The Anchor was far removed from what she’d been used to, but it had provided her with an escape from the memories of how devastating her husband James’s rapid mental decline had been when he’d returned so damaged from his experiences of the war back in 1918 – and although her customers came from all walks of life, she kept a respectable establishment, had made good friends and come to feel at home and settled here.

Rosie cradled the warm cup in her hands and gazed out through the mist. She liked and admired Henry and was glad of this new friendship, which had brought a different dimension to her life. But the gossips were probably already having a field day, for she’d known they’d been spotted by Cordelia and Bertie as well as several other diners who were regulars at her pub. She’d said nothing to Henry, knowing it would unsettle him, deciding instead to let the gossips make what they wanted out of their innocent luncheon, and concentrate on Henry who had a raft of amusing stories to tell about his childhood in India.

Yet she knew Ron would get to hear about it sooner or later and, conveniently forgetting his own misdemeanours, would turn up here full of righteous indignation before he tried to dazzle her with his Irish charm and coax her back into the same old routine.

Rosie gritted her teeth, vowing silently that she’d stand firm and demand a great many changes before she even considered succumbing again – and yet she knew that although Ron would do his best, he’d soon slip back into his old ways. She wasn’t at all sure if she had the will to go through all that rigmarole again.

She and Ron had been courting for years, and although he’d proven to be unreliable at times, and hugely irritating and wayward, she’d been drawn to him so strongly she’d been able to overlook his failings and just love him – but she was tiring of the merry-go-round ride that they seemed fated never to escape. Perhaps if they’d been able to get married like other couples, they could have found contentment, and he might not have been so determined to walk his own path and thereby cause trouble between them. But, with her husband confined to an asylum and no legal way of divorcing him, they’d been caught in a sort of limbo, where they couldn’t make any plans for the future until he passed away – which wasn’t the best start to wedded bliss.