She had protested that she had too much work to do and couldn’t take him, but he knew that the truth was she didn’t want to be seen with him. An offer of money did not change her mind, but his persistence wore her down and she succumbed. ‘Your shoes are stupid, though,’ she said. ‘They look like tennis shoes.’

‘Well, they’re all I’ve got with me.’

‘Are you a married man, Herr Wilde?’

‘I am.’

‘Well, I am sure your wife would agree with me.’ She smiled at him. ‘I have an old pair of Peter’s boots still. They look about your size.’

‘That’s very kind, Frau Jaeger. Thank you.’

‘His smoked glasses, too. The sun can be extremely bright and damaging to the eyes when you go high in these mountains.’

Wilde accepted both offers. As they walked up the track, he had his hands in his jacket pockets as a precautionary measure. The villagers might not have known whether he was gripping a gun butt, but these were ordinary farming folk and they weren’t likely to take any chances with him.

When they were away from the settlement and climbing steeply on a woodland path heading north-west, Wilde removed his left hand from his pocket and took her by the upper arm. ‘I wanted to thank you, Frau Jaeger.’

‘It is a small enough thing.’

‘Are you OK? Are you worried about your neighbours?’

‘I will be fine.’

‘Won’t you be seen as a traitor?’

‘I don’t know, but it’s too late to change my mind now. Anyway, there have been too many lies these past seven years. Too many cowards.’

Wilde understood, but he was worried about her. The woman was patently honest with a strong sense of morality.

‘Tell me, sir, did the Nazis really do all those things that are now said? Kill all those Jewish people in the camps? Women, children and the old?’

‘They really did that.’

‘I don’t know what to say. I am so ashamed – the whole world will spit on us and shun us. We will all be counted as guilty.’

Wilde didn’t know what to say either. He couldn’t accept her contrition on behalf of the dead and bereaved, but nor did he condemn her out of hand for crimes committed by others. ‘Come on,’ he said. ‘This is no time for such discussions. How long is the walk?’

‘An hour and a half, maybe a little more depending on the state of the paths. They have not been maintained so well during the war years. It is more than just a walk, you see. In places, it is a difficult climb, particularly the final section – probably to discourage casual visitors. After all, the hermits wished to be alone and undisturbed.’