Ralph entered the room and gave a small nod of recognition to Beth who was sitting on the far side of the table. The past few weeks had been anything but fun. He should have been in London by now with the rest of his platoon, but he had been held back whilst an investigation had been carried out – something which had spread around his fellow men like wildfire. Olivia had apologised profusely for getting him into trouble, and even though he had assured her it was not her fault, there was a tiny part of him that did blame her. After all, had she been the one on duty as she should have been, the WAAF officer would not have been able to make such wild accusations, and neither he nor Beth would be going through this ordeal. Seeing Beth now, her big blue eyes surrounded by a thatch of dark lashes, her blonde hair peeking out beneath her cap, and her … He turned his attention away from her breasts, which accentuated her tiny waist. Not an officer alive would think Ralph had not been flirting with her whilst on duty – they would probably believe he had sent Olivia off so that he could be alone with the other woman. He sat down opposite his flight officer and waited for the accusations to fly, and fly they did. Denying any wrongdoing on her part, the WAAF officer turned the focus on to Beth and Ralph, claiming they’d been incompetent.

It was hours later by the time he and Beth emerged from the meeting. Having been proven innocent of any wrongdoing, they were in the clear – not that you would have known that from Beth’s face, which was still wet with tears.

‘Beth!’ Ralph jogged after her. ‘Hold up.’

Beth turned to face him. ‘I’m sorry, Ralph, and I know it’s not your fault, but I’d rather you didn’t speak to me.’

He fished around in his pocket then handed her a fresh handkerchief. ‘Here, use this.’

Taking the hanky, Beth dabbed her eyes. ‘Thanks.’

He chucked her under the chin with his forefinger. ‘Cheer up! We won, we should be celebrating, not crying.’

She gave a short giggle. ‘I know, I think it was all the pressure. I felt sure they were going to take her side.’

He nodded. ‘But they didn’t, so dry your eyes and I’ll arrange for someone to take you back to Shirehampton.’

Beth looked up sharply. ‘Couldn’t you take me? I don’t fancy making small talk with someone I don’t know, especially when they’ll most likely be fishing for information.’