‘It would be interesting to discuss the Iberian Peninsula with you, given Peter tells me you were active there, but not at this time, because matters in Central Europe are more pressing. So I will now tell you something that Peter could not. We have had emissaries from Germany, people of various standing, who have tried to pass on to the Government that there are many groups who are as worried as we are about the direction in which Hitler is heading.’

‘With good cause.’

‘Unfortunately the Government has paid no attention to them.’

‘What about the people you …’ Cal had to pause himself to find the right word, ‘coordinated?’

‘Naturally we took their views more seriously, but whatever we have in terms of ability to act does not include political power, nor is there the slightest prospect of that changing, given the PM commands a solid majority in the House of Commons.’

Tempted to mention what František Moravec had told him in Prague about Hitler’s generals, Cal reasoned it would add nothing to be told that Britain was not the only place such tales were being spread; besides, Vansittart probably knew.

‘Do you mean the Government or Chamberlain?’

‘In some senses they are the same thing. Each time some emissary arrives the PM listens politely to what he is telling us, then refers the information to our Berlin embassy for a view, and unfortunately we have, in our ambassador there, a man, if you will forgive the vulgarity, so enamoured of Hitler it would not surprise me to find him kissing his bared posterior.’

Cal grinned. ‘Maybe sometime we should discuss the meaning of the word “vulgarity”.’

‘Every time noises are made about opposition to Hitler, Sir Nevile Henderson insists we ignore them as having no basis and that to give them credence upsets the German Government. Given that is right in tune with the views of the prime minister, such dismissals are then used to persuade the Cabinet of their lack of value.’

‘Peter intimated to me that the present policy is to go to any lengths to avoid another war.’

‘Unwise of him to do so, perhaps, but tending towards accurate, I’m afraid, and in Chamberlain we have a man not averse to letting Hitler know this through non-official channels, such as the American press.’

‘Not the leaders in our own newspapers.’

‘Those too!’ Vansittart replied bitterly; clearly most of the British press did not find favour with him. ‘So what we need, Mr Jardine, is some kind of irrefutable proof that there does indeed exist enough opposition to Hitler to be meaningful or, if it can be produced, something that clearly demonstrates his addiction to acting in bad faith.’

‘Sir Robert, half the nation hates him and everything he stands for and I know that from my own time in Germany. But they are, like you and your friends, people without power, and I fear that even you do not understand the nature of the way that country is run.’

‘On the contrary, I do, Mr Jardine, for I too have been there. Even in an official capacity it is easy to see that, left unchecked, the Nazi ideology will poison the whole of Europe.’

Vansittart suddenly became more animated, though such was his self-control it was nothing rabid.

‘Hitler is using the threat of some great Bolshevik conspiracy to get his own way and he must be stopped. Not that I do not see Communism as an equal threat to our way of life and one that must one day be challenged and defeated.’

Taking a deep breath, Vansittart sought to regain his normal urbane manner.

‘What I am saying, Mr Jardine, is this. In what you are about to do you have our blessing – that is, those who oppose Government policy – as well as any resources we have which you might need to employ in your task. Bring to the Cabinet table irrefutable proof that Hitler can be stopped by his own people and then perhaps that purblind dolt who heads our government can be made to see reason, or perhaps be forced to do so by his colleagues.’

Sir Robert stood up as Cal was thinking that the tasks Peter Lanchester had talked about had just been extended and he was not sure he welcomed the idea. Tempted to mention it, he was not really given the chance.

‘Needless to say, this is a conversation that has never taken place and should it emerge that we have even spoken on such a subject I will deny it. You are going to take risks on our behalf and for that I thank you, but do not be in any doubt that people like myself are taking risks too, though not with our lives.’

‘Has Peter been allotted the funds I might need?’

‘Peter has access to anything you might need, but we have to be cautious. When you are dealing with a man who delights in conspiracy, as Neville Chamberlain does, you must not give him sight of one, for he will exploit that to his own ends.’

‘I wonder you didn’t resign – in fact you could do so now.’

‘I would dearly love to have done so previously, Mr Jardine, but the PM moved me and when he did I was replaced with someone who agreed with anything he cared to say. Now I have at least a certain amount of access and to lose that by what would be an empty gesture would not aid matters. Good luck.’

Then he was gone, passing Peter Lanchester and indicating he wanted an equally quiet word. They conversed by the door of the lobby for a few moments, heads close, then Vansittart disappeared and Peter then came to join Cal.

‘He’s a decent man, Van, don’t you think, old boy? Chamberlain’s been very shabby in the way he has treated him.’

‘Did you find out anything about La Rochelle?’

‘Not yet,’ Peter replied, slightly thrown by the abruptness of the enquiry.

‘That’s a priority. If what your Sir Robert is hinting at is true and the answer does not lie in Czechoslovakia, I am going to have to go back into Germany, and being betrayed there will be a damn sight more inconvenient than what happened in France.’

‘I am working on it, but I have to be careful not to create the kind of suspicion that will alert certain people. That can only make matters worse.’

‘Let’s have another drink, shall we?’

Peter nodded towards his attire. ‘Are you not due somewhere?’

‘I am, but the person concerned has never been on time in her life.’

‘A lady, what?’ Peter cried, clearly curious. ‘Far to go?’

‘Connaught Square,’ Cal replied with a trace of defiance. It was wasted; Peter knew that was the Jardine family home but he was not going to invite a rebuke by saying so.

CHAPTER TEN

‘If I did not know you better, Callum Jardine, I would suspect you are already tipsy.’

He had drunk more than normal, probably for the purposes of Dutch courage, but whatever the reason it meant he was not prepared to reply in his usual sardonic manner.

‘Lizzie, you don’t know me at all.’

She was doing it again, standing where the light flattered her, just under a soft standard lamp. She had not been ready when he arrived, leaving him to pour another drink and wonder at the change of furniture – it seemed to take place between each of his visits. Last time it had been all white, now it was predominantly black lacquer, with the most alarming charcoal-grey and white zigzag carpet.

She too was dressed in black, in a garment that flickered with each tiny movement as the sequins that covered it caught the light. This was Lizzie’s usual opening gambit, to look seductive and vulnerable, and it had always affected him in the past. Yet now he felt different, less engaged, an observer more than a participant in her game and he knew in his heart it had nothing to do with alcohol.

Lizzie Jardine was still beautiful, not as she had once been, the debutante catch of the year who had taken the eye and heart of a young and newly commissioned Scottish officer preparing to go off to war. Then she had been a gamine creature; almost bird-like in fact, going on to fill out with full womanhood, making her a true beauty in her prime years.