by Peter Rimmer
“Everyone says the problem belongs to France and not England. The French have built redoubts all along their border with Germany which they say can never be breached. A line of interconnected impregnable forts, so they claim. But what happens if a German armoured division goes round the flank through Belgium? All the French guns will be pointing the same way and all into Germany. After that all we have to stop them is the English Channel and the RAF. That damn bilharzia did more damage to my body than I thought. Why I’m always tired. Now, what have you got for me, William?”
“Another problem. The Polish air force.”
“Yes, I know. They are flying kites of the type I flew in the war.”
“I’ve written it all down with photographs. The pilots are first class. They need modern aircraft.”
“Who are they thinking of fighting? The Russian communists or the German fascists? As much as I’d like to help, we have enough equipment problems of our own.”
“I met one of their young pilots.”
“Good. Give him a message from me. If the Germans or Russians overrun Poland, tell him to get out of Poland and join the Royal Air Force. We’ll need every trained pilot we can get, whatever language they speak. How do you know the pilots are any good?”
“I was invited to an air display by a Jewish friend of mine. The Polish pilots are just as good as ours by the look of their aerobatics. They are all well trained, so they tell me.”
“Now you have my attention. You are coming down to Hastings Court to help keep my sanity this weekend. Of course you are. Your eyes lit up like a beacon at the mention of Genevieve. Did you know her grandfather died? I’m still trying to persuade Merlin to come to the premiere. You chaps of the fourth estate made my first wife’s family look terrible. They are good people, William. The St Clairs did not deserve the ridicule. What the papers didn’t say in their aristocrat-bashing was Esther being married to Corporal Ray Owen. With Merlin in the trenches she thought the corporal could give her unborn child a home. The corporal knew nothing of the child being Merlin’s; was blown to pieces a few weeks later after their marriage. Merlin only found out about Genevieve being born after the war. It’s all going in Kannberg’s book he wants ready for the premiere of Robin Hood. Longman are processing each chapter as he writes them. Being a newsman like you he’s used to deadlines. He’s bringing his girlfriend who doesn’t trust him with Genevieve on his own.”
“Will Tinus be at Hastings Court?”
“I don’t think so. You never know. Probably studying furiously. Young Tinus is taking Oxford seriously. They’ve taught Andre Cloete how to fly, now they are both in the University Air Squadron. Just leave your Polish report on the pile of books. I heard from Klaus von Lieberman the other day. He was my contact that got Horatio Wakefield out of Germany. His son Erwin has just turned sixteen and learnt to fly, which makes me shiver. I just hope Tinus or Andre doesn’t have to shoot down Erwin. The boy was named after a German general friend of Lieberman named Rommel. Rommel and Klaus went to school together.
“What a mess. How did Europe get into this mess again? Well, not again after reading those books. Europe’s been a mess ever since the collapse of the Roman Empire, everyone trying to gain the upper hand. A good honest empire is what people need. Can you imagine what will happen in India if the British get out, Muslim killing Hindu, Hindu slaughtering Muslim, in a frenzy of religious hatred? For two hundred years we British have kept them apart from each other, away from each other’s throats, impartial policemen respected by both sides if not damn well needed. That chap Gandhi should read his own history before he lands his people in a bloodbath that will go on for centuries like Europe, everyone wanting to be the top dog. Often the only answer is a status quo whatever the moral implications. Once you disturb the status quo all hell breaks loose. RDF radar, that’s what they call it and it works. Likely it will save this little island from invasion. You know what I miss most, William?”
“Matter of fact I do. Elephant Walk. Your farm in Rhodesia.”
“Peace and quiet and everyone getting on with each other.”
“How long will that last?”
“Who knows? The population is exploding with modern medicine. The average life span of a black man has doubled since Mashonaland became a British colony. Birth mortality is now ten per cent not eighty or ninety, and the mothers don’t die in childbirth. The children now get inoculated against a host of diseases that killed them off before they were five. One day they’ll hate us. But you were right. I miss the farm but Tina won’t hear of it.”
“Maybe if your war breaks out?”
“It’ll be yours as well as mine, William. The next war is going to affect everyone. German bombers will bring the war right over our heads. You remember the Zeppelins, those flying balloons that dropped bombs on England in the last war? They were pinpricks and had the public in a screaming panic. They’ll fly the new bombers at us looking like locusts in the sky there will be so many of them. I sometimes wonder why we even bother going through our lives.”
“Because we believe in God.”
“Some people don’t think there is a god. That we evolved in a chemical process out of the primal slime, not as a result of God’s creation. If man ever found proof that he is just a result of a chemical reaction the world would give up trying to solve its problems. There has to be a God. Radar, William. That’s what we need. Right down the south coast.”
Klaus von Lieberman had written Harry Brigandshaw only part of the story, but enough, he hoped, to send the man who had saved his life out of England and back to Rhodesia with his wife and family, far away from what Klaus knew for certain was going to happen in Europe: war for the second time in the century. Erwin, his eldest son, had not only been taught how to fly an aeroplane by the new German air force, the boy had joined the Hitler Youth Movement while still at school; Uncle Werner had been adamant.
“He’ll meet the kind of people who will help him in the new Germany. The now Third Reich. You know it’s family connections that count going through life. The British have a silly saying and like so many silly sayings it’s true: ‘it’s not what you know but who you know’. How is the estate running? So you agree, Klaus? I can tell them young Erwin, the next owner of the great von Lieberman estate, will join the Youth Movement of our Party?”
“With people going back to work, the produce market has picked up. More than half the tenants are paying rent with a smile now the worst is over. I’ll never recover the back rent but at least the estate is solvent again. Do you know, I haven’t had a demand from the Rosenzweig Bank for over a year?”
“As a matter of fact, I do know.”
“I thought it was you, Werner! What did you do? They just stopped sending bank statements. Not a word from New York or Berlin after I joined the Nazi Party.”
“What did I just say about knowing the right people? Sometimes people value their lives more than they value their money. Not everyone, of course. After the Wall Street crash in ’29 bankers who had lost all their money were jumping out of windows; a man took his life into his own hands just walking down Wall Street. Your problem was much more simple, as were many others in the Party. In exchange for certain favours, including the cancellation of the bond covering the family estate, Jews with money have been allowed to leave the Fatherland. You can all thank Adolf Hitler. The Jews are now in America and out of our way. You have an estate no longer mortgaged to the Jews. I think when they look back they will say they had the best of the bargain, which is what doing business is all about. Young Erwin will be proud of the Fatherland in his new uniform with our big black swastika emblazoned on his right arm. A young man must have passion for his country. Believe in his country. Believe he is part of God’s chosen race, a young, blue-eyed blond boy proud of his Aryan heritage, obliged to no other race, master of his destiny, conqueror of the world.”
“Do you really mean all that, Uncle Werner?” Klaus by then was looking at his uncle in horror.
; “Be careful, nephew, I am now a very powerful man. More powerful than your old school friend General Rommel. You see, I am higher up in the Nazi Party, which is all that counts. Attend the Party rallies, Klaus. That is an order. As is Erwin joining the Hitler Youth Movement. For the good of your health.”
“Is there going to be war, Uncle?”
“Of course there is going to be war. Haven’t you been listening? The last one was never finished. The war will only finish when Germany is master of Europe and all the European colonies. The Third Reich will last a thousand years, Herr Hitler the most revered leader in our history.”
“What about America? America is no longer a European colony.”
“America will sit on the fence again. They trade happily with us now, even in guns despite American government laws that are meant to prevent the sale of arms to Germany. America will be thankful to see the end of the British Empire, for historical reasons of hate and modern reasons of trade. Germany and America will trade with each other and grow rich. We will do business. After all, many Americans are of good German Aryan descent. America will not get in our way once we have conquered the whole of Europe. It will be the Roman Empire all over again, except the capital of Europe will be in Berlin, not Rome. A united Europe will be strong, powerful in guns and treasure, never to be challenged from any part of the globe. We will give Europe peace and stability, stop the squabbles once and for all. An Aryan Europe free of the Jews and other tainted blood. Germany will be magnificent. Tell your son. Make him proud to be a German. Heil Hitler!”
Right at the end, before Klaus left his uncle’s office in Berlin feeling more frightened for his family than at any time before, Uncle Werner had stood up behind his desk and given the room a stiff-armed Nazi salute, his eyes blazing.
“He’s mad, of course,” Klaus said to his wife Bergit two days later when he arrived home from his trip to the capital, a cold fear still tearing at his chest.
“Maybe but it doesn’t make him less dangerous. Can Germany win such a war?”
“I don’t know. War and rumours of war. It never stops.”
“And Erwin?”
“I asked him at school the next day. His eyes shone like I was offering him the world. He’s sixteen. Young men believe in ideals that make their nation powerful. It was Werner who had the Jews cancel our mortgage. Why they stopped writing.”
“That’s good or we would have lost the estate and all these people would have starved. Now everyone here can stop being frightened about their future. You were in uniform. Now Erwin will put on a uniform. One is much the same as another. He’ll be all right. Better to be part of it than on the outside running away. He can celebrate learning to fly with putting on a German uniform. There’s nothing you or I can do about it. Your Uncle Werner made that quite clear by the sound of it. You joined the party, Klaus, and reaped the benefit. Now you have to live with it. Isn’t one political party in today’s world much the same as another?”
“I’m going to write to Harry Brigandshaw. Tell him about Erwin’s flying. Tell him how nice it would be for both our families to visit Elephant Walk together. Once in the African bush he and I can go for a walk without the wrong people listening. I can tell him the truth. Tell him to stay in Africa. One war was enough for both of us. Bergit, I’ll ask again, would you like to live in Africa?”
“You can’t run away even if you wanted. You have too many responsibilities here. Write to Harry, yes. A holiday, yes. Write him a letter but be very careful. They read what they want going through the post.”
“You think they read my letters?”
“They’ve done a lot worse than reading a man’s mail when it comes to the best interest of the Party. Would another form of government be better for Germany after what we went through after the war? Would communism be better for us, Klaus? Think of our children. Once again the world is in a financial mess and Chancellor Hitler is doing the best job possible. It’s easy to criticise but what is the alternative?”
“It’s a nightmare in the making and there is nothing we can do.”
“That’s better, Klaus. Just calm down. Now tell me, how is our big son, apart from his euphoria at the chance of wearing a uniform?”
“I think the Party controls his teachers. They are brainwashing him. The boy has no mind of his own. Only the future glory of Germany. How do they twist a mind so easily?”
“He’s still our boy.”
“I’m not so sure anymore.”
“Let us go for a walk across our fields and you will feel better. We are not going to lose the estate. Isn’t that more important for us all than anything else?”
“I suppose so. Maybe one day I can pay back the Rosenzweigs after all this is over.”
“There you are. It isn’t as bad as you thought.”
“If I don’t pay my debt it will haunt my mind for the rest of my life.”
“I don’t think we have enough money to go on a long holiday. Just write a chatty letter to Harry and keep away from politics.”
“You’re right. You are always right. Harry will have to read between the lines to understand my fears for our futures.”
“Come on. We’re going to walk. By the look of the sky there isn’t going to be any rain. Did you know some of the swallows have gone on their migration across Europe and down Africa? Even if we can’t go, the swallows have left for Elephant Walk. Harry told me the birds we saw on the farm came all the way from Europe. It’s going to be a cold winter. We need to tell everyone to fill their barns to the rafters with hay. Don’t look so miserable. Life is never as bad as it seems. Can you imagine all those tiny wings flying all the way to Africa? It’s a miracle every year when they come back to exactly the same spot… Here come the dogs. They’ve seen your walking stick. Oh, I do love this place. It feels so permanent. Your family have been here so long. Down all the centuries. What can possibly go wrong with Germany after all these years? What looks like disaster brewing one minute turns out very nicely in the end. If it didn’t, the human race would never have got this far. Like our own little lives, nations have their ups and downs.”
“You make it all sound so simple.”
“Of course I do. Because it is. Life is a lot more simple than we think. All you have to do is believe in God.”
“I love you, Bergit.”
“I know you do. That’s why everything is going to turn out all right.”
Taking his wife’s hand, the dogs coursing out and around them, Klaus walked across the field towards the far gate that led to a path in the woods; through the woods beyond that, they would be able to see the snow-capped Alps far away in Switzerland.
6
They had stayed at Hastings Court for two weeks, Gillian West typing and editing the copy bashed out on the Remington typewriter by Bruno Kannberg, Genevieve reading and approving the final copy. Three heads, as Bruno said, were better than one. Each weekday evening the chauffeur took the day’s work to one of the girls that commuted to the London office of the Longman’s publishing house from her parents’ home in nearby Leatherhead.
Harry Brigandshaw had phoned Arthur Bumley at his home suggesting Bruno take his two weeks’ annual leave, offering Hastings Court as the perfect place to write a book without interruptions. Harry was smiling to himself when he told Bruno about the call.
“You don’t have to go to the office tomorrow. Without all the weekend guests the house will be as quiet as a church. My wife is coming with me to London to do her shopping. Tell the children to keep out of your wing of the house. The staff know what to do with the children in the summer hols. Mostly they scream around outside. Two of them are away with friends. Make yourselves at home. I have an interest in setting the record straight which I owe to Genevieve’s grandfather. When I explained that to Arthur after tracking him down to his home he agreed to two weeks’ leave. The papers made the family out to be snobs who despised the common folk. Took what they wanted giving nothing in return. I will also have a word with Long
man asking him not to change the story you give him in any way. We don’t want fancy publishers editing to make the book a cover-up for the newspapers. Gillian hasn’t got a job yet and Genevieve is best out of the way until the premiere of the film and the launch of her book. I’ll see you all next weekend. Good luck. I’m looking forward to reading the book, as will a lot of people who like the truth once in a while. It doesn’t look as if William Smythe is coming down despite my telling him Genevieve would be here. Anything you want, ask the staff.”
In these favourable circumstances the book had been finished ahead of schedule with Genevieve saying her reading ability was a lot better at the end of it. On the third Sunday at Hastings Court the Brigandshaw family chauffeur drove them up to London with the final pages in Bruno’s suitcase, giving him enough time to read the publisher’s galleys before the book went to press. The premiere of Robin Hood was scheduled for the coming Saturday. All three of them in the back of the car had self-satisfied smiles, Bruno’s eyes mingling his smirk with a look of relief.
Once he reached home he planned to sleep straight through a night and a day without lifting his head off the pillow; his mind and body were exhausted. Genevieve was to accompany Gillian West back to her parents’ house where she lived to answer any awkward questions about the two weeks spent at Hastings Court.