Evie was alarmed. ‘Surely the war won’t affect us out here, will it?’

Arthur’s expression was grim. ‘It affects the whole empire. Many people will want to go home to assist with the war effort. Plans have to be made. And…’ He glanced at Douglas. ’The whole situation is volatile. The Japanese–‘

‘The Japanese are too busy with China,’ Douglas interrupted. ‘They’ll never attack us here. They’d have to be insane. The jungle is our protection. Not to mention Fortress Singapore.’

Arthur shook his head. ‘I don’t want to argue with you, Doug. But I simply don’t agree. We know they want Malaya. They want the tin and they want the rubber. They’ve had spies all over the Straits for years. And they could come at us from the north. From the Siamese – sorry I keep forgetting it’s Thai now – border. The situation is extremely volatile.’

Doug sneered. ‘From the north? No one would be mad enough to do that.’

Veronica interjected. ‘I find all this talk of war very depressing, don’t you, Evie? And I agree with Dougie. Hitler’s too far away to worry about, and a bunch of Japs are never going to have the guts to invade. I have faith in our army and air force. Not to mention the strength of the Royal Navy. Britannia rules the waves.’

She leaned forward, her hands with their perfectly manicured nails, resting on the edge of the table. ‘We seem to have forgotten today is Dougie’s birthday and we have to celebrate. We can’t let a rotten old war get in the way.’ With a wave of her hand, she summoned the waiter, who arrived at the table with a bucket of champagne. As he poured the drinks, Veronica added, ‘My main concern is that with France at war too, the supplies of “shampers” may get rather low.’ She rolled her eyes. ‘So, let’s drink and be merry, while we can.’

Arthur’s face showed a flicker of irritation but he said nothing.

Veronica leaned forward again, glass raised to drink Doug’s health. She pressed a small box into his hand. ‘A little birthday gift from me and Artie. Hope you like them.’

‘I told you, Veronica. No gifts.’

‘Do shut up, Dougie, and open it, you old spoil-sport.’

The box contained a pair of monogrammed gold cuff links.

‘The date’s on them too, so it looks like you’ll have a permanent reminder of the day war was declared.’ Veronica sipped her champagne. Turning to Evie, she asked, ‘And what did you give to your handsome husband?’

Evie felt her face burning, but was saved from having to answer by the arrival of a man at their table. He asked Arthur about the state of play with the war declaration. Once introductions were made – Bob Cameron was the local chief of one of the shipping lines and Evie realised he was the father of Jasmine’s friend Penny – the waiter arrived to take their orders and Evie avoided having to admit that she hadn’t known it was her husband’s birthday.