‘That is not quite true, though, is it, Wilf? I told you the woman is an MI6 agent with what I’m told is an outstanding record of service during the war. Her mission is to be regarded as your priority and you’re to do as she requests. She’s on the trail of escaping Nazis and is acting on information that some may be in or passing through Villach.’

‘I’ve not picked up so much as a hint of that.’

‘Which doesn’t mean it’s not happening, does it? In my experience, MI6 aren’t in the habit of dispatching agents around Europe on a whim.’

‘Oh, I don’t know…’

‘What is the problem, Wilf? Is it that I’m asking you to take orders from a woman?’

Captain Hart appeared uncomfortable and avoided looking at his commanding officer.

‘Not in so many words, sir. You said she isn’t English – one wonders…’

‘I’m not English, Hart.’

‘I meant British: I would have thought that was self-evident.’

‘I can move you back here to Klagenfurt if you prefer: you’d no longer be running your own little unit, but we do have a building full of captured documents here, and going through them would keep you more than busy.’

Captain Hart apologised and said no, of course not, he was sorry for any misunderstanding, and maybe the exhaustion was getting to him. ‘Not stopped since Italy, have we, sir?’

Hanne Jakobsen was met at Klagenfurt airbase by both Major Stewart and Captain Hart, the former assuring her of the full cooperation of the Field Security Section. When he finished shaking her hand, he introduced her to Hart, who was very polite and said it would take a little over an hour to get to Villach.

Hanne said in that case they’d better get a move on, and thank you very much but she could carry her own case.

The Field Security Section had taken over a building on Hauptplatz in the centre of Villach, halfway between the Drava river and St Jakob’s church. It served as their base and their living quarters, and when Captain Hart came down for breakfast the following morning, the Danish woman was waiting for him, clearly impatient to get started.

She asked him what the Field Security Section actually did. Captain Hart explained that their primary function was to run the denazification process, to interview people who’d been prominent in the previous regime, to look at documents and to assist with intelligence that could help the British forces in Austria.

‘Very well – and have you found many Nazis?’

He paused as one of his men brought in a cup of tea and a plate of toast. He placed his cigarette in the saucer and drank the tea, looking at Hanne as if he was unsure of what to make of her. His first impression was that she was very calm and organised.

‘The trite answer would be no – very few people in Austria will admit to having been a Nazi, and those we can prove were members of the Nazi Party tell us they were obliged to join it otherwise they’d lose their jobs. It’s remarkable, actually: Carinthia was one of the most loyal regions of the Reich, yet somehow the whole place has gone rather quiet. People here insist Austria was as much a victim of the war as other occupied countries: they don’t seem to understand why we’re treating them like the Germans. So the long answer to your question is that we get remarkably little cooperation. We’ve sent a few prominent local Nazis to Klagenfurt, and at the moment my main priority is keeping an eye on whoever returns to the town.’