Winston Churchill was enjoying a cigar and a whisky in the comfort of his study. He was ruminating on the events of the past year. During that time war had been declared on Germany and a British army landed in France. For many months there had been no fighting on land, although there had been naval campaigns, and many British ships sunk by enemy U-boats.
Then the war exploded, and in short order Norway, Denmark, Holland, Belgium and France had been attacked and occupied. The British army suffered a devastating defeat. Nowhere in history had there been such a successful war of conquest. It almost defied comprehension.
He had been appointed Prime Minister in May.
Then out of the blue the Germans offered peace. Moreover it was peace on honourable terms. Now there was even a possibility of a military alliance with their recent enemy.
“May you live in interesting times” he said out loud to himself, repeating an old saying.
With Herr Hitler and his bunch of rogues off the scene, the new German regime was acting in a thoroughly decent manner, he had to admit.
His great fear of a Nazi tyranny had now been replaced by his other old bogey; the Soviet Union, Stalin, and communism. This had led him a couple of days earlier at a cabinet meeting, to authorise the Minister of Defence to investigate the concept of Britain joining the European Alliance that the Germans seemed to be pushing.
It was certainly worth considering.
At the same time that Churchill was enjoying his cigar and whisky, Jeremy Blackstone and Klaus von Altendorf were having dinner at a quiet restaurant known for its simple but excellent food. Von Altendorf had brought his younger sister to meet his English friend.
Erica von Altendorf was a lecturer in history. She was 30 years old. Very attractive, rather than beautiful. Long blonde hair tied up Germanic fashion for this evening. Slim, with magnificent eyes that seemed to swallow you. Jeremy had to force himself not to stare.
Since joining the army some sixteen years before, Jeremy had found little time for girls. Oh, he liked them alright, but somehow never seemed to meet anyone special. His mother was always reminding him of her desire for grandchildren.
Right from the start he was completely at ease with Erica. She would subtly change the conversation whenever Jeremy and Klaus were tempted to talk too much shop. Being very intelligent, she was able to take part in any discussion on any topic that was brought up. Jeremy was thoroughly captivated.
The dinner was over far too quickly for him. But what an enchanting evening! He could not recall a more enjoyable time. It was then that Klaus asked him what plans he had for the weekend, because he and Erica were visiting their family estate outside Berlin. They would be honoured if he would join them.
Jeremy’s only plans were to start looking at the pros and cons of this idea of a European Alliance. This was something that he had received instructions to do, that very day.
Before he could say anything, Erica put her hand on his arm and pleaded with him come. It would be great fun, the three of them together. He would love the estate with its shooting, fishing and riding. And some lovely walks, she added.
There was no way he could resist. There was no way he wanted to resist. He imagined he could feel the warmth of her hand through his sleeve. The invitation was gracefully accepted. They made their arrangements. Klaus settled the bill and they left.
Outside they said their goodbyes. Erica gave Jeremy a little peck on the cheek that he convinced himself lasted longer than it should have. He was walking on air as he made his way home.
The von Altendorf family estate was a little over a one hour drive from Berlin. It nestled in a beautiful unspoilt wooded valley with a crystal clear river running through it. It had been in the family for over two hundred years.
They arrived early on Saturday morning and the three of them managed to fit in pheasant shooting, trout fishing, and horse riding, all in one day. Klaus and Erica were proficient on horseback, whereas Jeremy was an indifferent rider. He was stiff and a not a little sore later that afternoon.
That evening he was the first down for dinner. Erica arrived a few minutes later. The two of them settled into two comfortable large leather armchairs in a corner and their heads were close together in deep conversation when the door opened and in walked Baron von Altendorf. He hadn’t been expected at the estate that weekend.
Surprised, they jumped up, and Erica, arm linked with Jeremy, walked to her father to introduce Jeremy. As they reached him the Baron said, “Hello Major Blackstone. Oh, I am sorry; I see it is Colonel Blackstone now. How nice to see you again.” They shook hands.
Erica stared at Jeremy quizzically and asked, “Jeremy?”
Jeremy gave her an apologetic grin. “Your father and I have met before. Some months ago.”
Erica now transferred her enquiring look to the Baron. “Father?” She was clearly perplexed by Jeremy never mentioning the fact that he knew her father.
Jeremy thought quickly. Although the talks in May had been top secret at the time, afterwards it had been more of an open secret about who had actually attended the talks. It was only his own inbuilt caution and dislike of gossip that had stopped him mentioning that he had been one of the British team. He decided he could tell Erica. He explained.
Erica was impressed that Jeremy had been part of such an important event. At the same time she could not help feeling slightly annoyed that he not trusted her with the information.
The Baron helped. He knew his daughter. “My dear, Colonel Blackstone acted correctly in this matter. The names of the delegates to that meeting, while not exactly secret, are not common knowledge either. Perhaps the British government prefers it that way.”
The smile that Jeremy had already learned to love, reappeared on her face.
That evening the four of them had an excellent and intimate family dinner. The food was superb, the wine was probably the best Jeremy had ever tasted. He was treated as one of the family. There was no doubt that he felt at home with these wonderful people. ‘Damn the politicians that managed to get us into a war with them,’ he thought.
A little later, Erica had gone to change, and Klaus had excused himself to make a few phone calls. The Baron and Jeremy were enjoying an excellent cognac. They were having a relaxed conversation about progress in the various different European countries, as well as China and Japan, over the past few months. Neither gave away any secrets but both picked up bits of useful information.
Unexpectedly the Baron turned the discussion to the European Alliance. This could not have pleased Jeremy more.
“You know Jeremy, the European Alliance is going to happen. There is nothing secret about it. Norway and Denmark have said yes. To everybody’s surprise Poland is also looking at it seriously. Holland will join any day now.
Belgium has intimated that they are ready to abandon their traditional policy of neutrality, but they have to get their forthcoming referendum out of the way before they can commit to anything. We will know the result of that, next month. Our reading of it is that the country may well end up being partitioned. I don’t know if it would be a good thing or not. Perhaps it is preferable if it ends the age old hostility between the two different population groups.
Spain has been actively pushing for membership. Obviously they — and Portugal, are seen as logical participants in European security, but we have some concerns about the internal policies of General Franco. We do not wish to encourage Fascism.
The Portuguese dictator, Salazar, is right wing and reactionary but he is doing quite a good job of running his country. He has ended decades of decay and corruption within his country. He is both anti-communist and anti-fascist.