A woman around the same age as Prince arrived early the next morning at the tiny attic flat in the shadow of the port. She busied herself making breakfast before joining him at the table.

‘You have your new legitimationskort?’

Prince nodded and handed the card to her. ‘I’m Hans Olsen, a sales representative from Aarhus. Do I look like a Hans Olsen from Aarhus?’

‘Well you certainly look like a sales representative. Listen, we have no time to joke. Your other identity card is sewn into the top part of your rucksack. When you get to Copenhagen, switch to that one and destroy the Olsen identity. Understand?’

He assured her he did.

‘Here are your tickets. I’ll travel with you on the train for the first part of your journey, as far as the ferry port. When the ferry docks, there’ll be buses waiting: take the one to Odense. When you arrive there, head towards the train station. It’s only a short walk. Remember what Niels has told you: act normally, don’t keep turning round, and walk at an even pace. Assuming you’re not being followed, a man will approach you and ask if St Canute’s Cathedral is worth visiting. You are to reply that it dates back to the eleventh century. Then you will accompany him. If you suspect anything, apologise and say it is your first time in Odense.’

‘And what will happen if he thinks I have been followed?’

‘Then he won’t approach you.’

They took the second train of the day from Esbjerg to Lunderskov, and from there it was a short bus journey to the small port, where the ferry to Funen was already waiting to cross Kolding Fjord. Prince’s legitimationskort was checked twice on the journey: once on the train by a Danish policeman, who passed it on to a German plain-clothes officer; the second time at the port, when he was just one of three men in the queue asked to show their cards.

The atmosphere in Odense felt considerably more menacing than that in Esbjerg or elsewhere on the journey. The station forecourt was swarming with German troops and there was a palpable air of tension as soldiers pushed through a crowd that was noticeably reluctant to give them clear passage. The Danes were not exactly impeding the Germans, but nor were they making things easy for them, and there was much pushing and shoving. As the passengers from Prince’s train joined the melee, matters seemed to get worse. Some of the younger German soldiers were beginning to look edgy; a woman in her fifties shouted to one of them in German that they were to show manners. Remember where you are!