‘I’ve given my man the evening off, so we’re alone until…’ their host glanced at his wristwatch, ‘ten thirty. That gives us two hours – more than enough time. You followed my instructions to the letter, I hope?’

‘Yes, Admiral, absolutely.’ Bourne’s breathing was still heavy.

‘And I trust you didn’t go anywhere near the front of the house or onto the lane? The bastards are still watching me, you know: I don’t know whether it’s MI5 or Special Branch, I think they maybe take it in turns. In the two years since I was released from prison, I don’t think they’ve missed a day.’

Bourne and Ridgeway both tutted and shook their heads. The two men had known the Admiral for some time and admired him enormously. As Bourne had said to Ridgeway during their otherwise silent drive up, the man was remarkable. To have someone of his stature and vision still involved in what remained of their movement had been an inspiration. Had it been a lesser person, they doubted the movement would have lasted much beyond 1939.

As it was, his loyalty to the cause had survived the test of the outbreak of war and indeed the difficult few months leading up to it. After the destruction of the synagogues in Germany in March 1938, many lesser folk had left the movement, but the Admiral had set a steadfast example for those resolved to stand by Germany. His network in Britain was impressive, as was people’s loyalty to him. Even more impressive were the contacts he had in Germany, which he’d managed to maintain both before and after his imprisonment.

They’d discussed the injustice of his imprisonment too. Defence Regulation 18B was a scandal, far worse than anything Nazi Germany was being accused of. It was used to throw patriots like the Admiral into prison – in his case for two years – without trial. It did rather vindicate though what the Admiral always said: that the war had been engineered by the Jews and the communists for their own benefit, and Germany should have been seen as Britain’s ally.

‘Notwithstanding the risk inherent in you coming here, I thought it would be useful for us to be clear as to where we are: we cannot afford any misunderstandings, can we?’

Both men said ‘No, Admiral’ at the same time, and jumped as a grandfather clock noisily struck nine o’clock.

‘Don’t worry about that; it’s five minutes fast. Well done for getting Palmer out of the country – and with all the money too.’

‘Much of that credit is due to Myrtle: for a woman she is remarkably calm and well organised. As far as we understand, they’ve left Turin and should be in Trieste any time now.’

‘And no sign of them being followed on the journey?’

‘Not as far as she’s aware. As you know, the plan is that once they get to Trieste, they’ll meet up with Friedrich, Ulrich and whoever else is there, and then catch the boat, which we understand you know more about than us.’