‘How did you find Fritz?’ Blintoft asked.
Awakened from her thoughts, Angela started. ‘He is in a terrible state.’
‘So I understand. You know he is to be returned to Germany for treatment?’
‘As soon as he can travel, yes.’
‘I am told that should be in about a fortnight.’
Angela nodded. ‘They told me that too.’
‘You will, of course, accompany him.’
Angela had been cutting her meat. Now the knife slipped, and a splodge of gravy was deposited on the white tablecloth. One of the footmen hurried forward with a napkin to clean it away. ‘Don’t you want to?’ her father asked.
‘I think my place is here, with you.’
‘And I think your place is with your fiancé. You do intend to marry him?’
‘Well, Papa, it seems unlikely that he is going to be capable of marrying anyone for a long time.’
‘You can be married while he is in hospital.’
‘But … a marriage has to be consummated.’
‘Are you trying to tell me that you have not slept with him?’
Angela gave an embarrassed glance at the waiting butler and footmen. ‘Now is not the time, Papa.’
‘Bah. They are only servants. I would like an answer.’
‘Well …’ Her tongue stole out and circled her lips, and she drank some wine, her hand trembling, causing liquid to spill from the glass. It immediately soaked into the linen, but this time no one moved. ‘We were very much in love.’
‘Were? Have you stopped loving him because he has been wounded?’
‘Of course not, Papa. But …’
‘I am still in love with your mother. And she is dead.’
‘Oh, Papa …’
‘So, you will accompany Wassermann back to Germany, and you will remain at his side until he is well enough to hold your hand, and then you will be married at his bedside.’
Angela stared at him with her mouth open; she simply could not believe what she was hearing. Just when her life had taken a new and exciting turn! ‘But why, Papa? I have always felt that you never even liked Wassermann.’
‘I have never liked Wassermann,’ Blintoft agreed. ‘I think he is a murdering thug. It was your idea to take up with him, and I allowed it to happen because I thought a flirtation might help you to get over your mother’s death. I had no idea that it would immediately become an affair.’
‘I am sorry, Papa. As you say, I was distraught over Mama’s death. I know I made a mistake. But now … Surely it can be ended without any fuss. No one can expect me to marry a man who may well be a cripple for the rest of his life.’
‘I’m afraid there are a great many people who expect you to marry Wassermann,’ Blintoft said. ‘Including the Führer.’
Once again Angela stared at him with her mouth open. ‘The Führer knows of Fritz and me?’
‘The Führer knows most things,’ Blintoft pointed out. ‘I imagine in this case Wassermann confided his good fortune at becoming engaged to you to his superiors, and it got to Himmler, who has the Führer’s ear.’
‘But why on earth is my engagement to an obscure major of the slightest importance to either Himmler or the Führer?’
‘Simply because he is no longer an obscure major. I have this afternoon, only an hour ago, received a communication from Berlin. You understand that following our victory at Uzice I had to make a full account of the events of the campaign. This was largely based on reports received from Wassermann and his man Ulrich. Now it turns out that my initial assessment of our success was an overestimate. According to claims by the British and the Partisans themselves, Tito managed to get a large part of his force into the Bosnian mountains, and is still there, no doubt recruiting and re-arming. So it will all have to be done again, whenever we can get at him, and that cannot be until next spring. Berlin has intimated very strongly that they feel I should have led the pursuit personally, instead of handing it over to a mere major, and giving him an inadequate force with which to carry out the task.’
‘Oh, Papa!’
‘In addition,’ Blintoft went on, ‘I felt it necessary to report on the events both at Kragujevac and Uzice, where your fiancé massacred several thousand prisoners in cold blood. To my surprise – and, I am bound to say, my dismay – instead of there being any censure of him for this atrocity, he has been congratulated, by Himmler personally, for his grit and determination to stamp out these vermin. I quote. Again, the implication is that he revealed qualities I lack.’ Angela could say nothing; she could see her father’s career collapsing in ruins about him. ‘And now, in addition, Wassermann has been seriously wounded – while leading the pursuit in my place. My position is very precarious, my dear. And if now, in addition to everything else, my daughter reneges on her engagement simply because this hero – he is to receive the Cross with Leaves – is not at the moment able to bed you, I think that would be the last straw. I hope you understand all this?’
Angela drew a deep breath. ‘Yes, Papa.’
‘So, as I say, you will accompany him back to Berlin, revealing all the time your extreme grief, and you will remain at his bedside, and you will marry him, and, well, whatever happens after that will depend on how soon he can return to duty. But I imagine they will have to give him a desk job, so you will be able to settle down as a housewife.’
I don’t want to settle down as a housewife, with a man I do not love, Angela wanted to scream. I want to be here, with my new lover. But she knew better than to openly oppose her father. For one thing, she was not yet twenty-one. And for another, even if she was, she could never oppose the wishes of Himmler and the Führer. ‘When will I have to go?’ she asked in a low voice.
‘As I have said, you will accompany Fritz as soon as he can be moved. We have been told that will be in a fortnight’s time. Cheer up. You will be in Berlin for Christmas.’
To be spent with a living corpse, she thought. ‘Will I be able to return to Belgrade?’
‘Well, I shouldn’t think so. Not for a while. I shall miss you. I have enjoyed having you here.’
‘Then let me stay, Papa. I feel it is my duty to be with you, to look after you. Fritz will understand, and he will have dozens of doctors and nurses to look after him. You have only me.’
‘That is very kind of you, my dear. Very generous. But your duty lies with your future husband. I would prefer not to discuss this again.’
Angela got up, and left the table. She felt if she sat there for a moment longer she would scream. She went to her bedroom, and threw herself face down across the mattress, biting her knuckles. Of all the bad luck! And what would happen to Sandrine in her absence? She would have to give Ulrich some very positive orders. But for how long would he be able to carry them out?
‘Fräulein?’ Her maid stood by the bed, hovering anxiously. ‘Are you all right?’
Angela rolled over, and sat up. ‘Of course I am all right,’ she said angrily. ‘I am to go home to Berlin. Home. What do you think of that, Malic?’
‘Oh, Fräulein …’ Rosa Malic, a small, dark young woman, looked genuinely distressed.
‘And you will be out of a job,’ Angela said maliciously. ‘But you have a fortnight to enjoy your position. I am to go with Major Wassermann.’ She got up, went to her dressing table, picked up her silver-backed brush, and hurled it with all her strength at the mirror, shattering it into a thousand pieces.
Ten
Trap
‘Come on, come on, come on,’ Tony shouted, his breath forming circles of mist as it left his mouth and nostrils. The women were surrounded by the self-made fog. They wore full kit, haversacks and rifles and bandoliers draped over their shoulders as they staggered through the snow. This was the heaviest fall they had had so far this year, and it was not yet the end of November. ‘Why must we do this?’ Sasha had asked when he had marched them out of their barracks for the exercise. ‘There can be no fighting until the spring. The general has said so. Tha
t is at least four months away.’
‘And by then you are going to be the fittest regiment in the army,’ he had replied.
‘On a day like this, we should be in bed,’ she grumbled. Bed was her favourite place, as long as he was there beside her. Yet despite her grumbling, she was running beside him, keeping up well, panting and puffing but never slackening. By now he knew what strength lay in those slender legs.
They trotted down the last of the slope and into the narrow streets of the town. The people who were out gave them a cheer; they always enjoyed watching the girls working out. Tony brought them to a halt in the town square. ‘Dismiss your women, Captain Janitz,’ he said. ‘I will join you in a moment.’
As he had seen, one of Tito’s aides was waiting for him. ‘The general would like a word, Colonel.’
Tony followed him to the headquarters building. ‘Tony,’ Tito said, ‘I have someone to see you.’
Tony turned, expecting to see Curtis, although what he might be doing here was difficult to say. But instead he gazed at a little, middle-aged peasant. ‘Malic!’
‘Colonel.’
‘Mr Malic has some news that will be of interest to you,’ Tito said, beaming.
‘Well?’
‘My daughter is personal maid to Fräulein von Blintoft,’ Malic said.
‘You told me this last month,’ Tony reminded him.
‘Yes, sir. Well, sir, I have to tell you that Major Wassermann is seriously wounded, and will have to be sent back to Germany for prolonged hospitalisation.’
‘Damn,’ Tony said. ‘I thought I had killed the bugger.’
‘Still, he is out of action for a long time,’ Tito said. ‘But there is more.’
‘The major will be accompanied by his fiancée, Fräulein von Blintoft,’ Malic said.
‘So?’
‘Go on, Malic,’ Tito invited. ‘Tell the colonel how Fräulein von Blintoft and Major Wassermann are returning to Germany.’
‘They will take the train up through Vojvodina and Hungary into the Reich.’
‘Tell us about this train. It is guarded?’
‘There are guards, yes, General. The usual number is a dozen.’
‘Will there not be additional guards to protect the major and the general’s daughter?’
‘No, sir.’
‘How can you be sure of this?’
‘My daughter heard the general discussing it with his adjutant. The adjutant recommended posting additional guards, but the general did not wish it. He felt that the business should be kept as quiet and unobtrusive as possible. And of course he does not suppose anyone would attack the train, in the dead of winter, just to complete the death of a single man. However, I should say that the guards are in radio contact with Belgrade at all times.’
‘Where is this radio mounted?’
‘In the front carriage, immediately behind the engine.’
‘Very good. And Wassermann and the woman?’
‘They will travel in the first-class carriage. This has been reserved exclusively for them and the major’s medical team. But it will be guarded.’
‘Where is it situated?’
‘At the rear of the train, immediately in front of the guard’s van.’
‘Very good. Now, when does this happen?’
‘They leave next Sunday morning at eight o’clock.’
‘Five days. Very good. Now what else do you have to tell the colonel?’
Tony had been waiting, in some mystification, to learn how this information affected him personally. ‘Well, sir, my daughter, who watches and listens very carefully, has overheard Fräulein von Blintoft speaking with Captain Ulrich, Major Wassermann’s aide, who is commanding the Gestapo in Belgrade until a replacement for the major is appointed. When they talk privately, they discuss a prisoner who is being held in the cells, in secret, in the care of a single wardress, incommunicado from any other prisoners or guards. Fräulein von Blintoft visits this prisoner regularly.’
Tony looked at Tito. ‘There is something else you have to tell the colonel,’ Tito said.
‘Ah … oh, yes. The Fräulein is teaching herself French, with a phrasebook.’
‘My God!’ Tony said.
Tito touched his lips with his forefinger. ‘Thank you, Malic. Your information is very interesting, and I am sure will be very useful. My adjutant will have something for you.’ Malic glanced from one to the other, then touched his cap, and left the room. ‘Close the door, Tony.’
Tony did so, and turned to face him. ‘Do you think it is possible?’
‘I think it is not only possible, but probable. Why should the daughter of the governor-general constantly visit Gestapo headquarters? It might make some sense if she was going to visit her fiancé at his office. But her fiancé has been in hospital these last two weeks. And why should she, when she is about to return to Germany, start learning French? Do you know of any French nationals in Yugoslavia at this time who are liable to be in the Gestapo cells, apart from Sandrine?’
‘If it could be true … Josip, you must give me permission to find out.’
‘I will not give you permission to commit suicide, Tony. Since that poster came out, your face is too well known. Set foot in Belgrade, and you will join Sandrine in her cell.’
‘If it is Sandrine. I cannot believe it.’
‘I have no doubt at all that it is Sandrine. And, like you, I wish to have her back, if only because it would be very bad propaganda were she to be subjected to a public trial and then execution, after having been tortured into confessing to the murder of Frau von Blintoft. This is obviously what they have in mind.’
‘You have said that you cannot permit this.’
‘Absolutely. But I have a better way of handling the situation, and at the same time reminding the Nazis, and the world, that we are still a fighting force capable of executive action. Your people in Alexandria have not even bothered to acknowledge our attempts to get in touch with them; now we must remind them of our presence. I have in fact been considering how we could hit the enemy this winter. Now we have been given the opportunity. Can you reach a suitable position on the railway line between Belgrade and Novi Sad in four days?’
‘You mean to attack the train?’
‘You will destroy the train. But you will take two prisoners: Wassermann and his girlfriend. You will bring them back here, but the moment you have them, you will send me a single word by radio: success. I will immediately get in touch with Blintoft, and set up an exchange.’
‘You think he’ll go for it?’
‘This girl is his only daughter, and he has just lost his wife. If he does not go for it, he is a monster. But we will have Wassermann as well. The possible execution of an SS officer will make him think a bit. Meanwhile the propaganda value to us of such a coup, and the damage it will do to German morale, demonstrating as it will that the governor-general cannot even protect his own daughter, will be immense.’
‘Would you also execute the girl if Blintoft won’t play?’
‘If he won’t play, it means he is determined to execute Sandrine. How would you feel about that?’ Tony swallowed. ‘Can you do it?’
‘I can try. Problem is, I don’t know the railway north of Belgrade.’
‘There must be somebody in Foca who does. Call for volunteers. How many people will you need?’
‘Obviously the fewer the better. What kind of distance are we talking about?’
‘From here to the railway? About a hundred and twenty miles, if you travel directly cross-country.’
‘In four days. That is practical – just.’
‘You could use mules.’
Tony shook his head. ‘With all this snow on the ground, their tracks would be too simple to follow. No, we can do it on foot. But as I said, it won’t leave me much time for choosing my position.’
‘We will find someone who knows the ground. Recruit whoever you wish, and requisition whatever you wish, too. You should leave tonight.’
‘Of course.’
‘And no one must be allowed to suspect that our end is the return of Sandrine, or even that she is still alive.’
Tito nodded. ‘You are thinking of Janitz? Will you take her with you?’
‘She’s the best person – woman or man – that I have.’
‘But you don’t think she’ll take kindly to Sandrine coming back to your bed.’
‘Let’s say I’d rather not find out until Sandrine has come back to my bed.’
‘Your domestic affairs have always been tangled,’ Tito said. ‘I will leave you to sort them out. But first things first. And that means stopping that train.’
Tony called for volunteers for a special mission. As he had expected, both Sasha and Draga immediately came forward, as did quite a few others, men and women. He accepted his two senior captains, and also three of the men. That made up a party of six. Which he reckoned was the maximum he could take. But then he was surprised by the appearance of Brolic. He had not seen the shopkeeper’s son since just before the battle at Uzice, and if he had thought of him at all it had been to suppose him dead.
‘You promised to take me with you on your next secret mission, Colonel,’ Brolic said.
‘Actually, I didn’t,’ Tony reminded him. ‘I said I would bear you in mind.’
‘I have been told that you need a man who knows the railway line between Belgrade and Novi Sad. I know this area well. My father had a store in Novi Sad as well as one in Belgrade. I used to take goods up there regularly. I know that railway line like my own back garden.’
Tony considered. If what Brolic said was true, he was the man he needed. And if he could not bring himself entirely to trust the young man’s ability to withstand stress, or to keep his hatred of the people who had destroyed his family under control, those weaknesses could only surface after the job had been completed, and could be dealt with then. ‘Welcome aboard,’ he said.
‘So, we go a hundred miles to blow up a railway line,’ Sasha said as she packed their haversacks. ‘Through the snow.’
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