Michael Ridpath - Shadows of War

Constance’s eyes were shining. She was excited, she was drunk, and she was enjoying being with Anneliese.

She wanted to talk.

‘You did something similar for Henry when you were in Holland last year, didn’t you?’ Anneliese said. ‘Something hush-hush?’

Constance frowned. For a moment, Anneliese thought she had gone too far, and raised Constance’s suspicions. Then the Englishwoman smiled and leaned forward. ‘I was talking to some representatives of the German government for Henry. It was all a bit of a disaster.’

‘Really? What went wrong?’

‘I can’t say. But I had to… take action.’

‘Take action? What do you mean?’

‘I had to kill someone.’

‘No!’ Anneliese raised her hand to her mouth. She suppressed the excitement she felt and smothered it in feigned shock. But only mild shock, not enough to put Constance off.

‘You look surprised,’ said Constance.

‘I am,’ said Anneliese. ‘Who was it?’

‘I can’t say. But wouldn’t you kill someone for the Fatherland? If it absolutely had to be done?’

‘I never have,’ said Anneliese. Then she seemed to give it consideration. ‘But if the circumstances demanded it, I would.’ She sat up straight. ‘I would be proud to.’

Constance smiled. ‘I knew you would understand. But don’t tell a soul.’

‘I won’t. Are you still in discussions with the German government?’

‘I’m not. But Henry is.’

‘Will there be peace?’ Anneliese said. ‘Surrender?’

‘Peace. It will look like a draw but it will be victory for Germany. Henry has it all worked out.’

‘A revolution? A coup?’

‘No!’ said Constance. ‘This is England. This will all be done in a very British way. No goose-stepping. No Roman salutes. In fact the public will hardly realize what has happened until it has happened. That is the beauty of his plan.’

‘Tell me,’ said Anneliese.

Extract from Lieutenant Dieter von Hertenberg’s Diary

20 May

Orders allow us to move as far as Amiens, so we have taken Amiens. It’s a beautiful city and a fine cathedral. Captured some English prisoners. The roads are full of French refugees. 2 ndPanzer claimed they were out of fuel, but Guderian didn’t believe them. His theory is that’s just an excuse commanders use when they are tired.

Two of our own aircraft attacked us this afternoon. We shot them down and the crew drifted to the ground under parachutes. Guderian was there to meet them and gave them a severe bollocking. Then a bottle of champagne.

Abbeville taken this evening. The Channel is only 20 kilometres away!

Suffolk, 20 May

Conrad read the cable that was waiting for him in the mess. ‘YOU MUST MEET ME IN LONDON AS SOON AS POSSIBLE VERY URGENT ANNELIESE’.

That was at least clear.

The battalion was keeping itself busy. The disasters on the Continent had injected a dose of urgency into their preparations. Intelligence analysis suggested that the Germans were considering an immediate assault on England, before France fell. If that were true, then such an invasion would have to come from the north German ports, since the Germans would not have had time to prepare the Dutch harbours they had captured to launch an armada. And if an invasion fleet left from Hamburg or Bremen, it would almost certainly alight in East Anglia.

Personally, Conrad didn’t believe the intelligence reports. In fact, from what he had learned of intelligence over the last few months, there was more bluff and double bluff going on than straightforward acquisition of genuine secrets. If he were in charge, he would junk the whole lot and rely on common sense. Common sense told him that the Germans would be as preoccupied with the invasion of France as the Allies were, and would be very unlikely to have taken the time to plan an assault on Britain right away.

So Conrad was wasting his time in Suffolk and had been desperate to get back to London. But since the German blitzkrieg, all weekend leave had been cancelled, and Colonel Rydal had been unwilling to make an exception for him.

Conrad would just have to try harder. He went to see the CO.

Colonel Rydal was at his desk. Conrad handed him the cable, on the basis that honesty was most likely to earn him Rydal’s trust.

‘Who is Anneliese?’ Rydal asked. ‘Your girl?’

‘Yes, sir. But I met her in Germany last year. And she is helping me with my investigation of the Duke of Windsor. If she wants to see me that urgently, she has discovered something important.’

‘I take it you want leave to see her right away?’

‘Yes, sir.’

The colonel raised his eyebrows. ‘And what if she wants to tell you she is pregnant?’

That stopped Conrad; the thought genuinely hadn’t occurred to him, but it was one of the classic reasons for requests for leave from his own men. ‘It’s not that, sir,’ he said. ‘If it were, Anneliese would wait to tell me. Besides which the timing is wrong.’

Rydal grunted. ‘I have received another order from the War Office not to grant you more leave.’

‘Did they say why?’

‘No. But they were firm about it.’

‘Doesn’t that rather suggest that there is something to learn in London?’ Conrad said. ‘I’m not a Soviet spy, sir. The very idea is ridiculous.’

‘I know it is,’ said Rydal.

Conrad could tell the colonel wanted to believe him. He just needed some help. ‘When I went to Holland last November I was told that the Germans had received information from the Duke of Windsor that the French lines were at their weakest at Sedan. I passed that information on to the British authorities, who seem to have ignored it. They didn’t like the idea of the duke being a German spy. Now I quite understand that — I don’t like it either. But you know where the German army broke through last week?’

‘Sedan.’ Rydal frowned. ‘And you think that your friend Anneliese has more information about the duke?’

‘She may well have. She has been investigating an MP who has been involved with the duke, or friends of the duke. An MP who is pro-Nazi. Sir Henry Alston.’

‘Is Alston pro-Nazi?’

‘Oh, yes, sir.’

‘Do you have proof?’

‘Absolutely not. That’s why I have to see Anneliese.’

Rydal stood up and turned towards the window. Conrad waited.

Rydal’s shoulders stiffened. He had made a decision. He turned back to Conrad. ‘I can’t give you leave. But I can send you to see someone at the War Office. A different department. As you know, I have been having a long-running argument with the WO about our Bedfords being armoured. Here’s the man’s name and the department.’ Rydal scribbled a name.

‘Do I have an appointment?’

‘No. And don’t make one. Just claim I told you you had one. It will sound like a typical army balls-up.’

Conrad smiled. ‘Thank you, sir.’

‘Very good. Leave an address where we can get you at short notice. Between us, there is a good chance that we may be ordered to France in the next few days as reinforcements. If that happens, I want you back with the battalion right away.’

Pall Mall, London

Alston sipped his whisky and listened to the secret-service officer. They were meeting in Alston’s club, having decided a long time before that it was more discreet to meet openly. There was nothing suspicious about a Conservative MP having a quiet conversation with a senior member of SIS, whereas a clandestine meeting would be more remarkable.

‘De Lancey is coming to London tomorrow,’ the officer said.

‘But damn it, McCaigue! I thought you had arranged for him to be confined to barracks.’