The landlord shrugged. ‘A snob. She had a sharp tongue. Spoke to me like a servant. Wanted the sheets on the bed changed because she said they weren’t clean enough. They’d only been washed a week before. She said that at her home she had fresh sheets every day. I feel sorry for her servants.’

‘And did she say where her home was?’ Silver Hand asked.

‘Her house in Peronne had been wrecked by shells so she was going to her summer home as soon as the Germans were cleared out of the area.’

‘And her summer home is where?’ Father Gaulle asked.

‘Hirson, she said. About fifty kilometres to the east of here. She set off two days ago.’

‘Did she buy a new donkey?’ Grimm asked sharply.

‘No, she had the same old donkey she called Daisy.’

The sergeant’s eyes widened. ‘Then the runaways must have brought it back. Maybe they are still travelling with her.’

‘To Hirson at least,’ Benedict said softly. He took a bundle of francs out of his pocket and placed them on the table.

‘That’s too much, Father,’ the landlord said.

Benedict grinned. ‘It is worth every sou.’

He hurried Silver Hand to the door. ‘You’re right, we need to get to Germany. But on the way we can go through Hirson.’

‘They have two days’ start,’ the sergeant reminded the priest.

‘So we need to move quickly.’

Silver Hand frowned. ‘On these crowded roads? Even if we had a lorry we wouldn’t catch them.’

‘No, but a horse could. We can go cross-country to Hirson, find where this woman lives and be there waiting for them. I will go to the local church in Attilly and ask to borrow horses. I’ll say it is God’s work. Gott mit uns, my comrade. Gott mit uns.’

October 1918: the road from Saint Quentin

The October winds were spiteful but among the ruined streets of Saint Quentin they found a shop with the clothes they needed.

Madame Clare spent the days that passed in her sulk. Whenever she argued about opening her chest to pay for good food or clothing then Aimee tapped Marius’s backpack with the grenade inside.

At the town of Benoite, Aimee found an army base and sent a message back to her mother. This time she waited long enough for a reply. ‘Captain Ellis’s men went to arrest Father Gaulle in Cléry but he had vanished. They think he is going to join Grimm and flee to Germany on the same roads you are travelling. They are still a danger. You are being watched over, so I know you are safe at the moment. But your watcher has lost sight of Grimm. When you get to Hirson look for the priest, Father Raoul. He is a true member of the White Lady and will help your friend cross to the German lines. Love Maman.’