Chapter One Thousand Three Hundred Fifty
28th December 1959
Kleinberg, Silesia
The preparations for New Year’s Eve were well underway, even if the staff was finding it difficult to do with the children underfoot. When Hans and Helene had arrived a week prior Käte’s prediction about the Graf’s namesake grandson one day being as tall as his father looked to be coming to pass. Manfred realizing that Manny was taller than he was at thirteen was a shock, and that the boy wasn’t finished growing yet. He had regaled Manfred with his exploits on the Football pitch, having made his neighborhood’s Youth League team, he wanted to be a starting Forward, but the Coach wasn’t letting him do that until he got older. At Manny’s age just making the team was impressive, especially in a place like Berlin which had staggering amount of talent at their disposal. Manny’s younger sister Ina delighted in coming to the estate, even if Manfred was unsure how to relate to Helene’s daughter. The girl was all about rainbows and unicorns, but it at least showed some intelligence. Sonje’s children had inherited their father’s lack of that and Caecilia’s were basically being raised by television. It was far too soon to tell what Albrecht’s boy would be like. With any luck Nikolaus would grow up to be a pilot like his grandfather, and Manfred grudgingly had to admit, his father. Manfred’s hope was that he would eventually steer Niko into the Luftwaffe. Though that could backfire badly, and the boy would become one of those lunatics in the Fallschirmjäger Corps. Regardless of what happened, Elisabeth would probably have none of it and work to see Niko in University like his father. Manfred found that last part a bit amusing. How had that worked out?
The arrival of Katherine’s children before Christmas had been a bit of a surprise, though in retrospect it shouldn’t have been. The oldest girl was apparently fostered to Douglas and Katherine’s house. All Manfred had been told a vague line about how Josefine’s father had been a business associate of Katherine’s father. The less said about that the better. They had welcomed her into their household and family over the last few years. Jo told everyone that she lived with her Aunt and Uncle, so the girl must be appreciative on some level. Even if her attitude didn’t always reflect it. Tatiana and Malcolm were growing fast, with Tat an inquisitive, boisterous girl and Kol being more reserved. According to what Katherine had told Käte, Kol had been struggling with a learning disorder that caused him to struggle academically. Finding Kol poring over the scrapbooks full of newspaper articles and photographs that Manfred had accumulated over an adventurous lifetime was seen by the Graf as a good sign of where the boy’s head was at. Katherine’s youngest was just progressing from being a toddler. It was noticeable that her easy-going personality seemed to be a lot like Douglas’ despite Marie’s extremely close physical resemblance to Katherine. Manfred considered it a bit odd that Marie’s personality was a relief to her mother.
Yesterday morning, Katherine had packed a bag and left without explanation after getting a phone call. The lack of reaction by her husband and children showed that it was something that they were used to. Manfred knew that she had retired from the Heer but had been appointed to be the personal Investigator to the Emperor himself in addition to her role as Obersthofmeisterin. Manfred could see why the House of Hohenzollern would want someone they could trust implicitly in those roles. However, he could also see that it had taken a toll on Katherine over the years. Douglas said that she had said that she was due to be back before New Year’s as if it was something that was almost expected.
Montreal, Canada
Gloria should have known that it was too good to be true, but she had stupidly walked into a trap thinking it was a book event that she had been invited to a few days after Christmas. Someone had convinced her Agent that a writer’s group was meeting in Montreal and they wanted her to speak to them about her book. The worst part was that John had warned her that something like this was coming. She had known for a long time that her boyfriend was a lot smarter than he let on and had a better understanding of how the world worked. The result was that Gloria was annoyed and Jane, who Gloria had invited to come along, was terrified. They were in a freight elevator that was ascending while surrounded by a half dozen men in nondescript suits who were extremely polite, though they had made it very clear that they were not being given a choice in the matter. Polite or not, it was obvious that they were police.
As the elevator stopped, one of the men opened the gate and gestured them through.
“I’m terribly sorry if you were inconvenienced” An older man in a dark three-piece suit who was standing there as they got off the Elevator and fell into step with them. “But the Countess felt that it was necessary that you were given a proper cover for your presence here.”
“The Countess?” Gloria asked, with a sinking feeling in her stomach. Since Gloria had completed the biography of Gräfin Katherine von Mischner-Blackwood she had found nothing but a deep silence from the Countess herself. Now it seemed that they had an answer.
“Thank you, Sir Malcolm” Gloria heard a voice say and yes it was the Gräfin herself. The man in the dark suit was Katherine’s Father-in-Law, Sir Malcolm Blackwood, who she had named her son after.
“We’ve a few things to discuss” The Gräfin said, “Your little friend can wait outside.”
With that Jane was led off by Sir Malcolm who made a point of telling her that he had thought that her father was great in Twelve Angry Men. Gloria was left alone with Katherine, who she was now acutely aware of what she was capable of. When, or if, she ever got a chance to tell Jonny about this, he would probably say that her told her so, even if he wouldn’t take a whole lot of enjoyment from it.