by Ellin Carsta
“It’s not just that,” Professor Hoffmann protested.
“I am a businessman, Professor Hoffmann. And I understand financial interests. I understand that a business contract must be honored. You can assign my wife’s room to someone else immediately. If that brings you twice the income, so much the better. And now please be so kind as to fetch someone to help my wife pack. We would like to leave for Hamburg right away.”
The four of them were on the train in a matter of hours, going not to Hamburg but Vienna. Robert was exhausted. He’d hardly slept at all for the last two nights, and his thoughts and worries swarmed around in his head like hornets.
He thought of Luise and wondered how things were going. His gaze fell on Vera and Frederike, who held hands as though mother and daughter had finally found each other after many years of separation. He’d never seen the two of them so close. He felt all the sorrier for Martha. After what she’d just been through with her mother, she’d never see Elisabeth in the same light again. His wife had destroyed everything. Not only their marriage but also the respect the girls had for her. He felt no pity for Elisabeth, only for their children; the kind of life they’d led up to that point was gone forever.
He wondered what Karl would think. And Richard. What would he think when he came back for the holidays and found nobody in the villa except his father and his aunt as lovers. Robert decided to write him in Heidelberg so that he wouldn’t be unprepared on his return home.
He looked at Martha, who stared ahead, lost in thought. He took her hand and kissed it. His daughter smiled in return. Then Robert leaned his head back and was lulled to sleep by the train’s regular motion.
Vienna, November 25, 1889
The train came into the station, hissing and whistling. Robert helped Vera and the girls down from the car and found them a carriage.
“We would like to go to Landskrongasse. Do you know it?”
“Certainly, sir. Please have a seat.”
The driver—or Fiaker, as they are known in Vienna—brought the horses to a gentle trot, their hooves striking the paving stones with a regular rhythm.
“I’m most curious to see the look on Karl’s face,” Robert ventured, trying to lighten the tension.
Vera laughed uneasily.
“Do you think he’ll take it well?” Frederike asked.
“He’ll be delighted, I’m sure.”
They were silent for the rest of the ride.
When the carriage stopped. Robert stepped down before the driver even left his seat, looked up at the storefront, and whistled at the size of the building and its sign, The Hansen Company. “Well, have a look at this, would you!”
The others craned their necks.
“I didn’t imagine it would be so large,” Vera said, astonished.
“Come on. Let’s go in and see what the owner has to say about our arrival.”
A bell over the door announced them, and a friendly looking young man emerged from the back and came to the counter.
“Good day, ladies and gentleman. What can I do for you?”
“We would like to speak with Herr Hansen. Is he here?”
“Yes, he is. May I say who wishes to see him?”
“Four more Hansens,” Robert replied with a smile as he offered him his hand. “Robert Hansen. My pleasure.”
“Felix Mursch. It’s an honor.” He shook Robert’s hand and bowed his head slightly to the women. “I’ll fetch Herr Hansen right away. Just a minute, please!” He went through the door to the back.
It was no more than two seconds until they heard rapid footsteps, and Karl appeared in the salesroom.
“I don’t believe it! Robert, Vera, Martha, Frederike!” He spread his arms wide and hugged one after the other. “I thought Felix hadn’t heard properly.”
“Karl, it’s great to see you again at last!”
“What are you doing here, anyway? Why didn’t you tell us you were coming? Therese and I could have made some preparations for your visit.”
Felix came back into the salesroom.
“A few days ago, even we didn’t know we were coming,” Robert said with a wry smile.
“Has something happened? Something about Georg.” Karl looked worried.
“He’s not hurt. But you guessed right, something has happened. Could we go somewhere and talk undisturbed?”
Karl looked at his assistant. “Felix, take a half-hour break.”
“But I’ve already had a break.”
“Take another.”
Felix hesitated, then took his coat and left.
“I’ve got a warehouse of cocoa beans here, but nothing to offer you,” Karl apologized.
“Doesn’t matter. We’ll eat at the hotel later.”
“I’d invite you to stay at our apartment, but it’s quite small.”
“We didn’t want to put you and your wife to any trouble, and I prefer a hotel,” Vera said.
“As soon as Felix is back, I’ll bring you to a hotel near our apartment,” Karl said. “But please do tell me what’s happened.”
“It started when Elisabeth, as you already know, refused to go back to Cameroon. She and Martha stayed in Hamburg while Luise and I returned to the plantation,” Robert began, and then, assisted by Vera, Martha, and Frederike, told Karl what had happened in Hamburg. “And we came directly from Berlin to here,” he said as he finished.
Karl braced himself against the countertop and shook his head in disbelief. “I think I’ve got to sit down. If you weren’t standing here before me, I wouldn’t believe it. Georg? Really? Our older brother, the constant, reliable, moral head of the family?”
Vera nodded. “I’d never have believed him capable of it. And Elisabeth. I can’t say with certainty, but I believe they wanted to harm me. It was only after Anna threw out the food Elisabeth brought me and made me meals herself, bringing them to me in person, that my head became clear again. There were times when I was incapable of getting out of bed.”
“I feel so badly because I thought you just needed to be stronger and then you’d be fine,” Frederike said to her.
“Me, too,” Martha piped up in a feeble voice.
“Don’t be hard on yourselves. Even I had no idea what was going on. How could you two have known?”
“What are your plans?” Karl asked Robert.
“That’s one reason we’re here.” Robert took a deep breath. “I will not run the firm of Peter Hansen & Sons with that man.”
“I understand,” Karl said.
“You and I, we make up a majority. Unless”—Robert hesitated—“you side with him?”
“I’d never dreamed I’d have to choose between you two.” Karl’s expression was serious. “But after what you’ve told me, there’s no doubt about which brother I’ll continue to work with.”
“Thank you, Karl. I believed that’s what you’d decide, nothing less.”
“What do you think we should do now?”
“I gave it a lot of thought on the train. My first idea was to return to Cameroon, keep working the plantation, and send the beans exclusively to you or others—but not to Hamburg. But that way I would still be in business with him, so I threw out that idea.”
“Which means?”
“I’ll look for a steward to oversee the plantation instead of me. I, or rather we, will tell Georg that we no longer want him in the business and pay him a third, minus outstanding debts, and send him on his merry way.”
“Suppose he refuses?”
“Then we bow out of the firm, and he’ll have to pay us off, which he certainly can’t afford.”
“So he has no choice.”
“No, he doesn’t.” Robert raised his head. “He gets one third of everything, including the value of the villa. And then he is to disappear. I will take over the Hamburg office and restore the firm to its former glory.”
Karl looked worried. “I haven’t the slightest doubt that you’ll pull it off. That we will pull it off. It will ruin him, you have to re
cognize that.”
“I do.”
“It won’t be easy for me. After all, he’s still my brother.”
“He was my brother until he slept with my wife.”
Karl sighed. “That’s right. It’s unforgivable.”
“And what will happen to us?” Vera chimed in.
“Martha stays with us. I’ll never allow her to live with that woman”—he spat out the words with contempt—“again,” he said. “You and Frederike can choose wherever you want to live. You’re family, and Karl and I will provide for you.”
Karl nodded his strong support. “You have my word on it.”
“I’ll make sure that Georg and Elisabeth leave the villa as soon as possible. Then we’ll all move in again: Vera with Frederike, and I with Martha and Luise.”
“I’d never have imagined the day would come when we brothers were divided.”
“Me neither,” Robert concurred. “But we’re not to blame, only Georg.”
The bell over the door jangled as Felix returned. “Am I interrupting?”
“No, Felix. Good you’ve come. Can you please lock up tonight? I have to see to my family.”
“Yes, Herr Hansen.”
Karl showed them to a hotel near his and Therese’s apartment. They agreed that the travelers should freshen up while Karl went to the café to tell Therese about their unexpected visitors.
They went out to a restaurant for dinner, where the rest of the Hansens met Therese for the first time. They took to one another immediately. Maybe it was because Karl had told Therese in advance about what had happened in Hamburg. At any rate she felt she had real, honest people around her who were devoid of the upper-class arrogance and aloofness that she’d secretly anticipated. In spite of the unhappy circumstances, it turned into a hearty, informal evening, and Therese looked forward to spending more time with her husband’s relatives and getting to know them better. When she and Karl announced toward the end of the evening that they would soon become parents, the warmth between Therese and Karl’s family was assured.
Therese could not know how valuable that cheerful evening was for the Hansens from Germany, and how much strength they gained from their brief time in Austria with her and Karl. It meant the most to Vera, who’d suffered the hardest and knew that many trying days were ahead, until she restored some faith in her future. It meant almost as much to Frederike, who felt guilty about not standing up for her mother and being deceived by Elisabeth, and whose father had permanently forfeited her devotion and respect with his transgressions. And Martha, of course, who’d seen her mother in such a disgusting situation and who had heard her distraught father call his wife a whore. None of those three would ever forget the past few days. But they left dinner with the hope that their life in Hamburg would get back on the right track.
And of course, his brother’s support meant a great deal to Robert. He had suffered a profound betrayal—thanks to his wife and beloved elder brother. But his obligations to the business and responsibility for his family—along with his deep hatred of Elisabeth and Georg—would carry him through the next few months.
The next day Robert wrote to Luise about the recent events and his decision to hand over the plantation to a steward. He knew his daughter would not be pleased; she had no choice but to accept it. He also said he didn’t know exactly when he would make a final voyage to Cameroon to organize things in situ and return with her to Hamburg. He suggested she ask Raimund Leffers to see if he might be willing to administer the plantation. After all, he hadn’t any actual function there, a fact that likely weighed heavily on the clever young man.
Robert and Karl walked together discussing the steps for their split with Georg.
“I’ve spoken with Therese,” Karl began. “She asked me to suggest that I go with you to Hamburg and that Vera, Martha, and Frederike stay in Vienna until things are cleared up. They’ve already been through enough.”
“Do you want to come?”
“I think it’s for the best. Georg should see us united, side by side, to let him know we’re serious.”
“Thanks for that, Karl.”
“I don’t know what I’d have done if I’d been in your shoes.”
“Do you know what’s the worst thing about this whole business?”
“No.”
“I feel that the blame is all on me because I brought that poisonous snake into the family.”
“Nobody forced Georg to sleep with her,” Karl objected. “Not even Elisabeth. It was his decision and his alone, and now he’s got to face the music.”
“Luise will hate going back to Hamburg. She’s really blossomed in Cameroon.”
“Luise is young. She’ll be sad for a while, but give her time, and she’ll find that Hamburg’s still a beautiful place.”
“I hope you’re right.”
Karl and Robert left for Hamburg two days later. Frederike decided to help Therese in the café while they stayed in Vienna, and Martha would attend to Vera, lending her loving support.
Therese was happy to have found something to occupy Frederike at least. She couldn’t understand why Martha refused her offer. She was convinced it would be better for Vera, too, to find some meaningful activity rather than spend the time dwelling on her broken marriage and her husband’s betrayal. Apart from that, Therese would have found it utterly boring to spend the day the way Vera did: going for walks and reading a book at the hotel. But she resigned herself to the fact that her sister-in-law and she were two very different people.
Chapter Twenty-Four
Hamburg, Beginning of December 1889
Robert had borrowed a winter coat from Karl but still felt inadequately armed against the cold. Or was it anxiety at the thought of what would play out in the next few hours or days?
During the trip, they rehearsed every possible response to any move Georg might make. They felt well prepared as they walked from the station to the firm to confront their brother.
Fräulein Denker looked at them with astonishment when they came in.
“Good day, Fräulein Denker. Is our brother in the office?”
“Good day. What a surprise to see you! Shall I tell him you’re here?”
“We’ll just go on up,” Robert replied.
They mounted the stairs and stormed into Georg’s office without knocking, startling him by flinging the door open.
“Robert? Karl?” His eyes jumped from one to the other as he stood.
“Skip the welcome.” Karl waved him off. “Robert told me what’s been going on, so there’s no point to false friendliness.”
Georg sank back down as Karl and Robert sat on the other side of his desk.
“I wish you’d given me a chance to explain,” Georg said, turning to Robert.
“And why? Why should you have a chance, when you behaved like a swine, cheating on your wife and with mine, for God’s sake?”
Georg was about to say something sharp, but caught himself in time. “I understand it’s useless. However, I would like to apologize sincerely for my behavior, Robert. We never wanted to hurt you.”
“Save it. We didn’t come here to forgive you.”
“So why did you?”
“We want you to quit the firm.” Karl came unceremoniously to the point.
Georg sat bolt upright. “What did you say?”
“You heard me. We no longer want to work with you.”
“The very idea! I may have committed a personal transgression, even a serious one. But to demand I leave the firm because of it—that’s ridiculous. They are two separate things that have nothing to do with each other.”
“They do for us,” Karl retorted. “We can’t trust you anymore, Georg.”
“I have never taken one cent out of the business without your knowing.”
“Oh no? Then how did you pay the clinic when you wanted your wife to disappear?” Robert asked with a grimace.
Georg’s eyes widened.
“Don’t take the trouble to go to
Berlin. Vera isn’t there anymore. We’re taking care of her now.”
“She’s ill! You don’t have any right to do that. And I took the money out of my share of the profits.”
“Justify it all you want,” Karl objected. “Though after all I’ve heard, I wonder if you’re still in your right mind.”
“Are you so blind that you can’t see where Elisabeth’s taking you? You deceived your brother, locked up your wife, lied and lied some more, and don’t see that you’ll be left with nothing in the end.”
“Leave Elisabeth out of this! You never appreciated her.”
Robert shook his head. “Think of her what you will. But let me ask you one thing, brother dear: After you tell her you don’t have a penny to your name, how long do you think she’ll stay?”
“Elisabeth loves me!” Georg banged his fist on the table.
“This is going nowhere,” Karl said, putting his hand on Robert’s arm to calm him down. “We’re here to take care of the formalities.”
“There’s nothing to take care of.” Georg snorted. “I will continue to be the head of the company, and that’s that!”
“And where will you get the beans from?” Robert said, mockingly.
“If you don’t supply them, I’ll find others who will.”
“And how will you pay them?”
It seemed as if Georg still hadn’t gotten it. “The firm’s in good shape. I don’t need you two.”
“Oh? That’s what you think?” Karl countered. “Robert and I have discussed it thoroughly. You can have the Hamburg office. But you’ll have to pay the two of us our shares.”
“That would bankrupt the business, and you’d be left with nothing!”
“Wrong!” Karl exclaimed. “It doesn’t matter whether the sacks coming to Vienna are labeled ‘Peter Hansen’ or ‘Robert Hansen.’ The Hamburg office turns a modest profit—but only because of coffee sales. To keep it going would cost Robert and me more than it does to shut it down. That’s the bitter truth.”
Georg looked rapidly back and forth between them. “You can’t do this.”
“We can and we will. We’re offering you the only way out. Take it or leave it.”