‘You try and get a job at a publishing house where you can read to your heart’s content,’ she replied firmly. ‘But don’t give up before you’ve even started, Henry, or you’ll always regret not giving it a go.’

Henry chuckled. ‘You’re a real tonic, Rosie. That’s the best advice I’ve had today.’

‘Glad to have been of service,’ she replied, grinning back at him. ‘Now, I really do have to get on.’ She slid from the bar stool and had to look up at him as he got to his feet. ‘Will I see you again this evening?’

‘That is a definite possibility,’ he replied, ‘but would you think it impertinent if I asked you to have lunch with me? I should enjoy your company very much.’

Rosie dismissed all thought of Ron’s defection to the Crown and smiled. ‘I should like that Henry. But aren’t we a bit late? Everything will have closed by now.’

‘The dining room at the Officers’ Club is always open, and it’s not far to walk.’

Rosie had heard the food in the exclusive club was top-notch and was quite excited at the thought of finally seeing what the place was like inside. ‘That would be lovely. But first I must make sure the dog’s all right, so if you wouldn’t mind waiting a few minutes?’

‘I’m sure any wait will be worth it,’ he said, his grey eyes twinkling with merriment.

Unusually flustered, Rosie retrieved her abandoned shoes, hurried out of the bar and ran up the short flight of stairs to her rooms.

Monty possessed the same enthusiasm for life as his sire, Harvey, and although smaller and more delicate in build, his shaggy, brindled coat and intelligent eyes were the image of his father’s. He’d been stretched out on the couch and now he leapt off to greet Rosie, his tail wagging furiously as he jumped up and down.

Rosie made a fuss of him and he followed her eagerly into the tiny kitchen. ‘Ron’s gone a step too far this time,’ she muttered to him, ‘and when he does decide to show his face he’ll get a right earful and be shown the door, so you’re not to make a fuss of him, do you hear?’

Monty cocked his head, more interested in the food Rosie was tipping into his bowl, and the moment it was set at his feet, he gobbled it down with alacrity.

Rosie left him to it and hurried into her bedroom to refresh her make-up and change into something smarter than the black skirt and white frilly blouse she always wore behind the bar. The Officers’ Club was very posh, and she didn’t want to let Henry down by turning up in anything less than her smartest clothes.