In May 1940, hoping to visit Italy and Greece, Elizabeth and Charles set sail from Antibes to Corsica and then onwards towards Sicily. They had reached the Strait of Messina when, on 1oth June 1940, Italy declared war on the Allied nations. An Italian patrol boat intercepted the ‘Evelyn Hope’ and Elizabeth and Charles were arrested and escorted to Sicily. Charles was suspected of being a spy and the couple were interned for some nineteen days in various parts of Italy. During that time, they lost most of their possessions including Elizabeth’s notebooks, manuscripts and cherished collection of recipes. They were finally released and expelled to neutral Yugoslavia where they were able to gain new documents from the British consul in Zagreb and then crossed the border into Greece, arriving in Athens in July 1940. By this time, Elizabeth was no longer in love with Charles but they remained together out of necessity. Charles found a job teaching English and Elizabeth began to cook again using local produce and recipes. When the Germans invaded Greece in April 1941, the couple fled to Egypt.