The Kitchen Front: A Novel

Nell returns to Fenley Farm to collect ducks for Sir Strickland, but her true purpose is to see Paolo again. Paolo volunteers to get them for her, but Barlow sends them away. Nell and Paolo walk together, and Nell struggles with her uncertainty about the enemy nation. He tells her about the farm’s unlawful practice of catching wild birds and about how he came to work there. Nell tells him about the first round of the competition. For the second round, Paolo suggests the Italian dish chicken cacciatore. They discuss the way his grandmother prepared it and the differences in Italian and British cooking. Paolo offers to teach her the dish in secret. Before she leaves, Paolo goes to kiss her but catches himself and stops. Instead, Nell kisses him. Paolo rejoins the other POWs, and Nell turns toward home.

Gwendoline dines with Sir Strickland, who has read about her failure in the newspaper. He demands to know how the others beat her, especially Audrey. Gwendoline remembers her painful childhood as the second daughter, and Sir Strickland tells Gwendoline to ask Mrs. Quince for help. After they eat, Gwendoline calls for Mrs. Quince and asks her to help with the contest.