Olivia looked doubtful. ‘Ralph would have been crowing it from the rooftops if that had happened. He was always determined that I was trusting the wrong person, and I don’t think he’d miss an opportunity to let me know he’d been right all along.’

Josie shrugged. ‘Maybe so, but I can’t see the harm in asking.’

‘I can!’ said Olivia. ‘If Beth hasn’t done anything then how will that make me look?’

‘Like a concerned friend, who wants to know why her pal wants to leave Shirehampton,’ said Maude matter-of-factly.

‘Or are you worried we might have hit the nail on the head?’ asked Josie guardedly.

Olivia got to her feet. ‘Shan’t be a mo.’ She headed for the telephone. She felt rather uncomfortable at the thought of asking Ralph whether her friend had made any advances towards him, because if the answer was no, and she hoped that would be the case, then she would have to explain why she had ever suspected Beth of turning into a Judas, when she had been the one trying to convince Ralph of her friend’s good character.

She gave a small smile as she heard Ralph’s voice. ‘Hello, Liv! How’d Liverpool go?’

She felt a stab of conscience as she pictured Ted smiling down at her from the hotel window. ‘Good, but I’m not ringing about Liverpool, I’m phoning to ask if you know what’s up with Beth.’

There was a pause before he spoke. ‘Why, what’s she said?’

There was something in his voice which concerned Olivia. ‘Nothing, only she put in for a transfer, and nobody knows why.’

‘Did you try asking?’

‘No, because I was in Liverpool when all this happened, but the girls did, and they said she wasn’t very forthcoming whenever they raised the subject.’

‘It’s not a crime to want to leave Shirehampton,’ Ralph said plainly.

‘I know, but she must be unhappy, don’t you think?’

‘Maybe she’s run out of men …’

His comment cut through Olivia like a knife. Why was he being so mean? Last time she spoke to him about Beth he had been singing her praises, so what had changed? She decided to take the matter in hand. ‘Did something happen between the two of you when you were in Pucklechurch?’

‘Like what?’ said Ralph, only Olivia could tell by the tone in his voice that he knew full well what she was getting at.

‘Did she make any advances towards you?’ The words left her lips in a rush. Hearing his silence, she twisted her finger around the telephone cord as she waited anxiously for his response.

There was a distinct pause as though he was thinking carefully. ‘I wouldn’t worry about it – I didn’t.’

‘What’s that supposed to mean?’ said Olivia, almost dreading his answer.

‘I think she got carried away in the heat of the moment – kind of understandable. I expect she regrets it now, though.’

‘What did she do?’ snapped Olivia.