With nothing more to say on the matter, the girls went back to their billet and changed for bed. Settling down to go to sleep, Olivia thought of Ralph. He was handsome, polite and charming, everything a woman could want. She looked over to where Beth lay. She didn’t much like the other girl, but she hadn’t liked the way Ralph had been so vocal in his opinion of her without knowing the facts. She drew a deep breath before letting it out. He had assumed Beth was easy because she had passed comment about him being single, but that was all he had to go on. Olivia had initially felt the other woman to be a threat, and when Josie had told them of Beth courting a lot of men, Olivia had jumped at the opportunity to label the other woman as being loose, but in reality, nobody but Beth knew whether she’d slept with any of those men. Sitting up, she pummelled her pillow and sighed. She herself was always being judged for her appearance, yet here she was doing the same to Beth, just because the other girl was strikingly beautiful – and why? Because Olivia was frightened that Ralph might find Beth more attractive than her. With that thought in mind, she fell into a sleep riddled with nightmares where Beth found out the truth about her past and broadcast it to the entire base, and Olivia’s father turned up, wagging a reproving finger and saying, ‘I told you so.’

Chapter Five

September 1941

Ted stood on the platform of Lime Street Station, holding a bouquet of chrysanthemums and dahlias. He looked at the wilted petals which lay on the floor by his feet. He felt certain that his nerves were transferring to the flowers, which had looked just fine when he had bought them on his way to the station. He mulled this thought over. He couldn’t help feeling that most men would be filled with excited anticipation at the thought of meeting their wife after such a long break, so why was it that Ted was filled with nervous apprehension? Yet he definitely was. Beads of sweat were forming on his brow, his mouth had gone dry, and thinking about it now, it was his trembling fingers which had caused the petals to fall. His stomach lurched unpleasantly as a train appeared in the distance. He ran a finger around his shirt collar, then mopped his brow with his handkerchief. He scanned the line of carriages pulling into the station. As the second to last carriage rolled past, his eyes locked with Isobel’s, scanning the platform for his presence. He saw a small, fleeting smile twitch her lips, so he did the same back. Telling himself that he had nothing to be nervous about, he walked towards her carriage.