Klara put a hand to her mouth and did the same; they stayed that way the whole of the journey, unable to move away from their respective sides of the boat. Wilde was fine, perhaps because his mind was on the rowing or perhaps because of his many days of sailing with Jim Vanderberg. But he had never experienced a sea as rough as this. As they approached the trawler he was surprised by the size of the vessel, looming and swaying above them in the darkness. A rope ladder was slung over the bulwark. Then a mooring line was tossed down and the oarsman fought to tie her up against the ship.

Sunny lunged for the rope ladder and got a hold. Rung by rung, she was slapped into the side of the trawler, but she held on and, at the top, she was helped on to the deck by a sailor. Catching her breath, she waited at the railings. Wilde helped the child on to the rope ladder and ascended directly behind her, making sure she did not lose her grip and plunge into the icy waves. At the top Sunny reached forward, took hold of her arms and hauled her aboard with the assistance of one of the trawlermen.

At last they were all up, but they did not feel a great deal more comfortable; the trawler was heaving and straining against its anchor chain. A pair of seamen escorted them unsteadily to the wheelhouse where they were welcomed by skipper Schmidt. In the darkness, Wilde could not make out his features, but his voice, rough from cigarettes and salt spray, had a kindness behind the sense of command.

Schmidt shook hands with Wilde and Klara, and gave his old friend Sunny a triple cheek-kiss.

‘And now you get down to the cabin. We have no time to lose. We must get far out to sea before we can use our lights. A coastal protection vessel will be here within ten minutes, and we must be gone by then. If they see us we will be stopped and searched.’

‘Thank you,’ Wilde said. ‘Thank you for this.’

‘Don’t thank me yet,’ Schmidt said. ‘In these conditions we will not make the Falsterborev lightship for ten or twelve hours, maybe more. I would offer you food – bacon and eggs – but you would simply give it up to the sea, for you will all be sick the whole way unless you can get to sleep. One word of warning – if we look like being stopped, you will be moved at speed from the cabin into a concealed compartment within the bilges, which will not be pleasant. And you will have to be as silent as the grave.’

*

In the pitch darkness, they had to feel their way, guided by sailors, down a companionway to the cabin, which had two bunks. They were each handed a bucket and were then left to their own devices.