The lady begins to soften a little and addresses the boy directly. “
She sighs and raises her hand. “Give me your tag!” she grumbles as she gives in and agrees to take the boy. Poor Billy removed the tag from the collar of his overcoat and hands it to Mrs Postlethwaite. She writes her name on the blank dotted line marked ‘host’ and hands it to the billeting officer. “I hope I won’t regret this,” she says, grimacing at the boy. All the while young Alice has been stood nervously at Mrs Postlethwaite’s side. Alice sympathises with the boy as she too was one of the last to be chosen and just like Billy, feels equally unwanted. Alice feels her host’s eyes on her and looks up at the staunch lady. Mrs Postlethwaite forces a smile and tells Alice to give the boy her case. “We may as well put him to good use sooner rather than later.”