On 11 November, in a railway carriage in the forest of Compiégne, Germany signed an armistice.

All over the country church bells rang and people went mad with relief and joy. Paul and Max cycled through Little Ridding’s streets with the local Boy Scouts, sounding the all-clear for the last time on bugles and sirens. Everyone was out of doors, cheering, waving flags, letting off fireworks and dancing cakewalks. At Shuttleworth Hall there was a blaze of flags and bunting and her father, well prepared as always, opened up crate after crate of celebratory beer for the men and, for her, a bottle of champagne.

She shared it with him, knowing she was perhaps the only person in the country who was celebrating with such mixed emotions. The war was over and the killing had stopped, and for that blessing her heart was full and overflowing. It was not full and overflowing, though, at the thought of what was possibly happening in Berlin. Was Berthold perhaps only hours away from being arrested by Allied Military Police? And if he were to be arrested, how would she know? How would she get news?

Chapter Seven

Yorkshire, November 1918

Dear Vicky,

It is my painful duty to inform you that Berthold has been arrested by the Allies and that Josef’s arrest is possibly imminent. Zelda and the children remain in Baden-Württemberg where they are safer. The situation in Berlin is chaotic. Food shortages have reached critical proportions and influenza is rampant. People are dying in their hundreds. Getting further news to you as to where Berthold is being held and how long he is likely to be held before trial is not going to be easy, but I will do my best to keep you informed.

Yours respectfully,

Ernst Schulenburg

Vicky stared at the unfamiliar signature. Her first thought was that without Adam’s warning that such a thing could happen, she would be falling to pieces entirely. Her second thought was to wonder why it was Ernst who had written to her and not Zelda. Or was Zelda, in Baden-Württemberg, ignorant as to what was happening in Berlin? Perhaps she too was just receiving news from Ernst of Berthold’s arrest.

‘I’m leaving for Berlin,’ she said to her father as she showed him the letter. ‘I can’t simply sit and wait for news. I have to be on the spot. I have to try and visit him.’

‘Absolutely not!’ It was the first time in her life she had ever known her father be angry with her.

With his beloved newspaper still in his hands he rose to his feet, his face a mottled red. ‘There are no means for you to travel to Berlin. The war may technically be over, but Allied shipping is still blockading Germany. Ferries and trains will be full of prisoners being repatriated. Whatever the situation in Berlin when Schulenburg wrote to you, it will be worse now the Kaiser has fled to Holland. The whole country will be in an uproar. If it isn’t safe for Zelda to return to Berlin, it most certainly isn’t safe for you to go there.’