She listened with interest to Cissy’s plans to invest all her savings in the London taxi company her smart friends from RAF Cliffe had started up. However, the thought of Cissy being let loose in the city to drive people about at all hours of the day and night worried her. ‘Are you sure you’ll be safe, Cissy? London isn’t like Cliffehaven, you know, and there will be rough elements about.’

‘I drove officers about during the worst of the enemy bombing,’ she replied a little impatiently, ‘so navigating my way around London should be a doddle. Besides,’ she added, ‘the taxi service is exclusively for women, so you don’t have to fret about men causing trouble, and the class of woman we’ll be ferrying will not want to go anywhere near the seedier areas of London.’

‘But what about accommodation? From what I’ve heard there’s very little of it about now there are so many homeless people in London – and if you’re using all your savings to invest in the company, what will you live on?’

‘Clarissa has offered me a room in her Mayfair flat until I can afford my own place. There are plenty of nice apartments about if you can afford them. As for money, I have a bit put by to see me through before I start earning.’

‘Oh dear,’ sighed a fretful Peggy. ‘You do seem very determined about all this. I don’t know what your father would say if he were here.’

Cissy grinned. ‘I expect he’d moan and shout, and try to put up all sorts of daft objections, but in the end he’d give in as always.’

Peggy nodded and smiled back. ‘You always knew how to wrap your father around your little finger,’ she said. ‘And I suspect Daisy will be just the same.’

She paused and regarded her lovely daughter Cissy with deep affection, remembering the time when she’d been dancing in the back row of the revues on the pier, her dreams and high hopes of becoming a star making her just as animated as she was today. Peggy could only hope that, like the dreams of stardom, these new dreams didn’t turn to dust.

‘I suppose I have no choice but to give you my blessing as you’ve obviously planned everything so thoroughly. But I want you to promise that if things don’t turn out as you wish, you’ll come home.’

‘I promise,’ Cissy replied, reaching once more for her mother’s hands. ‘Thanks for being so understanding, Mum. Clarissa, Philippa and the other girls are a really spiffing bunch, and this venture excites me. I can’t wait to get up there and start this new chapter in my life.’

Peggy looked at her with concern. ‘Does that mean you’ll be leaving quite soon?’