Her eyelids were heavy and all she wanted to do was to sleep, but in the presence of a strange man she did not dare close her eyes. ‘May I know your name, ma’am?’ Ralph settled himself in the opposite corner of the carriage. ‘We have not been properly introduced, but I feel in the circumstances that we are no longer complete strangers.’ ‘I am Lucy …’ She paused, desperately trying to think of a name other than Cutler. ‘Lucy Guthrie, Lieutenant.’ ‘How do you do, Miss Guthrie? Or may I call you Lucy? My friends call me Ralph, so it would seem a fair swop.’ Lucetta nodded, avoiding his curious gaze by looking out of the window at the green fields flashing past at quite an alarming rate. ‘And where are you going, Lucy?’ Ralph continued. ‘Myself, I am going to London for a week’s leave.’ ‘I see.’ ‘You are not a great talker, are you?’ ‘You’ll have to excuse me. I’m tired and I don’t feel like making conversation.’ She could see Ralph’s reflection in the window and he was staring at her.
