Taking his cap from his head, he pretended to throw it on to the back seat before pulling at his tie and fluttering his eyelashes. ‘Oh Ralph, I’m so hot! I do wish you could do something to cool me down, just pull over whilst I take my clothes off!’

Beth shook her head fiercely. ‘That’s not what I said, nothing like it! Why are you twisting things?’

Ralph snorted in disbelief. ‘I’m not twisting anything, or are my eyes playing up? Did you not remove your cap, jacket and tie, and undo the buttons on your blouse?’

‘I was hot!’ Beth insisted indignantly.

Ralph’s jaw stiffened. ‘I doubt that’s the way Olivia will see it.’ He turned on to the main road, causing the man coming from behind to swerve wildly, honking his horn. As Ralph speeded along the road they caught up with a group of squaddies sitting in the back of a lorry with the canvas flaps rolled back. Seeing Beth’s flushed cheeks and unkempt appearance, they began making cat calls and wolf whistles as they nudged each other and pointed at Beth.

Looking down, Beth realised that she still hadn’t done her buttons up. God only knows what they must have thought she and Ralph had been up to. She hastily buttoned her blouse and pulled her tie back into place

‘You don’t have to be a genius to know what they’re all thinking,’ said Ralph as he pulled past the lorry of jeering squaddies.

Beth shook her head. ‘I didn’t mean to give you the wrong impression, honest to God I didn’t, Ralph,’ she spluttered. ‘Please don’t say anything to Olivia. She’s been lovely to me, I’d never do anything to hurt her.’

Ralph pulled a cynical face. ‘Could’ve fooled me.’

Tears brimmed in Beth’s eyes. ‘Please, Ralph, I can’t lose Liv and the girls.’

Ralph shot her a reproving glance. ‘Give me one good reason why I shouldn’t!’

‘Because I didn’t mean to give you the wrong impression, and …’ she faltered, ‘… and because whether I gave you the wrong impression or not, you shouldn’t have acted on it, so you’re as guilty as me!’

Ralph slammed his foot on the brake, causing Beth to lunge forward in her seat, before hitting the accelerator, making her fly backwards. ‘You poisonous little bitch!’

‘It’s true …’ Beth mumbled quietly.

‘I’ve just been through one hell of an ordeal defending your honour, to get you out of shtook, and why? Because your best pal wanted me to spend time with you so that I would realise what a nice girl you are!’ He slammed his palm down on to the steering wheel. ‘What an idiot! I knew you were a wrong ’un from the very beginning, yet here I am nearly getting court-martialled for you! You!’ he repeated scathingly.