Rhineland Inheritance
Page 20
“I am only going to say this once, Captain, so listen up. We are no longer at war.”
“I’m not sure I understand, sir.”
“We are no longer at war,” the colonel repeated. “You can’t get away with bending the same rules you might have bent a year ago.” He inspected Jake to make sure the message had sunk home, then continued. “Still, I think I would have probably done exactly what you did.”
That shocked him cold. “Sir?”
“Or I hope I would have, anyway.” Beecham cocked his chair back and propped his feet on the corner of the desk. “Now I want you to consider something. The Occupying Forces need officers like you, son. There’s work to be done here. Vital work. We’re not just engaged in a police action. We are responsible for helping to rebuild an entire nation.”
“But, sir—”
Beecham held up his hand. “Just hear me out. Then you can say anything you like. There have been a lot of eyes on you recently. Most have liked what they’ve seen. A lot. These last few days were what you might call a final exam.”
Jake could not help but gape. “You disappeared deliberately, sir?”
“More like we took advantage of the circumstances. The general’s been busy forming the group he wants left in charge of reshaping this country. Had to make sure all the treasure hounds were rounded up and sent home. Looks like we’ve got them all.” The colonel permitted himself a satisfied smile. “Wanted to see how you handled the pressure of command, son. You did well. Very well, in fact. The general agrees.”
“He does? Sir?”
Beecham nodded. “I’m due for retirement in two months. So is Colonel Daniels up at Karlsruhe. Both of us are ready to go home. We’ve got families waiting, and we’re not suited for what’s coming next. I think you are, though, and Daniels’ aide, Major Hobbs, agrees. Hobbs is scheduled to take the same ship we’ll be leaving on, and feels you’d be a good man to place in charge of the new consolidated Karlsruhe command.”
“Sir,” Jake stammered. “I don’t know what to say.”
“We’re pushing you for a battlefield promotion. Probably the last of its kind—in this war, anyway. Going to jump you a grade, put you right in as colonel, acting officer in charge, to be confirmed in ninety days. What do you say?”
Jake was left speechless.
“It’s the chance of a lifetime, if you ask me. I’d urge you to jump on it with both feet.” Beecham stood up. In a daze, Jake rose and accepted the colonel’s hand. “You’re a good man, Burnes, and a good officer to boot. One of the finest I’ve served with, and I’ve served with some dillies. Go think it over, and let me know what you decide.”
* * *
Jake almost collided with Pierre as he left the colonel’s office. Servais searched Jake’s face. “It was bad, yes?”
Jake tried to collect himself. “I’m not sure.”
“I don’t see any blood. There are no guards. What happened?”
Jake pulled him into the hallway and told him the news.
Pierre said, “I don’t understand.”
“What’s there to understand?”
“This is great news. Why do you look so glum?”
“I don’t know whether I want to accept or not.”
Pierre smiled broadly. “My friend, may all your life be filled with such troubles as this.”
“This isn’t a joke, Pierre.”
“Wait. I too have news.” Pierre drew himself up to full height. “You are now looking at the new commander of the French garrison at Badenburg.”
“You?”
“Don’t look so shocked. I think they have made an excellent choice.” He patted Jake on the shoulder. “This of course would mean that I shall be close enough to offer advice whenever you are at a loss, Colonel.”
* * *
Jake arrived back at the main camp to find Sally Anders pacing the length of his barracks. “I’ve been cooling my heels around here for over an hour, soldier. Are you going to accept?”
He gazed at her. “Aren’t there any secrets around here?”
“Stow it, soldier. I asked you a direct question. I think I deserve a direct answer.”
Jake sank down on the bed and replied, “I don’t know.”
She sat down beside him. “Would it help any if I told you I was accepting a posting to Berlin?”
Jake was both surprised and pleased. Then he thought for a minute, and pointed out, “Berlin is a long away from Karlsruhe.”
“It’s a lot closer than Ottowa,” she replied. “Which was where I was headed until about three hours ago.”
“You did that? For me?”
“I bet colonels in charge of bases can find lots of reasons to go hobnobbing with the senior brass in Berlin.”
“Is that what you’re going for? To hobnob with the officers?”
“Maybe. At least with one in particular. That is, if he’ll let me. Hobnob, I mean.”
“I can’t see anybody turning you away, Sally,” he replied seriously.
“I’m not interested in just any old officer body,” she replied crisply. “One recently promoted colonel is the one I’ve got my eye on.”
“Oh, really?”
She nodded. “If he’ll have me.”
“What if he wants you to give up the big city of Berlin for a little nowhere town like Karlsruhe?”
She took a deep breath. “Then I guess he’s got his work cut out for him.” She rose before he could reach for her, and said, “That’s about all the risk-taking this girl can manage just now, especially with a desk piled high with transfer and promotion orders, and another soldier waiting to speak with you.”
“Let him wait,” he said. “Come and sit down.”
“Later,” she promised. She bent down and planted a solid kiss right where it belonged. Then she smiled, wiped the red smudge off his mouth, and said, “Can’t have our newest colonel receiving his first official visitor wearing lipstick.”
“Sally—”
“Don’t, Jake. I’m shaky enough already.” She bestowed upon him a trace of the tenderness he knew was there, and said in parting, “We’ll have time for this later.”
* * *
Jake was still staring at the door when Sergeant Morrows appeared, knocked, and asked, “Sir, could I speak with you for a moment?”
“Too much too fast,” Jake muttered.
Morrows hesitated. “Sir?”
“Nothing, Sergeant,” he replied. “Come on in.”
“Thank you, sir.”
Jake pointed to his footlocker. “I’m afraid this is the only seat I can offer you.”
“Oh, no thank you, sir.” Morrows remained standing, shifting his weight nervously from one foot to the other.
“What’s on your mind?”
Morrows twiddled with his cap and said, “It’s like this, sir. Me and the boys’ve been thinking.”
“Always a dangerous sign.”
“Yessir. Anyway, what we wanted to ask was, are you taking any share of the loot?”
Jake jerked to full-alert status. “What’s that got to do with anything?”
“We’d just like to know, sir.”
“I’ll get a share of the reward, just like everybody else,” Jake replied. “Someday. Maybe.”
“That’s not what I mean, sir.”
“If you’re talking about the coins, then the answer is no. That was intended for you men.”
“That’s sorta what we figured, sir. Me and the men, well . . .” Morrows hesitated.
“Go on, spit it out, man.”
“We want to give it back, sir,” Morrows said in a rush. “All of it.”
Jake was completely dumbfounded. “Give it back?”
“The coins.” The effort was costing Morrows dearly. “It’s like this, sir. We got back pay coming outta our ears, at least compared to some. And with this new GI bill, we’ll be getting a real leg up when we get home.” He waved a hand to encompass the entire outside world. “But these folks, sir, what�
�ve they got going for them?”
“Nothing,” Jake said quietly. “Absolutely nothing.”
“That’s what we mean.” Morrows swiped at the perspiration beading his forehead. “They need it a lot worse than we do.”
Jake shook his head at the enormity of what he was hearing. “I don’t know what to say.”
“The word’s out that you might be sticking around, sir,” Morrows went on. “We’d like you to keep it and use it wherever you think it’ll do the most good.”
Jake searched the sergeant’s face. “You didn’t pressure anyone to go along with this?”
“Nossir. It just sort of happened, I guess you could say. I can’t explain it any better than that. But everybody agrees. All of us, sir.”
“This will mean a lot to these people, Sergeant,” Jake said solemnly. “It may make the difference between life and death for some. This is a very great and generous act.”
Morrows shrugged and said, “We’ll probably regret it like the dickens in the morning, sir.”
“I doubt it,” Jake replied. “I doubt it very much.” He rose to his feet and offered the sergeant his hand. “For all those who will never know what you’ve done, accept my thanks, Sergeant. And pass it along to everyone else. Tell them . . .” Jake paused, then said simply, “I have never been prouder of anyone, at any time, than I am of all of you.”
* * *
Toward dusk, Jake pulled out of the main gates and started down the road, only to find Karl walking up the road toward him. Jake stopped and turned off the jeep. “Where are your friends?”
“I wished to speak with you alone,” Karl replied.
“Come aboard,” Jake offered.
The boy took the seat beside him. “So it is done.”
“Not entirely,” Jake replied, thinking of the promotion he was about to accept.
“No,” Karl agreed, misunderstanding him. Then he confessed, “I do not know what to do with our gold.”
“It is a great deal of wealth,” Jake agreed.
Karl slumped down even farther. “That all these riches could cause so many problems.”
“There are banks with safety deposit boxes,” Jake replied. “And there will be traders for the coins later when the markets are restored. And friends to offer help in the meantime.”
“Banks and markets are for people with papers,” Karl replied bitterly. “And friends go away to distant lands.”
“Not this friend,” Jake corrected him. “And papers can be arranged.”
“What are you saying?”
“I happen to know for a fact,” Jake answered, “that a certain commander of the Karlsruhe garrison is looking for a squad of young German men and women to help out around the base. Orderlies for the Officers’ Mess, clerical help, assistants in the PX, that sort of thing.”
“Commander?” Karl gaped. “You?”
“The job pays three square meals a day and provides a wealth of experience,” Jake went on. “Along with a warm bunk and pocket money. This means you can leave your funds untouched until your feet and your nation are firmly established upon solid ground. The one condition is that all jobholders must go to school.”
Karl made a face. “School.”
“You will thank me in the end,” Jake promised. “And I will see that you all receive papers.”
“You will do this? For me?”
“A life is a great debt to owe somebody,” Jake replied. “I recall someone telling me that once.”
Karl’s face split into a mighty grin. “We were a great team.”
Jake corrected him, “We still are.”
DAVIS BUNN, a professional novelist for over twenty years, is the author of numerous national bestsellers with sales totaling more than six million copies. His work has been published in sixteen languages, and his critical acclaim includes three Christy Awards for excellence in fiction. Formerly an international business executive working in Europe, Africa, and the Middle East, Bunn is now a lecturer in creative writing and Writer in Residence at Regent’s Park College, Oxford University. He and his wife, Isabella, divide their time between the English countryside and the coast of Florida.
Books by Davis Bunn
The Book of Hours
The Great Divide
Winner Take All
The Lazarus Trap
Elixir
Imposter
Lion of Babylon
Rare Earth
All Through the Night
My Soul to Keep
ACTS OF FAITH*
The Centurion’s Wife • The Hidden Flame
The Damascus Way
SONG OF ACADIA*
The Meeting Place • The Sacred Shore
The Birthright • The Distant Beacon
The Beloved Land
HEIRS OF ACADIA†
The Solitary Envoy • The Innocent Libertine
The Noble Fugitive • The Night Angel
Falconer’s Quest
*with Janette Oke †with Isabella Bunn