‘You do not understand why we have not already done so, while the Germans have their hands full with this Polish uprising? That is because you do not understand high strategy, Comrade Tserchenko. Those men over there are not Communists. They are Poles, the most recalcitrant people on the face of the earth. For the last five hundred years they have been virtually ungovernable, and we have no evidence that they have changed. They wish to free Poland of Nazi rule, but they are not prepared to accept any other rule. And of course, because they are fighting the Nazis, they have become instant heroes to the British and the Americans, who have no concept of the true aim of politics, and stumble from one emotional crisis to another. We will ignore all these hysterical appeals for help, for permission for Allied aircraft to land and refuel on our airfields after dropping supplies to these abominable people. If we go in now, and “rescue” this Polish Home Army, what then? We will be left with a large number of men, with arms in their hands, who hate us and will do everything they can to obstruct our plans for Europe. So we will have to destroy them ourselves. Think of the wail of protest that would rise from the Allies were that to happen.’
‘So we sit here and do nothing.’
‘We continue issuing statements that our troops are not yet strong enough to cross the river and attack the city. We will wait for the Germans and the Poles to destroy each other, and then will, as they say, pick up the pieces.’
‘My orders, Comrade Marshal, given to me by Comrade Beria personally, are to secure this woman at the first opportunity and no matter what the risk.’
‘And my orders, Comrade Commissar, given to me personally by Premier Stalin, are not to attack Warsaw until the scenario I have outlined is attained.’
The two men stared at each other, then Tserchenko said, ‘Have I your permission to cross the river.’
‘Are you out of your mind?’
‘If I miss this opportunity, I may never have another.’
Rokossovsky considered for a few moments. ‘You cannot do it on you own. She is undoubtedly protected, and you would not even get to her. See if you can recruit a squad. I would say twelve men. They must all be volunteers. Secure the necessary uniforms from our prisoners; they should be available in all sizes. Be sure that you also wear German equipment. Do you speak the language?’
‘Yes, I do.’
‘It would be helpful if some of your men did too, otherwise you will have to do all the talking. Be ready by tomorrow night and we will ferry you across the river, north of the city. There is little fighting going on there at the moment, and you should have no difficulty. Then you are on your own. You say that you are required to capture this woman alive?’
‘If that is possible. Do you suppose she will still be there, tomorrow night?’
‘Judging by this report, she seems to spend several days in each place, so there is no reason why she will not be. Now, when you have obtained your objective, supposing you do, return with her to your landing place, signal us with your torch, and we will fetch you. Do you understand all this?’
‘Yes,’ Tserchenko said.
‘What will you do if you do manage to secure her person, but are overtaken by the Germans before we can rescue you?’
‘In that eventuality, Comrade Marshal, I am instructed to kill her.’
‘It might be safest to do that anyway.’
‘Having killed her,’ Terschenko said, ‘I am instructed to cut off her head and take it to Moscow. I will of course need adequate transport. And a suitable container.’
Rokossovsky regarded him for several seconds. ‘Well, then, Comrade Commissar, I will wish you good fortune. And, Comrade Commissar, if you do not return, I will inform Comrade Beria that you died carrying out his orders.’
*
‘My God!’ Anna remarked. ‘What a shambles.’
Berlin could equally be described as a shambles, but Warsaw almost defied description. Whole blocks had been razed to the ground – Hitler’s orders, she remembered – others were burning; the stench of charred wood and human bodies was revolting. And there was still firing going on, mostly in the distance, but some from close at hand as the Waffen – the Fighting – SS roamed through the destruction, armed with tommy guns, dogs and flame-throwers, seeking and destroying. ‘You mean these people are still fighting?’
‘There are a stubborn lot,’ General Greiff agreed. ‘They prefer to die than surrender. Of course, if they surrender they die anyway, but it is done in a more civilized manner. People with that point of view are very difficult to overcome.’ He appeared to be genuinely irritated by this. ‘Now, here is where you will stay while you are in Warsaw.’
The car, having at her request driven through the heart of the city, slowly and with difficulty because of the rubble and the craters, stopped outside a house in one of the suburbs, where the air was reasonably clean. The door was opened and Anna got out. As required by Hitler she was wearing her flamboyant best, a pink dress with a hem just below her knees and a deep neckline, with a matching pink straw hat, silk stockings and pink shoes and gloves, as well as all her best jewellery; her hair was loose and fluttered in the breeze. The general obviously felt like a million dollars to be her escort. But . . . ‘There is no roof.’
‘Oh, there is half a roof. Over the wing you will occupy. The building was struck by a Russian shell, you see.’
Anna turned to look across the street. There were two blocks between her and the river, but she could glimpse it through the houses and the shattered trees, and then the far bank. ‘And is it not likely to be struck again?’
‘No, no. It is perfectly safe for the time being. The Ivans have not fired a shot for the last fortnight.’
‘Do you know why that is?’
‘There are several theories. One is that they have outrun their supplies, and are waiting for them to catch up.’
‘In which case they could resume the offensive at any moment.’
‘Should that happen we would immediately move you. I have my orders. But a more likely scenario is that they are afraid to bombard us because that would mean bombarding their allies, the Poles who are fighting for the city.’
‘But you say the uprising is virtually over.’
‘It is, but the Russians do not know that.’
‘Hm.’ Anna watched the other two cars draw to a stop behind them. Katherine was also dressed as if for a party, in a pale blue dress, also with a matching hat and accessories. Anna had given her some pieces of good jewellery to wear and if she would never be as striking as her sister she was certainly worth a second glance. Behind her, Birgit, in a severe black dress with a white collar, looked exactly what she was, a servant, and she was also very obviously terrified, unlike Katherine, who gazed at the house and decrepit garden and remarked, ‘What a dump.’
‘It is very comfortable inside, Fraulein,’ the general insisted.
‘In you go,’ Gutemann commanded the orderlies who were carrying their bags.
‘I will show you around,’ the general volunteered.
Actually, the wing in which they were to stay was undamaged and had obviously just been subjected to a thorough cleaning. The drawing room was well furnished, and the kitchen well-appointed. ‘I was told that you would not need staff,’ the general said, anxiously.
‘I have my own staff,’ Anna assured him. ‘As you can see.’
‘Well, the bedrooms are up here.’
There were four bedrooms and two bathrooms on the first floor, which seemed very civilized. ‘Whose house is this?’ Anna asked.
‘Oh, it once belonged to some Polish businessman. We requisitioned it when we occupied the city, five years ago.’
‘Where did the family go?’
‘We discovered that they had Jewish blood. They went to a resettlement area.’
Anna wondered if he honestly believed that. ‘I will have this room, Major,’ she told Gutemann. It was at the back of the house, overlooking the garden, and had a large double bed.
‘That is an excellent choice, Countess,’ he said enthusiastically, eyeing the bed. They had been travelling, and meeting the troops, at such a rate that he had not yet achieved his ambition. But they had been told they would be in Warsaw for several days.
‘Now, Countess,’ the general said. ‘I am sure you are tired and need a rest, and an early night. I would be delighted if you would have an informal supper with my wife and I tonight. And your sister, of course.’
‘Your wife is in Warsaw?’
‘Oh, indeed. We actually have a villa outside the city. It is more salubrious. You told me,’ he hurried on, again anxiously, ‘that you would prefer to be in the city during your visit.’
‘I did. I am required to report to the Führer on actual conditions where I visit. As long as it is safe.’
‘I can assure you of that. Tomorrow I will take you on a tour of the city . . . well, those parts of it, where we have regained full control, and then I would very much like you to meet my officers at a reception in the evening.’
‘Certainly, General. And the troops?’
‘Ah. We will start on them the next day. You understand that owing to the situation this will have to be done in small groups, as so many of them are always on duty. But they will prefer that, eh? More intimate.’
‘Absolutely.’
‘Well, then, my car will call for you at six this evening.’
‘Thank you. One thing: is there water?’
‘Oh, yes, Countess. Water has been laid on.’
‘Very civilized. Then I will see you tonight.’
*
Anna took off her hat, surveyed herself in the mirror. She half expected to see her hair turning white. But she looked exactly as always, the face calm and confident, that of a very young and totally innocent girl. Preaching victory to a horde of monsters. If she could not help but feel a certain sympathy for the line soldiers, grey-faced and haggard, who were only doing what their Führer commanded them to do with that blind obedience required of every professional soldier, she could feel none for the SS, who were trained to fight less than to kill, mercilessly and without reason. Which was not to deny that they were the best soldiers in the German Army, and perhaps in any army in the world . . . because they had also been trained to die, willingly and without question.
And she was one of them!
Birgit hurried in to unpack. ‘Are we safe here, Countess?’
‘Should we not be?’ Anna undressed; it was a hot September afternoon and she intended to have a nap before bathing and dressing for the evening.
‘Well, with the Russians just over there . . .’
‘They are apparently unlikely to trouble us. Is your room comfortable?’
‘Oh, yes, Countess.’
‘And there is food in the larder?’
‘Oh, yes, Countess.’
‘Then prepare lunch. I will have mine here.’
‘Of course, Countess.’ She scurried off.
Anna lay on the bed, naked, stretching her arms and legs to their widest. What she was doing, travelling almost every day, talking to the men, being so obviously admired by them, having most of them so clearly lusting after her, was, she supposed, sustaining her. It meant that she was living always in the here and now. And right now, to contemplate next month, next week, or even tomorrow, was not a sensible thing to do. She was completely cut off, still without any idea of Clive’s, or Laurent’s, reaction to her non-return to Switzerland. Experience and common sense told her that they would understand that something had happened to prevent her carrying out her plan. But that streak of insecurity that lurked behind the facade of total confidence, total control, kept telling her that by now they would know of her new position, and of what she was doing . . . might they not have determined that she had decided to stick with her Nazi masters to the end?
There was a tap on her door. She hastily rolled beneath the sheet, not quite in time as the door opened.
‘Oh!’ Gutemann said. ‘I apologize, Countess. I did not know you were in bed. May I come in?’
‘You appear to have done that,’ Anna pointed out. ‘I am very tired.’
He closed the door and advanced, hesitantly. ‘I just wished to make sure that you were comfortable.’
‘At this moment, I am very comfortable, thank you.’
He had reached the bed, where he stood even more hesitantly. ‘Did you know that Paris has fallen?’
‘That happened a fortnight ago. Paris! I suppose it also is now just a mass of rubble. We seem to be determined to destroy civilization.’
‘No, no, Countess. Paris was captured intact, virtually undamaged save for a few bullet holes.’
Anna frowned. ‘But General Choltitz had orders to destroy the city rather than surrender.’
‘He seems to have disobeyed them.’
Hitler must have had one of his fits, Anna thought. But hooray for Choltitz.
Gutemann accepted that he was not going to get anywhere on this occasion either. ‘Well, then, I shall . . .’
But suddenly Anna felt like celebrating. She threw back the sheet. ‘Is this what you have come for?’
He flushed as he gazed at her, and licked his lips.
‘I need to be held in a man’s arms. Now.’
His mouth opened and closed. ‘Just like . . . ah . . .’
‘You are a difficult fellow,’ Anna remarked. ‘I wish to have sex, yes. Just like that. I am tense and it relaxes me. Why don’t you take off your clothes and get to know me?’
*
‘Countess! It has been a great honour.’
The officers in turn bowed over Anna’s glove. She had no doubt that they had been overwhelmed. She was wearing a pale blue sheath with no shoulders and a deep décolletage. As there were no straps visible, either round her neck or on her bare back, they had to suppose that the garment was sustained by flesh alone. Her crucifix nestled in the midst of that valley that so fascinated them, and she was again wearing the best of her jewellery.
She had spoken individually with every one of the twenty men present, rested her gloved hand on his arm in a gesture of warmth and even intimacy, told them about the irresistible new weapons that were coming out of the factories and would soon be with their army, suggested that when they returned to Germany, victorious, she would be delighted to meet them again, perhaps to dine with them, and then . . . who could tell?
She was watched, from the side of the room, by Gutemann, eyes glowing with a mixture of admiration, jealousy, and, she supposed, the pride of possession. Well, he had certainly possessed her that afternoon and last night, despite being very obviously piqued at having not been invited to General Greiff’s intimate supper party. That had largely been because she had wanted to be possessed, for a brief while, but she had never denied to herself – or to anyone else – that when the mood took her, sensuality was all that mattered. Just as when she was carrying out an assignment, however dangerous or disgusting, successful completion was all that mattered. That single-minded, concentrated approach had been responsible for her success. It would be folly to change it now.
Thus Gutemann was a happy man, because, like all men, he could not believe that any woman could give so much of her body, her lips, her smile, her sighs of contentment, without loving. He had never studied the life and words of Liane de Puchy, France’s most famous courtesan of the century, who had said, ‘When you are required to make love to a man, you must love the man.’ Afterwards was a different matter.
But he was definitely contemplating afterwards now, and moved forward as the general escorted her to the door. ‘You were magnificent, Countess,’ Greiff said. ‘There is not a man here tonight who will not fight the harder for having met you.’
‘You say the sweetest things.’
‘And you, Fraulein,’ he assured Katherine. She also was in a low-cut evening gown and had Anna not been present would have dominated the evening. Now she gave a simper in response, well aware that as Anna had been present she had been ent
irely superfluous.
They went down the steps to the waiting car; the September evening was already dark. Gutemann got into the front beside the driver, the sisters sat together in the back. ‘A successful evening, Countess?’ the major asked.
‘I think so,’ Anna said.
‘And tomorrow we start on the enlisted men.’
‘I wish we didn’t have to,’ Katherine said.
‘You are becoming a snob,’ Anna suggested.
‘It’s just that they never smell clean.’
‘Well, they are fighting a war.’
‘And they look so hungry. I mean, for us.’
‘That’s why we’re here.’
The car stopped, and they went into the house, where Birgit was waiting, even more anxious than usual. ‘Some men were here,’ she told them.
‘What men?’ Anna asked.
‘They were soldiers, commanded by a lieutenant.’
‘Soldiers? You mean SS men?’
‘No, Countess. Soldiers. They wore ordinary uniforms.’
‘What did they want?’
‘They were looking for you, Countess. They asked if this was the residence you were using while in Warsaw.’
Anna looked at Gutemann.
‘Did they say why they wanted to see the countess?’
‘No, sir. I told them she wasn’t here, so they asked when she would be back, and I said, very late.’ She looked at the clock on the mantelpiece; it was just coming up to ten.
‘And they decided not to wait,’ Anna commented. ‘Thank God for that.’
‘Yes. But the lieutenant said a funny thing as they left.’
‘What funny thing?’
‘He asked, “She is coming back?”’
‘And you told him yes.’
‘Well . . . shouldn’t I have?’
‘Of course you should. I am back, aren’t I? Do you think we should do something about this, Gutemann? Or do you suppose they just wanted a private audience?’
‘Whatever they wanted, it is very irregular. I will report it to the general tomorrow morning.’
‘The price of fame,’ Katherine remarked, going into the drawing room and sitting down. ‘I feel like another glass of champagne.’
Angel of Doom (Anna Fehrback Book 5) Page 12