Kitty breathed a sigh of relief as they all filed out of the church. She’d done it. She’d got through the ceremony without fluffing her words or making a fool of herself. She’d done her best to ignore the presence of Frank Feeny, who had stood on the other side of Danny throughout, almost close enough to touch. They hadn’t had a moment to speak to each other, as she and Danny had arrived only just in time, thanks to the row with Tommy. Now Frank had gone ahead to walk back with Sylvia.

The sight of that young woman had somewhat thrown Kitty, even more than standing near to Frank – at least she’d been prepared for that. She hadn’t been prepared for Sylvia, or at least not how she looked. Surely she wasn’t the only person who had noticed it. Sylvia had dark curly hair, very similar to Kitty’s own. They were about the same height. They were both Wrens – Sylvia was in uniform, and so Kitty could tell she didn’t have the same seniority. Was all this a coincidence?

‘Come on, Kitty, keep up!’ Sarah teased her. ‘Are you standing around admiring the scenery, or what?’

‘Sorry, I was miles away,’ said Kitty, realising that the girl she’d often dismissed as Rita’s kid sister was now a very attractive young woman in her own right. She gazed around. She hadn’t taken in until now just how much damage there had been to the houses around the church. She almost wouldn’t have recognised some of the streets, they were so changed from how they’d been when she was growing up here.

‘A bit different to how it used to be, isn’t it,’ said Sarah, guessing what Kitty was thinking. ‘You’ll find that a lot. We really caught it bad round here. Well, you’d know that better than anyone of course.’

‘Yes, it’s strange,’ Kitty said ruefully, her mind transported back to the raid that had killed Elliott. ‘I’ve seen the damage before, of course, on my visits back, but it’s easy to forget it when you leave again – somehow I always imagine the streets and buildings back to how they were before the war.’ She shook her head. ‘You’re right, we should catch up with the others.’

‘Yes, we don’t want to miss Ellen’s party,’ said Sarah. ‘There’s a lot to celebrate. Her christening, Jack and Eddy getting leave, you moving home. That’s a lot of excuses rolled into one, so come on.’

‘You must be Kitty,’ said Sylvia, coming across to Dolly’s kitchen window where Kitty was standing, a plate with a ham sandwich on it in her hand. ‘I’m Sylvia Hemsley.’

Kitty put down her plate so that she could shake the Wren’s hand. ‘Pleased to meet you,’ she said, hoping she sounded sincere.