‘Don’t fuss,’ Rita muttered. ‘If I go to the hospital I’ll be kept sitting about for ages waiting to be seen, and I have better things to do with my time.’

Peggy could see how the girl was favouring the other leg and doing her best to hide the pain the injured knee was clearly causing. She glanced at the clock. ‘If you feel you can walk to the fire station, you can make it to the hospital,’ she said firmly. ‘We’ll go together on my way to work – and I’ll have no arguments about it.’

‘Do I have to?’ moaned Rita. ‘I hate hospitals.’

‘None of us like them, dear, but there are times when they’re a great blessing,’ said Cordelia, coming into the room with the morning’s paper. She kissed the top of Daisy’s head, carefully avoiding the eggy mess on the child’s face. ‘Goodness,’ she breathed, catching sight of the pot of blackberry jam on the table. ‘Where did that come from?’

‘Ivy brought it home yesterday. I didn’t ask where she got it,’ said Peggy, going rather pink as she tucked into her breakfast.

‘I suspect it was from Ethel,’ said Cordelia with a sniff of disapproval. ‘That woman does a roaring trade on the black market and seems able to lay her hands on most things now she has a friend working in the factory canteen.’

‘Oh, dear,’ sighed Peggy. ‘I do hope her shady deals don’t cause any trouble for Stan. He’s such a dear man, and it would be awful if her carrying on made him ill again.’

Cordelia rolled her eyes as yet another squadron of bombers and fighters thundered overhead. ‘It’s not jam that will do the damage, but that awful noise,’ she said crossly. ‘I do wish they’d get on with this invasion. All this disturbance so early in the morning is most unsettling.’ She switched off her hearing aid and began to read the newspaper.

Peggy shared an amused glance with the two girls and finished her breakfast, still with one eye on the clock. ‘Where’s Ron?’ she asked, holding on to Daisy so she could clean her face of egg and jam before she trotted away.

‘He went out with Harvey really early,’ said Rita. ‘He’s cock-a-hoop, because Bert Williams brought his ferrets back.’ She grinned. ‘Rosie found them hiding in her outside lav, so he’s planning to go and see her later and try to mend things between them.’

‘That’s good,’ said Peggy. ‘I hate to see him so down.’ She reached for Daisy’s coat and hat. ‘It’s time for us to go, Rita. Do you want that ankle checked as well, Sarah?’

Sarah shook her head. ‘It’s really not too serious, but I’ll come with you both to make sure Rita does see a doctor, and then help her home if she needs it.’