There were three or four other Terrapins in the dining room by now: innocuous-looking men in sober suits, who peered respectfully at the wine list and the framed photograph of the Duke of Windsor drinking a cocktail and looking as if he had just stepped in something nasty.

An ebook excerpt from D.J. Taylor's new collection Wrote For Luck, Birthday Lunch is a story of years passing, years wasted and bloody awkward conversations…