‘Oh, rubbish, Gran,’ Tess had said breezily. ‘We sat in the back row at the cinema, you know!’

Gran and Albert both laughed and Snowy had done his best to smile. ‘I do want a word with Tess,’ he had admitted. He grinned self-consciously at Edie, already clattering dishes in the sink. ‘After all, I may be off to foreign parts very soon, so every moment is precious.’

‘And you may not; you may find yourself stationed at Seaforth Barracks and able to come home every night,’ Tess had pointed out unkindly. ‘Why must you always imagine the worst?’

Snowy had begun to protest that he was doing no such thing but merely putting into words what they both knew to be true; that the army, once you were in, ruled your life; but Tess had snatched the door open and was gesturing him to precede her down the stairs. There was another exchange of good nights, but when they had emerged on to the pavement, and Tess would have gone back into the flat, he had grabbed her and pulled her over to stand against the pet shop door. ‘If there’s nothing between you and the ploughboy, why didn’t you let me read the whole letter?’ he had demanded harshly. ‘Or at least the entire page?’

It was a cold and frosty night and Tess’s face in the light of the full moon looked pale, the gentle lips pulled into a hard line. She had stared up at him, her eyes dark with surprise. ‘Look, Snowy, that letter was written to me, not for general publication. I showed you the bit about Pamela because it seemed you didn’t trust my word but wanted proof. As far as I’m concerned, that’s the end of the matter. I’m afraid I can’t think of any other way to convince you that Jonty and I are just good friends. So perhaps the best thing for us to do was what you suggested earlier; perhaps we should call it a day. Apart from anything else, I really resent you calling him a ploughboy. It’s rude and unfair and thoroughly nasty.’

All this time they had been standing against the door of the pet shop, but now Snowy shook his head violently and pulled her roughly into his arms. ‘I’ll wash my mouth out with lye soap, and swear never to be rude about Mr Jonathan Bell again!’ he had said, trying to sound humorous and not outraged, which was how he felt. ‘As for not trusting your word, I didn’t mean to imply you would lie to me. Oh, darling Tess, can’t you see that I’m jealous and can’t bear to think of you with another bloke? Let’s just put the whole thing behind us and never mention it again.’

Tess had agreed. ‘Kiss and make up,’ she declared, suiting action to words, and then she had turned quickly back towards the stair which led up to the flat, leaving Snowy to set off home, wondering whether he had done the right thing in not insisting that he should read the entire letter, which had been his initial impulse.