Susan had met him one evening on her way home from her job as a maid to Harold’s mother. Montel had been sitting in the same doorway every evening, and she’d begun to feel sorry for him. He always spoke to her, and those early greetings led to conversations, and then to her bringing him food. As she listened to Montel’s story, she felt akin to him, as she too felt a lost soul, having been brought up in an orphanage and then put into service at a young age, in a failing household where she had to work long hours. When she eventually got a job with the Rofords, she’d had to find lodgings in London – a cheap attic flat in Brixton.

It wasn’t long after meeting Montel that Susan offered him shelter. He slept on her sofa and began to take care of her, as he wasn’t able to get work. She couldn’t say when the idea of marrying him came about, but it seemed like a good solution to his problems and it didn’t matter to her. She was already deeply in love with Harold, but knew he would never marry her. Her marriage to Montel was therefore one of convenience, but over time he became the best friend she’d ever had. He knew, from the start, all about Harold. He didn’t find it strange, because where he came from affairs were commonplace and he saw it as the normal way of life.

Once they were married, Montel was able to apply to become a British citizen at the end of the war. Somehow he managed to hide that he was a war criminal. Not that it was difficult, for everyone’s personal records were in a mess. And he assumed that he was considered dead in his own country, as this was the fate of many deserters, because it was impossible for most of them to survive. They couldn’t go home, they couldn’t get work, and they were hounded by those who chose to carry on fighting to the end, and by the families of those soldiers who’d lost their lives.

All in all, it had been a good arrangement. Montel had asked nothing of Susan, and their relationship was a platonic one. How he satisfied the sexual side of himself, she didn’t know and never asked. He was her friend, and that was that. When she found herself pregnant with Sibbie, Montel had assumed the role of father. Susan had been bitterly hurt by Harold’s rejection when Mags had turned up, although he made her understand that was how it had to be, until he could come for her. Well, he’d done that now – but at what price?

Susan didn’t altogether believe his story that he hadn’t raped that young woman. She knew her Harold and loved him, despite his ways. Her heart went out to Mags, as she knew Mags also loved him, but expected too much of him. What had happened that night – well, what she could glean of it – must have hurt Mags so much. And yes, it could have caused a breakdown; but to lead to her being committed, that didn’t seem right.