Tom heard his accent. He was shocked. ‘Are you German?’ He could barely utter the words.

‘Yes, I am,’ said Rudi quietly.

Tom was trying to control his anger. The betrayal seemed complete. ‘A German … dear God!’

He turned his back on the man and stepped away. He was rigid with hatred. Then, in an instant, he turned again, walked forward and grabbed Rudi by the shirt collar. ‘I think you know why.’ His voice was cold and his blue eyes were chips of ice.

Rudi took a deep breath. ‘I know who you are – Lily told me. So, can we talk?’

‘There’s nothing to say,’ said Tom, releasing his hold and stepping back. ‘I’ve seen all I needed to see.’

‘There’s a lot you don’t understand.’

‘I know enough.’

Rudi weighed his words carefully. ‘No you don’t … I know she loves you.’

‘What?’

Rudi stepped closer to Tom and spoke quietly. ‘So, if you love her you need to listen to what I have to say.’

Tom shook his head. ‘Why should I? It’s obvious that Freddie is your son.’

Rudi gave a brief nod of acknowledgement. ‘Yes, he is, and Lily is his mother.’

‘I knew it the moment I saw you together.’

‘Tom, in a week or so I am going back to Germany once and for all, but before I go you need to know the truth – the truth about Lily.’

Tom was in despair. ‘The truth! It’s been a lie from the start.’

Again, Rudi measured his words. ‘We have a word in German – Notlüge.’

‘What’s that?’

‘In English you would say a “white lie”.’

‘A white lie is still a lie.’

‘Tom, she had no choice.’

‘Choice? She chose you as her lover.’

‘We were young and it was a long time ago. We were both trapped, her as a Land Girl knowing no one and in a difficult family, and me as a prisoner-of-war working on the farm. We were drawn to each other.’

‘So why was it a white lie?’

‘Because it was Florence who made the decision to hide the truth. She was so deeply ashamed. She thought it would protect Lily from what people would think of her as an unmarried mother.’

There was a silence between them as realization began to dawn for Tom.

‘I can understand that,’ he muttered. ‘That’s how people think.’

Rudi could see the tension starting to fall away from Tom and he stepped closer. ‘I don’t want to leave without giving Lily a chance of happiness. She is a wonderful woman.’

‘That’s what I thought, but she has been living a lie with me.’

‘Please give her the opportunity to make things right.’

‘How can I? Everything I believed to be true has gone.’

‘But not your love for her.’

Tom sighed, knowing this was true. ‘What about Freddie? Does he know?’

‘No, and he mustn’t know for his own protection.’