‘Peter’s role,’ said Otto reassuringly, ‘is more commercial. He’s shadowing me on the sales side of our business so that if for some reason I’m unable to visit you, he could take my place. He is even due to start German language lessons soon. The truth is, Bruno, your drawing and specifications are so good that our draughtsmen and engineers need to do little with them. You could always find a job with us.’

For the next few hours, Bruno brought a series of drawings to the large table in the middle of the meeting room. They were intricate diagrams of machine parts. The idea was that Otto would then estimate a price and the following day negotiations would continue.

‘It is difficult to raise this, Bruno, but after my last visit the price we had to agree on… it barely covered our costs.’

‘Our instructions are…’ Bruno paused and glanced at Prince, who’d adopted a mildly dazed look suggesting he didn’t understand what they were talking about. ‘Your colleague, Peter – are you sure he won’t understand this part of the conversation?’

‘Of course I’m sure. To be honest, I told them it’s not much use him not speaking German, but they insisted. He has family connections with one of our directors, you know how it goes. He is bright, though, and reliable.’

‘Very well then: our instructions are to impose the lowest price possible on suppliers from the occupied countries. I know that sounds blunt and unpleasant, but it is what I’ve been told. If it is of any comfort, I could have pushed you even harder. The bosses here think we can get everything on the cheap. I tell them that if we do that, our locomotives will break down again. It’s not as if that hasn’t happened before.’

Another hour of talks, some translated into Danish, and then Bruno suggested they go to the canteen before they visited one of the specialist workshops.

‘Tonight, Otto, I was going to suggest we had dinner at the same restaurant we went to in August. Would you like that?’

‘That would be most pleasant, Bruno, thank you very much. Will your friend be joining us again?’

Bruno looked around before nodding.

‘And I presume the invitation extends to Peter?’

He raised his eyebrows, an unspoken question.

‘Don’t worry,’ Otto said. ‘He’s most trustworthy. I can absolutely assure you of that.’

A long period of silence, during which Bruno drummed the eraser end of his pencil on one of his diagrams. He had a slightly worried look about him. He shot a glance at Prince, who was staring out of the window into the main assembly plant below. An enormous hoist was travelling across the ceiling, a huge boiler suspended from it by chains, and he was following its progress, clearly fascinated.

‘I think I understand, Otto. That’s why you brought him to Berlin, isn’t it?’