‘And who knows what else.’ Laure dropped her face into her hands. Greatly daring, Petr stroked her hair. ‘He was due to be transported to a prison outside Prague.’

‘Oh God.’ Pale with emotion, she lifted her face from her hands. ‘Was there anything else?’

He hesitated, and she repeated the question impatiently.

‘There’s no record of him leaving the hospital, which could mean he died or someone was negligent. The records aren’t infallible and many have been destroyed.’

She seemed to have got herself under control. ‘OK. He could have died there. But we don’t know for certain.’ Her voice shook. ‘Could he have got out from the Bartolomĕjská?’

Her accent had not improved. In fact, it was terrible, but it was one of the many attractive things about Laure. ‘In his state, he would have had to have had powerful friends. I think you must accept that Tomas probably did not survive.’

Laure wasn’t listening. ‘Then it’s possible he was sprung from the hospital and made it to… somewhere? Hungary?’

‘Even if he did, it would be tough living on the run. Very. No papers. No money.’

‘You’re saying he was tortured?’

‘If he wasn’t talking, almost certainly.’

‘Tomas wouldn’t have talked.’

‘Sweet Laure. He was being beaten up.’

‘No,’ she contradicted. ‘Tomas had armed himself. Prepared. Mentally, I mean because he knew what might happen.’

‘We both know that we don’t know what someone would do in those circumstances,’ he said, and Laure gave a sharp intake of breath. ‘The ones you expect to hold out, don’t. But the meek and flavourless sometimes do. They dig something out of themselves. Or they tell themselves that this is their last chance to make a mark on life, whether it’s witnessed or not.’

‘Well, you would be the expert.’ Her hand resting on her thigh balled into a fist. ‘I knew it, really. I felt it. I felt his suffering.’

‘Listen to me: Tomas is almost certainly dead.’

She was silent. Then, she shook her head. ‘Until I know for certain, I will leave the door open. But I can’t forgive you for betraying him.’

‘Are you quite sure that’s true?’ He flashed back at Laure.

She went as white as paper. ‘It’s a common reaction for the guilty to off-load guilt onto others.’

He spoke more gently. ‘It’s a function of human psychology to hide unpleasant truths behind so-called memory loss.’

‘You lie,’ she said. ‘You always lied.’

‘And you were careless with your words. Did you ever think about that?’

There was a long pause, and he saw her picking her way down the memories. ‘I was frightened.’

‘And angry with Tomas?’

She shook her head.

‘Laure,’ he said, ‘you’re older now. You must see the love affair in a different light. It was a thing of youth. Not real.’