‘And does this other group plan to assassinate Hitler at one of these conferences?’

‘Yes. But whether they’ll be able to successfully do so is another matter. They intend smuggling a bomb into the meeting and bombs are notoriously unstable. We attempted something similar a few months ago—smuggling a bomb aboard a plane that was flying Hitler from Berlin to Munich. It failed because the detonator didn’t fire. And another problem with bombs is that fuses make a hissing noise which it’s difficult to cover up.’

Ilse slid off his knee and crossed the room to the cocktail cabinet that had been a wedding present from her parents. ‘Do you know of any like-minded army officers or pilots who are due to receive a decoration for valour from the Führer?’ she asked, pouring vodka into a glass.

My cousin, Freddie. My father gave me the news only yesterday. He’s brought down a hundred enemy planes—which means an addition of Oak Leaves to his Knight’s Cross. He’s to go to Rastenburg to receive them.’

‘Rastenburg?’ Lotti said, hoping Ilse was going to be equally generous with the vodka when it came to filling her glass.

‘It’s Hitler’s latest HQ. As it’s in East Prussia and in the middle of a forest, it’s as far away from the bombed and burning rubble of our cities as our Supreme Leader can get.’

Ilse added vermouth to the vodka, her hand trembling slightly. ‘Do you remember Otto Schott?’ she asked. ‘He had a small role in Love and Intrigue.’

‘Vaguely.’ He looked across at her, hardly able to believe that such an exquisite creature was his wife. Because it was his birthday she had dressed for the occasion, uncaring of the likelihood of an air raid. Her ankle-length white satin dress swooped low at the back, revealing creamy, flawless skin. Her pale blonde hair, light and shining, fell in a soft wave to jaw level. She was loveliness personified and out of all the men she could have chosen, she had chosen him. ‘Otto was the good-looking young man Gründgens had intended grooming as a matinee idol, wasn’t he?’ he said, counting himself the luckiest man alive. ‘Why do you ask?’

She recrossed the room and handed him his Martini. ‘Because when Otto received his Oak Leaves to his Knight’s Cross, he wasn’t asked to relinquish his handgun before going into Hitler’s presence. If he’d mentally prepared himself to do so beforehand, he could have shot Hitler then and there.’

For a long moment, Nicholas was silent and then he said regretfully, ‘No. If that happened it was a fluke, Ilse. A one-off. It couldn’t possibly happen again.’

‘But it might!’ She dropped down to one knee in front of him, taking his free hand in hers. ‘It would be worth a try, wouldn’t it? Surely it’s a proposal you could put to Freddie?’

Nicholas looked from his wife to Lotti and back again and then he said slowly, with growing conviction, ‘Perhaps you’re right, Ilse. Perhaps it is worth a try.’