It was odd. The way the mood in the room changed. On the arrival of the visitors I was conscious of an awkward suspicious edge to them that was not well hidden behind the polite smiles and handshakes. But the air base had rolled out its most personable officers to mingle with us and answer our questions, and there was something about these American airmen with their clean-cut faces and their can-do attitude. There was something that was . . . I struggled to put a word to it . . . that was inspiring.

Highly skilled. Highly trained. And passionate about what they were doing here. Saving the free world. A few of them spoke a little French but the CO had laid on interpreters to mingle with them. I could feel the hostility drain away like sand running through my fingers. Across the room I caught the eye of Major Joel Dirke and we exchanged smiles, but he was caught in the grip of a local chicken farmer who was looking irate. Maybe the overflying aircraft were disturbing his hens’ laying pattern. I’d heard one man claim the noise of the jets had made his dog so nervy it would not go boar-hunting anymore. What was Joel Dirke saying? That it’s all part of saving the world?

It was Léon my eyes sought out. Again and again, scanning the heads, but he had not arrived yet and I felt a stirring of concern. What police business had detained him?

‘Mr Caussade, I am pleased to see you came.’

Colonel Masson was standing in front of us, looking uncertain of his welcome. My father shook the CO’s hand but grunted his response in Provençal, which made me want to pour my wine over him.

‘I am Eloïse Caussade,’ I offered, ‘and this is my colleague from Paris, Mademoiselle Favre.’

He greeted us with military courtesy. ‘It’s good to see so many here,’ he said, looking around the room. He was half a head taller than most, with eyes that drilled into you, seeking out your weak spot. ‘I intend today, by the grace of God, to bring a spark of enlightenment to the subject of nuclear power and its force for doing the Lord’s work. To purge the land of the evil of Communism which seeks to rid the world of His churches.’

Ah. So it was personal. I found myself liking this man who believed in the godliness of America’s purpose in Europe.

‘I look forward to hearing more,’ I said. ‘That’s why we’re here.’ And before he could move on to the next group, I asked silkily, ‘Is it true that you are planning on flying nuclear-powered aircraft over here from America, even though it is still in the early stages of testing?’

His surprise was so fleeting, I barely saw it. His military training kicked in. He knew exactly how to deal with an ambush. Shoot it down.