Maude took up the rest of the story. ‘I was in the furthest lavvy away from the door,’ she grimaced, ‘wishing I’d not eaten so much of Josie’s cabbage, when I heard someone come in. I stayed quiet because I could hear they were really upset, then two seconds later I heard a man’s voice. Well, that surprised me for a start. I didn’t recognise him at first, but then I recognised Beth’s voice, and as Ralph started doling out threats. I realised what was going on, but I kept quiet so that I could hear the whole story.’

Olivia shook her head. ‘Ralph’s an intelligent man, why on earth didn’t he check the cubicles were empty before spouting off?’

‘I thought that,’ said Beth.

Maude voiced her theory. ‘When I ran to the lavvy I wanted to check that no one else was in there, so I pushed all the doors open until I got to the last one. Ralph must have seen the majority of doors open and assumed no one was in there, bar Beth who was in the first cubicle. After all, most people go to the nearest one when they get the urge!’ She grinned apologetically at Ted. ‘Sorry about all this, Ted, it’s not how I envisaged our first conversation going.’

Ted chuckled. ‘Don’t worry, it’s hardly your fault, although I think you’ve probably put me off cabbage for life.’

Maude’s cheeks flushed pink as she began to giggle, then Olivia and Beth joined in, and pretty soon they were all laughing fit to burst – which intrigued Josie, who had just left the kitchen. ‘What’s so amusing?’

‘Too long a story,’ said Olivia, stifling her chuckles, then added, ‘Ted, meet Josie.’

The two shook hands. ‘Nice to meet you finally,’ said Josie. ‘Have you come for a quick gander before heading back to Liverpool?’

Ted nodded. ‘In fact, I’d better get a move on. I’d completely lost track of the time what with all the excitement.’

‘What excitement?’ Josie pouted. ‘I always miss the fun!’

Olivia’s eyebrows shot towards her hairline. ‘In this case you should count yourself lucky, but I’ll let the girls explain whilst I see Ted off.’

They said their goodbyes to Ted, wishing him a safe journey, and hoping it wouldn’t be too long before they met again, and that they would have more time together on his next visit.

Olivia walked him to the gate. ‘I feel so embarrassed, Ted.’

He looked at her in surprise. ‘Why?’

‘Because I’ve been such a fool, falling for Ralph’s tales, believing that he was a gentleman who had high standards, yet you saw through him before you’d even met.’

‘You had your suspicions, though,’ Ted said reasonably. ‘For a start, you didn’t like the way he spoke about Beth, which is why you mentioned it to me.’