‘What will we do with the money?’

‘Oh, Bette,’ Lieselotte said, her voice sharp and cross. ‘It’s not a lot of money and we need to buy food. This is all we have.’

‘I still don’t see why I can’t join you.’ Bette flounced on a chair, crossed her arms, watching as Lieselotte lifted a suitcase from behind the sofa. ‘I won’t be a nuisance. I won’t interrupt.’

‘Stop it,’ Lieselotte said. ‘You’re getting on my nerves. The answer is no, no and no. Understood?’

Bette huffed, scowled. ‘When is Vati coming home?’

‘I don’t know.’ Lieselotte bit her lip. ‘Perhaps he’s a prisoner somewhere.’ She smiled. ‘Come, help me pick which piece to sell this time.’

They chose the Bavarian clock, with its incessant chimes that they had both wanted to suffocate. Bette lifted it out of its wrappings as if it were a hot coal.

‘Are you all right?’ Lieselotte said. ‘Sorry, I didn’t mean to get cross.’

Bette shrugged. ‘Are you sure I can’t come with you? I don’t want to be here by myself.’

‘Don’t be silly,’ Lieselotte said. ‘You’ll be fine. Besides, man of house.’ She laughed, mimicking Boris’s Russian accent. ‘You’ve got the gun to protect you.’

‘That’s not a joke,’ Bette said. ‘It’s probably not even loaded. Please let me come.’

‘Go to Frau Weber,’ Lieselotte said. ‘I’m sick of arguing.’

‘But what if something happens to you?’

‘What’s going to happen to me?’

Bette shrugged. ‘I don’t know,’ she said, adding, ‘You’re going to marry this soldier and leave me alone.’

‘Marry him?’ Lieselotte spat the word. ‘Oh, Bettechen.’ She squatted on the floor next to her, pulled her close and cradled her head. ‘Of course not. He’s just a soldier. I’ve no idea who he is.’ She kissed Bette on the forehead. ‘I would never, ever leave you.’ Bette felt her sister’s hands on her cheeks as she pushed her face away. ‘Look at me.’ Lieselotte’s eyes were gold in the sunlight, flecked with bronze and emerald, far richer than her own dull, grey ones. ‘I will never leave you,’ she said again. ‘Do you understand?’

Bette nodded. ‘It’s just that…’ She paused, looking at her sister, fears curdling. ‘Mutti died and left me, and Vati has gone, and if you went…’ She felt a tear, wiped it away fast. ‘What would happen to me?’

‘For a start, nothing will happen, and even if it does, you go and find Oma in Dahlem. Now, I need to get ready. So move.’