Dolly came downstairs, having settled the twins down for a nap, to find no Violet and no Nancy. She knew she shouldn’t, but she felt a quick rush of relief at having a moment of quiet to herself. It was a rare thing in her house and she needed to make the most of it, to use it to gather her strength for whatever was to come. Dolly naturally looked on the bright side of things, but she was having a great deal of difficulty finding a bright side to this. Sarah attacked, Georgie missing – what was going on? She was prepared for tragedy when it was caused by the war. Even though she would never forget her beloved Eddy, she knew he had died in a just cause and for something he wholeheartedly believed in. However, this new turn of events had taken the wind out of her sails.

That wouldn’t do. She knew her family depended on her and she couldn’t let them down. She had to trust that the police would find out what had happened to Georgie and that Sarah’s own resilience would help her to cope with her injuries. She was still sleeping now and that was the best thing for her. Dolly herself must try to comfort Nancy and take care of Tommy when he woke, as well as trying to reassure the other members of the family.

She was under no illusions about Nancy, recognising her middle child would use every available ruse to get her own way and often shirk her responsibilities. Yet this morning had shown her, if Dolly had ever had any doubts, that Nancy genuinely loved her little boy and was heartbroken that he’d gone missing. Deep down her maternal instincts were there, despite what most people thought.

The back door banged and Violet came back in, pushing a hand through her lank hair which had been caught in the stiff wind.

Dolly took in the sight of her daughter-in-law, face pinched with worry, and knew she was extremely anxious for Georgie. The little boy had won the heart of everyone who’d ever looked after him. He’d done nothing to deserve this.

Violet glanced around the room. ‘Where are Nancy and Tommy? Are the twins all right?’

‘The place is deserted,’ Dolly said. ‘Don’t see that often, do we? Don’t worry, the babies have settled down nicely and Tommy was asleep, last I heard.’

Violet raised her hand to her forehead. ‘They’ve gone after him. I bet that’s what’s happened.’

Dolly was puzzled. ‘After Georgie? How would they know where to go?’