‘I am praying for that, but I haven’t heard from them. At least if they sent Zabrim to me, that would ease my mind a little. I’m thinking of going to Poland to find out how they are. I checked and all the trains are still running. Maybe if I do, I can persuade them to come back with me.’

‘No, Ella, no! It’s too dangerous. Please think again, Ella, please. What does Arnie say about it?’

‘I haven’t discussed it with him.’

‘You haven’t discussed what, darling?’

‘Oh, Arnie, I didn’t see you. I – I . . . well, nothing – nothing really. I’ll tell you later.’

‘There’s no time like now. If you can share whatever it is with Flors, then you can share it with your husband, can’t you? Come on, old thing, what is it?’

As Ella poured out her thoughts, Arnie surprised Flors with his response. ‘I think that unless you do this, you will have an agonizing few years ahead of you, Ella – and I don’t want that. But I also think that you should wait to see if Hitler decides to take heed of Britain and France’s ultimatum – which I don’t think he will. If he doesn’t and invades Poland, it will be too dangerous for you to even think of going.’

Flors couldn’t believe the enormity of what Ella had proposed, and even less so that Arnie was partially agreeing that she should go to Poland. After all, she had the feeling that Hitler would find a way of doing as he had in Czechoslovakia and fully invade Poland. And what if that happened when Ella was there?

‘I know what you’re thinking, Flors, but I understand Ella better than she does herself. Now that she has her family back in her life, it will kill her to think of the unspeakable things that might happen to them under a German regime. That applies to all of Poland, but for the Jewish community there – well, it doesn’t bear thinking about. I have to support her in this or I will be letting her down.’

They were all silent for a moment, unable to comprehend how quickly their ideal world had changed, and what the future might bring.

Their vineyard, Domaine de Florella, was one of the finest in the Languedoc region – not that this was Flors’s major concern. That she reserved for the safety of her dear friends Ella and Arnie and their children, but most of all for her own family – her dear husband, Cyrus, had been a prisoner in the last war. Surely he wouldn’t have to fight again? And Freddy and Randie were facing God-knows-what. Then there was her problem child, Monty. At seventeen, he was becoming more troublesome, showing traits of his despicable late uncle, Harold.

Oh, why am I thinking like this? Monty is just going through a phase, I’m sure.