Since then she’d been to Berlin only twice, each time returning with jewellery belonging to two of Hester’s cousins who, with their families, were now living in Shuttleworth Hall’s west wing. With Paul’s sponsorship they had legally entered the country as agricultural trainees and domestic servants, categories acceptable to the Home Office as long as they were funded and as long as they agreed to ultimate settlement elsewhere.

Hester’s parents’ age had meant no such entry into the country was open to them, and even if it had been, Vicky knew they wouldn’t have taken advantage of it. ‘We’re Germans,’ they said stubbornly every time she visited them. ‘Hitler’s madness has to end soon. Don’t worry, Mrs Priestley. We’ll draw no attention to ourselves. We’ll be safe.’

‘The war may put an end to Hester’s activities with the forgery ring,’ she said unhappily, ‘but it will also put an end to her seeing her parents. That’s going to be very hard for her to accept, Adam. It could be years before she gets news of them again.’

‘She’ll get news of them through Max and Paul,’ he said reasonably.

She sat upright so abruptly she sent a pillow tumbling. ‘What on earth do you mean?’

His eyes widened as he realized she hadn’t taken on-board what was, to him, self-evident. ‘Paul has an American passport. If there is a war, it will be a European war. If necessary, he’ll be able to travel to Berlin, even though he’ll have to do so via America and Switzerland. As for Max…his father is German. He was born in Germany. I suspect his employers are going to take full advantage of that situation.’

She knew the word ‘employers’ referred to the British government, not Barings Bank, and she blanched. Accustomed as she was to living with danger—and knowing that members of her family were living with danger also—it had not occurred to her that Max’s activities for MI6 might very well keep him behind enemy lines if war broke out. She clenched her hand, pressing it against her mouth.

‘Vicky, darling, I’m sorry. I thought you’d realized…’ Sick at heart he pulled her into his arms again. ‘It may not happen,’ he said, struggling to find words to comfort her. ‘Just because Paul could travel to Germany doesn’t mean he will do so. He isn’t an unnecessary risk-taker. He survived from 1914 to 1918 without having contact with his mother, apart from letters, and I dare say he’ll survive this coming war the same way. As for Max…who knows how—or where—intelligence officers will be used in a war? What I said was purely supposition, darling. Don’t brood on it. None of it, not even the war, may ever happen.’

Tilting her face to his he kissed her tenderly and then with rising passion—passion she answered in full, losing her fears in her overpowering physical response to him.

Later, despite the deep comfort of their love-making, she lay awake long after he had fallen asleep. Her one consolation, amid all her anxieties, was that she no longer had to fear for Hester’s safety. Hester was in London with Hugo, and if Hugo left the Foreign Office for active service she would no doubt come and live at Shuttleworth Hall.