He drank more tea and came to the conclusion that he couldn’t do much about Sarah and her tangled love life, for things would pan out one way or another, and only time would tell if she’d made the right decision. He fed the animals and then ate some of the porridge from the pot, sneaking a bit more sugar from where Peggy had hidden it in the cake tin on the top shelf of the larder. Happy with his lot, he filled his pipe and settled back to listen to the early news.

According to the reporter, the Allies were making satisfactory progress in Normandy. The American 5th Army was now forty-two miles beyond Rome, and the troops which had been held up for five months on the Adriatic were finally advancing. There was no change on the Russian Front, and only sporadic fighting near Jassy. All air-force activity was, for the moment, fully focused on Normandy.

Ron glanced out of the window as yet another flight of heavy bombers thundered overhead with their usual escort of fighter planes. At least the weather seemed to be improving, for the sky was blue and almost cloudless.

‘Good morning,’ said Peggy, coming into the kitchen still in her nightclothes, her face showing signs that she’d had a reasonable night’s sleep. ‘I’m sorry about last night,’ she said, pouring a cup of tea. ‘I don’t know what came over me.’

‘You’ll not be apologising to me for letting go once in your life,’ he said sternly. ‘I want you to promise that the next time things get on top of you, you’ll come to me and talk it over.’

‘I doubt I’ll let things go that far again,’ she murmured, ‘but thank you, Ron. I know I can count on you.’

He reached across, patted her hand and grinned. ‘I’ve something to tell you which might cheer you up. I’ve sorted out Adolf.’

She stared at him in disbelief. ‘How on earth did you do that?’

He chuckled. ‘Not Hitler, but our Adolf, the tyrant of the chicken coop. He’s as dead as a doornail and I’ll be plucking him later for you to boil him up into some lovely stock.’

Peggy giggled. ‘I almost feel sorry for him. What an ignominious end for such a dictator. Shame someone doesn’t do the same to the human Adolf.’

Ron put a bowl of porridge in front of her. ‘The news is all good according to the war report earlier. Hitler will get his comeuppance soon enough, I’m thinking.’

‘I sincerely hope so,’ Peggy muttered, digging into the porridge.

He sat back down and regarded her sternly. ‘You do too much, and it’s time everyone pulled their weight in this house, so I’ll be having a word with all the girls later.’