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‘I’m sure you’ve heard the same, Alex?’ he added, his tone innocent, but was that a wink he’d given her across the table, or a timely twitch?

‘Er, yes, that’s – that’s why I mentioned Rowntree’s. Last year in the height of summer a hospital was set up in The Mount School nearby but, for some odd reason, after all that effort to make wards, Council returned them to classrooms before the new term began. So the Rowntree’s huge staff dining hall and training rooms have been turned over to the Friends’ Ambulance Unit as a Quaker hospital. I gather it is taking men so fast they’re desperate for as many volunteers as possible.’

‘I think that’s admirable that you would offer your services, darling. Makes me proud,’ her father said.

Alex glanced at her mother, who lifted a shoulder. ‘Of course, dear, anything’s better than packing boxes on a factory floor. Are you sure you don’t want me to speak to the Houghtons or Trubshaws, though? I’m certain we could squeeze you in at the military establishment if the right pressure is brought to bear.’

‘That’s kind, but as Matthew says, they need more people at the Quaker hospital. I can ride my bike, or take the tram there.’

‘The pacifist cause has that whiff of cowardice about it, though, darling, doesn’t it?’ Minerva murmured, trying not to sound pompous but in doing so she came across as plainly prejudiced.

‘The wounded arriving there are anything but cowards, Lady Frobisher,’ Matthew interjected gently, his smile flashing as he gave her all of his attention. ‘Imagine having your beautiful daughter on the other end of a long ambulance drive from the south. They’ll believe they’ve arrived in heaven.’ He chuckled at his own remark. ‘I know I would.’

Her mother sat taller. ‘If you say so.’

‘What’s more,’ Matthew continued, cutting Alex a brief glance, ‘I believe one of the nephews, is it – certainly one of the boys close to Arnold Rowntree – recently died working with the ambulance unit. Nothing cowardly about an unarmed medic taking his chances at the Front and dying while trying to save others.’ He smiled around the dinner table.

Alex couldn’t fully trust what was unfolding here. She quickly looked to her father, needing the important confirmation that only he could give. ‘So that’s all right then, Dad? I can volunteer tomorrow at the Friends Hospital?’

‘If they’ll take you, then I agree with Matthew; I don’t care which hospital, so long as they’re giving good care to our soldiers.’

She looked back at Matthew, doing her best to hide the triumph she was feeling. An invisible thank you from Alex stole across the starched tablecloth towards him, and he silently accepted it.

He sipped his claret, looking vaguely smug. ‘As it happens, I have to go to the factory tomorrow anyway.’

She blinked. ‘What exactly is your involvement with Rowntree’s?’

‘Our firm is helping with its railway.’

‘And is that how our families know one another?’

He nodded at Charles, who was muttering to Lambton. ‘Your father invested in the railways more than four decades ago.’ He tapped his nose. ‘So wise to get in early as a non-executive director with Lord Coleville, sir. We got involved later but as ordinary shareholders originally, so we went through tough times in the mid-1870s. Now it’s all boom time and our railways are expanding rapidly again.’

‘And Rowntree’s? How does that fit into your life?’ she added.

He grinned. ‘As you likely know, it has its own platform.’

‘I didn’t know if the halt was a genuine station, or simply decorative,’ Alex admitted as the staff moved in silently to clear breadcrumbs and add fresh plates. She looked to her mother, who shrugged.

‘Don’t look to me, darling. All railway conversations are tedious.’

Matthew laughed. ‘Haven’t you seen it in action yet, Alex?’

She shook her head, embarrassed. ‘I have no reason to go to that side of our city.’ What she didn’t say was that her mother would prefer she not be seen anywhere near the city’s major income generator.

‘Well, we must rectify that for you. That’s how all the chocolate is shifted; it’s railed south to its hungry consumers. Rowntree’s can’t rely on roads alone so it has a dedicated siding, platform, even carriages. It brings in its workers and it takes out its products – all very well run, I might add.’

‘Well,’ her mother suddenly said, not wishing to be entirely excluded from the conversation, ‘I knew a little but I wasn’t aware it was so advanced.’

‘Oh, yes,’ Matthew pressed, sounding important. ‘The Filey branch line runs through the factory as it heads north to skirt New Earwick and then follows an easterly direction all the way to the coast. It originates from Selby.’

‘And that’s why it’s called Selby Halt,’ Charles said, nodding to himself. Alex threw him a look that said Why haven’t you mentioned this before? Except why would he, she answered herself silently.

‘Labour comes in from far and wide, arriving via Selby Halt to work at the factory,’ Matthew explained.

‘So how do you fit in again?’ she asked.

His voice was patient and thus appealing. ‘Our firm has been contracted to assist with some expansion and extra equipment, what with all the requirements for the war.’