There was little time to deal with the slight hangover from the previous night’s party she’d held here, for the next few hours would be extremely busy. Mike hadn’t been able to book the Officers’ Club or the golf club – or indeed anywhere else for the reception due to the number of weddings taking place that day, and so it had been all hands to the pump to organise it at the Anchor, which Rosie very generously decided to close until the evening session. Everyone had done a sterling job of baking and sandwich making, and Peggy had managed to get enough ingredients together to make a passable wedding cake which she’d topped off with red ribbon and the smart plaster bride and groom that Mike had bought from the bakery.

Peggy had taken the cake to the Anchor the day before, but there were still more sandwiches to make and everything had to be carried over before they went to the Town Hall. Tables would have to be decorated and dressed, chairs shifted, decorations pinned up, and the fresh flowers from Stan’s allotment put in vases – as long as he’d remembered to deliver them in all the excitement.

Peggy cocked her head and smiled at the excited chatter coming from upstairs. Danuta had the morning off her district nursing duties, and because she had so few pretty clothes, Sarah and Jane were kitting her out with things from their wardrobe. Cordelia was in her usual flutter trying to decide which hat to wear, and calling upon Ruby and Rita for their opinion, while Cissy was trying to get them to sit still for five minutes so she could use her skills with make-up and hairpins to ensure everyone looked their most glamorous.

Peggy smiled and mopped Daisy’s face clean of porridge before the child wrestled away from her to run off and join in the fun. It was lovely to hear Cissy laughing again and being her natural, sweet self, and she hoped this was a sign that she’d come to terms with the silence from Randy, and was beginning to enjoy life again.

She looked at the clock on the mantel and began to clear the table of the unusual mess the girls had left behind in their rush to get ready for the day. Ruby had stayed the night, and she and Rita would soon be leaving for the station cottage to change into their finery before they and Stan were driven to the Town Hall in Bertie’s car.