They said nothing for the first five minutes. Prince ate, occasionally glancing up at Sophia. She was the kind of woman people in England would tend to refer to as refined, and was younger than he’d thought. While he’d been in the bath, she had changed into a smart dress and had put on more make-up, most noticeably dark red lipstick.

She waited until he’d finished his soup before she spoke.

‘You must have so many questions.’

‘I’m not sure how much you can tell me – and I’m certainly not sure how much I can tell you.’

‘You don’t need to tell me anything. I know as much as I need to know, and I’ll tell you what you need to know. Can you pass me the potato salad, please? I don’t know if you like wine, but my husband got that bottle from France. Apparently it is excellent, I brought it with me from Berlin.’

She filled her plate with potato salad and cold meats and poured wine into two crystal glasses.

‘I could have brought my maid with me from Berlin too but decided it would be prudent not to. So for the first time in many years I’m looking after myself, and to be honest, I quite enjoy the solitude. A local girl comes in most mornings to clean, but I’ve told her not to bother tomorrow or Wednesday. By Thursday, you should be gone. You realise I work for the British, don’t you? In Berlin my job was to keep an eye on you and ensure you were safe. I spotted the Gestapo following the Luftwaffe officer. My job here is to get you into Peenemünde and then to pass on any messages you can get out of the place. When your mission is finished, I’ll do my best to help you return to Denmark, then I can go home to Berlin.’

‘What is your excuse for being in Greifswald?’

‘Have you heard of the Frauenschaft? It’s a Nazi women’s organisation. Dutiful wives like me are expected to attend its dreadful meetings where we blame the Jews for everything and then decide what good we can do. They run an orphanage here in Greifswald and I volunteered to come up for a few weeks to help out. Everyone thinks I’m wonderful. Take some more herring: it’s really rather good, a local speciality. Those pickled cucumbers are good too.’ She pushed some more plates in his direction. ‘My husband is a senior officer in the SS. He’s a Brigadeführer, which is equivalent to a general, apparently. He’s currently taking part in the Battle of Stalingrad, hopefully suffering like the rest of them and awaiting defeat. With luck, I’ll never see him again. You look confused?’

‘You wish that on your husband?’