‘I spoke to her,’ Filip went on, ‘but she didn’t want to talk to me. She said there would be gossip. She is still afraid.’

‘What? You think she is from your country?’ Ellen asked.

‘Her mother is foreign,’ Anna interrupted. ‘Not Polish, but she is Jewish.’

‘She is,’ Filip agreed.

The two women then went on to explain what had happened in the room above that morning, and as they talked they heard the front door open and close and the sound of footsteps going upstairs.

Ellen suggested that Anna should take Aron home as he would need her in the morning, and leave Jakub and Zophia with them if she was going to apply for work at the baker’s shop; if she went early she could come straight back to see them and reassure them that she hadn’t abandoned them. Anna looked questioningly at Filip for his approval and he nodded.

‘I will look after Aron while you see this baking woman,’ he told Anna. Then, turning to Ellen, he said, ‘We must pay you, of course, if you take care of our children. You cannot do this without payment.’

She didn’t argue with him; it was a matter of pride, she could see, and even though she had originally told Anna she would look after the children for food only she realized Filip wouldn’t approve of that. So she agreed, and the extra money would be gladly received.

Filip picked up a still sleeping Aron and wrapped him in the blanket they had brought; he shook hands with Harry and kissed Ellen. ‘You have saved our lives,’ he said. ‘You are good people.’

Anna too kissed Ellen and looked down at the other sleeping children, Sarah, Mary and Thomas at one end, Zophia and Jakub at the other. Sarah had her cheek laid on one hand, and Mary’s thumb was touching her bottom lip. ‘I would trust no one else with my family, but I trust you, Ellen.’

‘Don’t worry,’ Ellen said. ‘They’ll be safe and warm here, and you will see them early in the morning before they realize you haven’t been here with them all night.’

‘My poor babies,’ Anna murmured. ‘We have brought them through so much.’

‘And they won’t remember any of it,’ Ellen said, ‘because you have made them feel safe.’

When Anna and Filip had left, Harry sat by the fire to take off his socks. The lamp had puttered and popped, so Harry turned it off to save the oil, leaving only the light from the fire. He sat back in the chair and briefly closed his eyes and Ellen began to undress. She wasn’t shy of undressing in front of Harry but was always discreet, beginning with her garters and stockings and removing her dress or woollen skirt and top, then slipping on her nightgown and taking off her undershift beneath it.