ he said softly, carefully releasing her, but she was already asleep. He curled around her, vowing that this would be the beginning of many years of their lives together. Slowly he too fell asleep on top of the covers, one arm resting around Kitty’s waist, protecting her from whatever the fates could send her way, for ever.

‘So you are the little boy’s mother, Mrs … Mrs …’

‘Kerrigan,’ Nancy said between gritted teeth to the policeman. She thought she really was going to be sick. Never in her wildest dreams did she think this would ever happen to her, that her little Georgie would go missing. She was trembling with shock as she sat on her mother’s settee. Violet had gone to fetch her a cup of tea.

‘And you were not at home last night?’

‘I’ve told you already,’ she gasped. ‘I was with a friend in town and Georgie was staying with his cousin Tommy for a treat. Well, they’re as good as cousins. He’d been going on about it for ages, but we only decided he could do it a couple of days ago.’

The policeman nodded. He’d been over and over the story to see if anyone’s statement didn’t match, but they had all said the same thing. Nobody outside the immediate families would have known the boy was there. It made no sense that someone could have planned to snatch him in advance. The family members themselves seemed very unlikely suspects; he’d been surrounded by anxious enquiries and offers of hot drinks and biscuits since he arrived, everyone clearly desperate to find the little boy. The grandfather had wanted to stay home from his salvage job, but the policeman had persuaded him to go, with a promise of getting a message to him if anything changed.

‘And there’s no likelihood he would have gone home and your mother-in-law has him?’ he asked.

Nancy shook her head vehemently. ‘No, there’s no likelihood of that at all.’

The policeman nodded again. His colleague had gone to check that for himself, but he’d wanted to hear the mother’s answer nonetheless.