“Is four years a long time?”

“It’s long enough for a young woman to start asking herself whether she wants to sacrifice her life to a memory.”

Both Carla and Maud sympathized with Karolin, Lili realized with dismay.

They discussed the matter until midnight, when Werner came home, accompanied by Karolin—and Odo.

Werner said: “Two of the boys managed to get into fights with police officers, but other than them nobody went to jail, I’m happy to say. However, the youth club is closed.”

Everyone sat at the kitchen table. Odo sat beside Karolin. To Lili’s horror, he held Karolin’s hand in front of everybody. He said: “Lili, I’m sorry you found out by accident just when we were getting ready to tell you.”

“Tell me what?” she said aggressively, though she thought grimly that she could guess.

“We love each other,” Odo said. “I expect this is hard for you to accept, and we’re sorry about that. But we have thought and prayed about it.”

“Prayed?” Lili said incredulously. “I’ve never known Karolin to pray for anything!”

“People change.”

Weak women change to please men, Lili thought. But before she could say it her mother spoke up. “This is hard for us all, Odo. Walli loves Karolin and the baby he’s never seen. We know that from his letters. And we could guess it from Plum Nellie’s songs: so many of them are about separation and loss.”

Karolin said: “If you wish, I will leave this house tonight.”

Carla shook her head. “It’s hard for us, but it’s harder for you, Karolin. I can’t ask a normal young woman to dedicate her life to someone she may never see again—even though that person is our beloved son. Werner and I have talked about this. We knew it was coming sooner or later.”

Lili was shocked. Her parents had foreseen this! They had said nothing to her. How could they be so heartless?

Or were they just more sensible? She did not want to believe that.

Odo said: “We want to get married.”

Lili stood up. “No!” she cried.

Odo said: “And we hope you will all give us your blessing: Maud, Werner, Carla, and most of all Lili, who has been such a great friend to Karolin through her years of trouble.”

“Go to hell,” said Lili, and she left the room.

• • •

Dave Williams pushed his grandmother around Parliament Square in her wheelchair, followed by a flock of photographers. Plum Nellie’s publicist had tipped off the newspapers, so Dave and Ethel had expected the cameras, and they posed cooperatively for ten minutes. Then Dave said: “Thank you, gentlemen,” and turned into the car park of the Palace of Westminster. He paused at the Peers’ Entrance, waved for one more shot, then pushed the chair into the House of Lords.

The usher said: “Good afternoon, m’lady.”

Grandmam Ethel, Baroness Leckwith, had lung cancer. She was taking powerful drugs to control the pain, but her mind was clear. She could still walk a little way, though she quickly became breathless. She had every reason to retire from active politics. But today the Lords were discussing the Sexual Offences Bill 1967.