There was a long pause. Enough time had elapsed. Prince remembered they’d told him Slovenia was just five miles from Trieste, so they’d almost certainly be there by now. It was probably safe to tell the truth.

‘Actually, sir, I believe some of our Slovenian friends may have captured him. I saw them dragging him away just before our chaps—’

‘So Bartholomew tells me – and you didn’t try to stop them?’

Prince laughed. ‘I think you’ll find that even had we wanted to, Hanne and I would have been outnumbered.’

‘So you just let them take him.’

‘He’ll face justice, sir, I think we can be sure of that.’

‘And the others? A bloodbath by the sounds of it.’

‘The woman killed Edward Palmer before we got there, and then killed herself.’

‘Poison, I understand?’

‘I’m afraid so, sir.’

There was a long silence during which Prince heard Gilbey cough and possibly say something to another person.

‘I think, Prince, it would be safer all round if you and Hanne returned to London immediately.’

‘Of course, sir.’

‘Let’s just hope no more opportunities present themselves before you get here, eh?’

They stayed in Trieste that night. Bartholomew didn’t want to leave the city while it was dark, but he made a point of ensuring that Prince and Hanne were never left alone. Either he or someone from the FSS was with them the whole time, and when they went to bed, the door was locked and a guard remained outside.

But there was one lapse, and it came the following morning. They were already awake and were beginning to pack when there was a knock on their bedroom door and they heard the FSS guard tell them to open it for the chambermaid. When the young woman came in, she closed the door behind her and went over to the sink, where she turned on both taps before turning round and beckoning them towards her. It was only then that they realised it was Marija, barely recognisable with a scarf tied round her head.

‘Come closer, I don’t have long.’

The three of them huddled together.

‘We took Friedrich Steiner straight to Maribor and interrogated him all night. It was so easy – the man’s terrified and showed no courage whatsoever. He gave us the details of all the safe houses he stayed in – in the Tyrol, near Munich, Salzburg, all of them. He was truly desperate to tell us as much as he could, anything to save himself. We’ve written those addresses down for you – here.’ She handed them a piece of paper. ‘He pleaded for us to spare him and he betrayed everyone he could think of. I’ve given you those names too; the only ones we are interested in are those in Slovenia, and he gave us the names of some informers from Maribor. He even told us, would you believe, all about his father – how he’s a senior Nazi and where we can find him.’