He nodded. He wished he could have assured her that she was right, but Isobel was always snappy and irritable, or at least she was around Ted. He wondered what had happened to the girl he had courted all those years ago. She never used to be so miserable; he’d never have asked her to marry him if she had been. He had hoped that absence might have made her heart grow fonder, but so far this didn’t seem to be the case.

Ted returned to the boarding house later that day, hoping to find his wife in a sunnier disposition, but instead of finding her vitalised and refreshed, she was annoyed that he had left her on her own for so long.

‘Where have you been? I’ve been sitting here bored out of my brains!’ she snapped as he walked into the bedroom.

Ted found himself apologising, something which was common when he was with Isobel. ‘Sorry, Issy …’

‘Isobel!’ she said stiffly. ‘I’m not two years old!’

He drew a deep breath. ‘Sorry, Isobel, I didn’t realise you’d be awake.’

She eyed him critically before glancing in the direction of the window. ‘Are you going to take me out?’

He nodded. ‘As I said, I thought we could go and see where I used to live.’

She pulled a face. ‘I didn’t come all this way to see some grotty slum. Surely you can take me somewhere better than that?’

Ted failed to hide his disappointment. ‘I thought you’d want to see where I grew up.’

She shrugged her disinterest. ‘If you insist.’ She shot him a sidelong glance. ‘Why did you get a room with a double bed? You know I need my space – sharing a bed makes me irritable, which is why we have separate bedrooms back home. You’ll have to find somewhere else to stay.’ She tutted beneath her breath, ‘Really, Edward, do you never think of anyone else?’

Ted fought the impulse to say, Don’t you? Biting his tongue, he replied through stiff lips, ‘Sorry, I forgot. I’ll stay at Speke.’ He wondered what his colleagues would say when he returned to base later on. They would probably think that Isobel hadn’t arrived. He rolled his eyes. He wasn’t looking forward to telling them that his wife didn’t want her own husband anywhere near her.

Ted’s plan had been to walk to Fisher Street, but he didn’t fancy having to listen to Isobel whine on about how she didn’t like Liverpool, so instead he hailed a taxi and a short while later they arrived at his former home, where Ted pointed out the house he used to share with his father.

Isobel was regarding the area with a wrinkled nose. ‘You must be glad you got out of this hovel.’