Ted looked at the taxi driver who had shot her an angry glance in the rear-view mirror. Ted opened the door and got out, then went round to the cabby’s window. ‘Sorry about this, mate, but do you mind waiting here whilst I have a word with the missus?’

The taxi driver glanced to the far side of his cab where Isobel was waiting for Ted to open her door so that she might get out. He glanced back at Ted. ‘Rather you than me, pal.’

Thanking the driver, Ted opened Isobel’s door.

She pouted up at him from where she sat in the car. ‘Oh no, really, Edward? Why do we have to get out?’

Without replying, Ted took her by the hand and led her away from the taxi where he might speak without being overheard. ‘It may be a hovel to you but it was home to me, and a good one too, and I won’t have you insulting my city in front of fellow Scousers.’

She rolled her eyes. ‘That’s always been your problem, Edward. You’ve never been keen to get out of the gutter, but content just to lie on your back watching the stars roll by.’

He glared at her. How dare she be so rude? Had she really come all this way just to insult him? But the biggest question that sprang to mind was, did he really want to spend the next two days being criticised? He decided the answer was no. ‘Why did you come here, Issy?’

Her nostrils flared angrily. ‘I told you already, don’t call me that!’

He shrugged. ‘You call me Edward despite my objections.’

‘Because you’re not a child, and Ted is a child’s name,’ she retorted, then added, ‘and if you must know, I came to ask you about your intentions for our future.’

Ted blinked. ‘How on earth do I know what the future holds? The war could go on for years yet.’

‘I meant when it’s over,’ she said icily.

Ted frowned. ‘What are you driving at?’

‘I want to know when you’re going to be a man and demand your share in the garage,’ said Isobel. ‘I didn’t marry you with the intention of living hand to mouth, and that’s what it’ll be like if you don’t grab the bull by the horns and demand they make you an equal partner.’

Ted stared at her in humorous disbelief. ‘You mean to tell me you came all this way to ask me to demand a partnership in a business I have no desire to be involved with?’

She sighed breathily. ‘No flaming ambition …’ She hesitated. ‘Or do you intend to climb the ranks in the RAF?’