When Stars Light the Sky (The Women of Midtown #2)

Chapter 36

36

Benedict and Ambassador Gerard both wore ordinary civilian clothes to the Reich Chancellery, where they would sever diplomatic relations with Germany. The time for negotiation and diplomacy was over. It would be a straightforward meeting and the biggest failure of Benedict’s life.

Officers of the Kaiserliche Garde met them at the front doors of the chancellery. The palace was the administrative hub, where hundreds of government bureaucrats worked in offices to keep the empire running.

But not today. It was a Saturday, and the building appeared vacant except for the expressionless imperial guards.

“Chancellor von Bethmann-Hollweg is expecting us,” Ambassador Gerard announced, and the guards snapped into formation, their leader barking out orders as all six guards flanked them during the long walk to the cabinet assembly hall.

The cascade of their footsteps echoed down the empty marble corridors of the chilly building. Why heat an empty palace on the weekend? Nevertheless, Benedict’s palms were sweating as they approached the meeting room, where another set of guards opened the doors to the assembly hall.

Inside, a dozen German officers sat at a long table. A crackling fire warmed the room, which was framed by monumental tapestries and heroic paintings. The men at the table stood as the Americans entered, their faces grim. Chancellor von Bethmann-Hollweg and Minister Zimmermann were the only Germans wearing ordinary civilian clothes. Everyone else around the table wore military uniforms covered in ribbons and medals.

Two empty chairs awaited them, but after the Germans returned to their seat, Ambassador Gerard remained standing, which meant Benedict did as well.

“We have come to inform you of our decision to cease diplomatic relations and leave Germany,” Ambassador Gerard began. “We do not seek war, but we cannot tolerate Germany’s attacks against American shipping, nor your attempt to incite Mexico into attacking our southern border. Zimmerman’s telegram to Mexico reflects a complete disregard for international law and basic human decency. Kaiser Wilhelm is a dangerous megalomaniac, and his cabinet is made up of warlords.”

Minister Zimmermann shot to his feet and looked directly at Benedict. “We have no argument with the Americans,” he said. “Come, Mr. Kincaid. Like President Wilson, you are a man of reason. Surely you do not echo Ambassador Gerard’s gross attack on our legitimate efforts to protect ourselves.”

There was a time when Benedict would have agreed with Zimmermann’s sentiment. Ambassador Gerard had been consistently blunt, rude, and impulsive. And yet the careful diplomacy of President Wilson had not worked.

“Ambassador Gerard has my full support,” he stated. “We have been ordered home by President Wilson and will leave immediately.”

“Not so fast,” von Bethmann-Hollweg said, his voice silky. “I’ve received word that the German ambassador in Washington is being shamefully treated. Ambassador Bernstorff reports that German ships in America are being seized, and he has had his privileges curtailed. We will not allow you to leave Germany if our ambassador is being mistreated in America.”

Gerard stepped forward. “You won’t allow ?” he huffed. “We have diplomatic privileges and will leave whenever we see fit.”

“Not if our own ambassador is being mistreated.”

Ambassador Gerard clenched his fists. “This is an outrage!”

Benedict agreed. There would be no more pretending, no more diplomatic niceties. He stepped forward and locked eyes with the chancellor. “If you do not allow us to leave Germany, it will be considered an act of war.”

“As you like,” von Bethmann-Hollweg said with a tense nod. “We have already begun the process of ensuring your continued presence in Berlin until we have our own ambassadorial staff released from Washington.”

It had to be a bluff. President Wilson wouldn’t condone the mistreatment of the German ambassador, but they had no way of proving it.

“We’re leaving,” Gerard said, turning on his heel and striding from the room. Benedict remained looking at Zimmermann, a diplomat he once respected but who was now orchestrating a plot to provoke a war with Mexico.

“Farewell, Arthur. I don’t think we will see each other again.” He managed to sound calm despite the despair growing in his chest as he turned to follow Ambassador Gerard out of the chancellery.

Benedict raced back to Alton House. The chauffeur dropped him off at the end of the street, then continued speeding toward the embassy with the ambassador. Perhaps he should have gone on to the embassy, but he had obligations to the staff at Alton House too. Inga was his wife .

He jogged down the street, his breath leaving white puffs in the freezing air. Two German guards were posted at the end of the path leading to Alton House.

“Nobody is allowed in or out of that house,” the sergeant said.

“I live here,” Benedict bit out.

The sergeant shifted uneasily. “Oh. I suppose then it would be all right if you went in.”

Tension simmered and threatened to boil over. “I want you out of here,” Benedict told the soldiers. “This house is part of the American Embassy, which means you are standing on American soil. You have no authority here.”

He wasn’t entirely sure that was correct. The American Embassy where Gerard lived was entitled to full diplomatic immunity, but he wasn’t sure if that extended to Alton House. It didn’t matter. He stood nose to nose with the sergeant, who quickly backed down.

“We’ll be across the street until we get further instructions,” he conceded.

Benedict strode angrily up the path and through the front doors. “Inga?” he bellowed.

“Back here!” she called from the kitchen, a note of panic in her voice.

To his horror, two German soldiers were ransacking the kitchen, where cabinets and drawers hung open. Inga and Mrs. Barnes huddled in the corner, their faces white.

“What are you doing?” he demanded of the nearest soldier.

“They say they’re looking for contraband,” Inga said in English. “I told them they don’t have any right to be here, but they won’t listen.”

Canisters of sugar, flour, and other goods had been dumped into pots and pans, which lay everywhere. The soldiers weren’t looking for contraband; they were stealing!

Benedict grabbed a canister of tea and some chocolate bars that had been set beside the soldier’s kit. “Did they take anything else?” he asked Inga. Almost everything of a sensitive diplomatic nature was kept at the embassy, but he didn’t want these soldiers leaving with so much as a matchstick.

“Boxes of stationery and your diplomatic stamp from the study,” she replied, her voice still shaking.

He jerked the soldier’s rucksack open, and sure enough, his official document stamp was inside. It had no value other than as a trophy of war. He pocketed the seal, then put an arm around Inga’s shoulder, hating that she was trembling. Never could he have imagined when he left for the chancellery that the Germans would begin retaliating so quickly. They obviously anticipated every move the Americans made that morning.

“You are on American soil, and I’m ordering you out of this house,” he said. “Your commanding officer is outside. Go join him.”

Once again, he relied on bravado to convince the two soldiers to clear out and leave. He watched them walk down the front path to join the others across the street.

Mrs. Barnes was badly rattled as she started putting the kitchen back together. “What’s going to happen to us?”

Benedict didn’t know how to answer her. This was uncharted territory for them all. “For today, I want you all to stay inside the house while I go to the embassy to see if the ambassador needs us. Inga, please call the Marine barracks and ask them to send guards to Alton House.”

Inga lifted the telephone receiver on the hall table and cranked the dial. Then cranked it again. She met his gaze, her eyes wide and frightened. “The line is dead.”

Benedict strode outside, stomping through the snow to get to the side of the house. Sure enough, the telephone line had been cut. So was the line that supplied electricity to the house. They hadn’t noticed since it was the middle of the day and there had been no need for the light, but he sent an annoyed glance at the soldiers congregating across the street. At least the sergeant had the decency to send him an embarrassed shrug in acknowledgment.

Benedict approached the soldiers. He was tempted to demand they reconnect the telephone line, except they couldn’t be trusted to do it without figuring out how to tap it.

“I’ll be having a team of engineers out to reconnect those lines,” he said. “Should you try to interfere, I will notify President Wilson so that he may determine how the German Embassy staff in Washington are to be treated.”

The officer clicked his heels. “Sir.”

The vague reply meant nothing, so it was anyone’s guess if the engineers would be allowed to repair the lines, but only time would tell.

Inga huddled with Benedict and the rest of the staff in the Alton House parlor as night closed in. Only light from the fireplace illuminated the room. They had no power, no telephone, and only the fire for heat. She hadn’t been this frightened since Mr. Gerard found her in that church on her first night in America. Now here she was, twenty years later and once again freezing in the dark, wondering what daylight would bring.

It wasn’t so much fear for her own safety as fear for America heading into war. They would soon be joining the exodus of Americans trying to get to safety beyond the borders of Germany.

Benedict was calm and in command as he explained their duties for the following day. “We must delegate our embassy responsibilities to the other neutral embassies,” he said. “Just as we’ve been trying to help the British and French manage affairs in Germany, we will need to find someone to do the same for us.”

An image of Percy Dutton, the gentle English artist still trapped in a horse stable, rose in her mind. “What’s going to happen to the prisoners held at Ruhleben?” she asked.

Benedict’s eyes darkened. “There’s no longer anything we can do for them. I’ll ask the Swiss or the Spanish if they can intervene, but I doubt they’ll succeed in getting them traded.”

“What will happen to us ?” Mrs. Barnes asked.

Benedict outlined the coming days. “We’ll be evacuating to Switzerland, then make our way to Spain to sail home. We will travel as a group. Once we get to Washington, D.C., those who wish to remain serving the U.S. diplomatic corps will be reposted to other embassies around the world. War means most of them will be getting even more staff, so nobody should fear the lack of a job.”

Inga had no intention of seeking more work overseas. Once she was back in New York, she would never leave her home again.

A knock at the front door startled everyone. Inga reached for Benedict’s hand. The loud, abrupt knock was exactly how the intrusion of the soldiers began this morning, and maybe they were back to cause more trouble.

The chauffeur stood. “I’ll get it,” McFee said. Benedict and Colonel Reyes stood as well, proof her fears weren’t paranoid. But soon the warm laughter coming from the foyer set everyone at ease.

“We’ve got a hot dinner coming our way, folks,” McFee said. A squat man with a narrow mustache, carrying a large covered pot, waddled in after the chauffeur.

“Compliments of the Swiss Embassy,” he said. “We heard you had no power, and I had enough extra pork to make you some meatballs and cabbage rolls.”

A cook from the Norwegian Embassy brought pickled herring, and a bald man with laughing eyes brought bottles of wine.

Inga’s eyes prickled with tears. She’d often seen the cheerful bald man from the Bulgarian house next door but hadn’t formally met him because the Bulgarians had sided with the Germans. How kind of them to extend such hospitality despite their political differences.

“Shhh!” the Bulgarian said as he passed her the wine. “Don’t tell anyone I was here.”

She bowed respectfully. “It shall be our secret. Thank you, sir.”

“Will you join us?” Benedict asked. There were half a dozen people who carried the food over, and all declined the offer.

Despite the war and all their worries, the world was still a good place, and tonight was proof of it. After their neighbors left, they joined hands and prayed, giving thanks to God for this brief respite.

Their real challenges would begin tomorrow.