By that time, Anne was married to Wing Commander Martin Black with baby Rose Margaret already proving to be a handful, and the war was in full terrifying swing. It had been Sally’s father – Harold Turner – who’d solved the problem of where they should all go when the school had been bombed and it was clearly too dangerous to stay in Cliffehaven with young children, and he’d arranged for them to live here with his older sister, Violet.

Childless and widowed, Violet had opened her arms, her heart and home to them for the duration, and they’d grown to love and admire her for her patience and wisdom, and the enormous warmth she showed them all. She’d more than fulfilled the role of mother and grandmother, and as time had gone on, Ernie had filled out and grown into a mischievous, healthy boy who no longer had to wear a calliper.

Anne gave a deep sigh and mashed the cigarette out beneath her boot. Her brother Bob would never feel at home anywhere but here now, so at least Violet wouldn’t be left entirely alone. But the thought of leaving her – and this place – was something that Anne couldn’t yet come to terms with.

‘It’s going to be ’ard to leave, ain’t it?’ said Sally, approaching out of the gloom and making Anne jump.

‘Where did you come from?’ Anne gasped.

Sally brushed some grass from her trousers. ‘I was sitting under that tree, but you was clearly deep in thought so I didn’t like to disturb you. Sorry if I startled you.’

They turned back to the fence and leaned against it, staring into the darkness as the moon slowly drifted through the tops of the trees and began to gild the rushing water beyond them. ‘I was thinking how much I’m going to miss this place, and how lonely Vi will be once we’ve all gone,’ said Anne.

‘Yeah, it won’t be easy for her. She loves them kids as if they was her own. I wrote to John about it, and he suggested she could come and live with us, but when I talked it over with her, she didn’t seem that keen.’ Sally pushed back the hair from her face and giggled. ‘It’s probably ’cos we’re so noisy, and to be fair, it would be a real squash in our little place.’

‘Vi was born on this farm and has spent her entire life here,’ said Anne. ‘Moving away from everyone and everything she knows so late in life would be a terrible wrench, and I doubt she’d settle.’