Europe was like this now: everyone seemingly on the move, journeys born out of desperation, destinations unclear or a secret, and an all-pervading sense of mistrust. A shudder ran down his back as he wondered whether he had either the energy or the courage for all this, for this escape from a life that not so long ago had been so assured.

His only hope was to trust that Ulrich would somehow lead Friedrich away from this nightmare.

His son would now be a traveller on der Fluchtweg Falke.

The Kestrel escape route.

Chapter 6

London, September 1945

They were on the early-morning train from Lincoln to King’s Cross and Prince was trying to explain to his wife of less than a week why Tom Gilbey’s suggestion that the two of them come down to see him was a ‘summons’.

‘So it’s an order?’

‘Not as such, no.’

‘An invitation, then?’

‘Somewhere between an invitation and an order, but closer to an order.’

‘I don’t understand. Until I came to live here, I thought my English was very good, but…’

‘It is good, Hanne.’

‘But there’s so much I don’t seem to grasp. You call it nuance, don’t you?’

‘We do, though actually I think nuance is a French word originally. But I know what you mean. English is full of subtle meanings. We’re very good at understatement – for instance, if someone asks “How are you?” a response of “I’m not too bad, thank you” could either mean that you’re fine or that things aren’t good.’

Hanne shook her head and stared at the English countryside flying past. ‘So how do you know what they mean?’

‘You get used to it. An accompanying facial expression can make all the difference, and it also depends very much on who says it. You asked me the other day about the British class system, didn’t you?’

‘I asked you which class I’m now a member of.’

‘And I said middle class: my parents owned their own home, I – we – own ours, I have a senior job and I went to a grammar school. Tom Gilbey, on the other hand, belongs to what we’d call the upper class, and—’

‘Is that the highest class?’

‘Not as such; he’s not aristocracy, which is a whole different matter.’

‘So the king and queen – they’re upper class?’

‘This is where it gets very complicated, Hanne. They’re probably regarded as being in a class of their own.’

‘I don’t think I understand.’

‘Probably best not to try to: you’ll get used to it. But the point I’m trying to make is the fact that Tom Gilbey belongs to the upper class goes a long way to explaining how he treats people like us. Are you all right, Hanne? You look uncomfortable?’

‘I’m all right. These seats are hard to sit on, though.’

‘I know. But you’re not feeling too tired today?’

‘I’m feeling so much better, Richard. On days like today it feels as if I never had typhus. Carry on, you were telling me about Mr Gilbey’s class.’