So Peggy told her about her worries over Danuta, Jim, Rita and Sarah; the estrangement from her sister Doris after an all too brief armistice; and her concerns for Ron’s future with Rosie. She admitted that she felt besieged by everything, from the constant onslaught of hardship to the enforced separation from her family – and that the effect of this war had slowly worn her down. She’d tried so very hard to stay strong, to keep her fears and her tears private, but now it was as if a dam had broken and it all came pouring out of her.

Dolly listened without comment, and when Peggy fell silent, exhausted but strangely unburdened at last, she threw the butt of her cigarette out of the window and took Peggy’s hands. ‘Ron’s old enough and ugly enough to handle whatever is thrown at him,’ she said firmly. ‘From what I’ve heard over the years, Rosie isn’t the sort of woman to throw everything away on a whim – or because he made a fool of himself after drinking too much.’

Her gaze was steady as she looked into Peggy’s eyes. ‘Gossip is dangerous, Peg. The only way to discover the truth is to go to Doris and find out exactly what she saw that morning.’

‘I’d certainly get the truth out of her, which is more than I can say for Ethel,’ said Peggy. ‘She wouldn’t know the truth if it bit her – and if she did see Rosie with the Major that morning, why is she keeping it to herself? She must know Ron would be fretting – and yet she’s said nothing, not even to Stan.’

‘Perhaps she has something to hide,’ said Dolly.

‘If that’s the case, why tell Olive when she knows that woman can’t keep anything to herself?’

Dolly took a deep breath and then expelled it. ‘I have no idea,’ she admitted. ‘But if Ron does get to hear about this, both she and Olive will find they’re on dangerous ground.’ She regarded the sea which had become choppier as the day had progressed, and was now splashing with greater vigour against the tank traps and the shingle beach.

‘This has to be cleared up quickly before the gossip spreads and things turn nasty,’ she said decisively. ‘And the only way to do that is to talk to Doris.’

Peggy looked once again at her sleeping child and knew she had neither the energy nor the will to go toe to toe with her domineering sister tonight. ‘I’ll make time tomorrow morning when I can be sure she’s in,’ she said reluctantly.