Cissy burned with frustration and confusion, and she got to her feet, unable to be still any longer. If only someone would tell her what had happened to him, then at least she’d know where she stood. As it was, she was stuck here, unable to make her mind up about anything. Should he turn up tomorrow – and she really hoped he would – then maybe they could pick up the pieces and go ahead with their plans, but if the silence went on, and it became clear he wasn’t returning, then she’d have to swallow her pride and think again.

Clarissa and Philippa had begged her to join them in London where, in partnership with three other girls from Cliffe, they were running a highly successful limousine taxi company that Clarissa’s father had helped to set up. It had been decided right from the start that their clients would be exclusively female of the well-heeled sort who needed ferrying about the city.

Cissy had saved enough to buy a share in the company, and although it would leave her almost penniless, Clarissa had assured her she’d soon recoup her investment as the money was pouring in, and Cissy could move into her spare room rent-free until she’d got enough together to find her own apartment. The hours were sometimes very long, and some of the clients could be tricky, but there was always time for parties and dancing with the social set they’d known before the war.

It was enormously tempting, though what her parents would say about it, Cissy didn’t dare think. She could leave tomorrow, shake off the dust of Cliffehaven and throw herself into a new life where she could use her driving skills, have a share in a business venture and mix with the sort of people she’d become used to. And yet still she hesitated, for the war had only just ended; Europe was in turmoil, and a great many men were still to come home. She owed it to Randy to stay and wait for him a while longer.

‘Stir your stumps, Cissy. Lunch is ready, no thanks to you.’

Peggy’s rather brisk command brought her from her muddled thoughts, and she left the basement bedroom determined to mend her ways and be pleasant for the rest of the time she was here, and to be more helpful to her mother, who worked far too hard, worried too much, and deserved better from her.