A sea of faces stretching for miles stared up at him. And as he began to speak Teddy and Ketti and the thousands swarming around them fell silent, and the most extraordinary hush of reverence and respect descended on the streets of Whitehall.
‘My dear friends,’ Winston Churchill began, ‘this is your hour. This is not victory of a party or of any class. It’s a victory of the great British nation as a whole. We were the first, in this ancient island, to draw the sword against tyranny. After a while we were left all alone against the most tremendous military power that has been seen. We were all alone for a whole year. There we stood, alone. Did anyone want to give in?’ Churchill paused and in answer to this question the crowd roared, ‘No!’ ‘Were we downhearted?’ the Prime Minister demanded. ‘No!’ responded thousands in one voice.
The Prime Minister said, ‘The lights went out and the bombs came down. But every man, woman and child in the country had no thought of quitting the struggle. London can take it. So we came back after long months from the jaws of death, out of the mouth of hell, while all the world wondered. When shall the reputation and faith of this generation of English men and women fail! I say that in the long years to come not only will the people of this island but of the world, wherever the bird of freedom chirps in human hearts, look back to what we’ve done and they will say, “do not despair, do not yield to violence and tyranny, march straight forward and die if needs be—unconquered”. Now we have emerged from one deadly struggle—a terrible foe has been cast on the ground and awaits our judgement and our mercy.’
Teddy discovered that tears were streaming down her cheeks unchecked, and she fumbled with her handbag, opened it and searched for her handkerchief, mopped her wet cheeks.
‘Are you all right, my dear?’ Ketti asked, taking Teddy’s arm, peering into her face, concerned.
‘I’m fine, Aunt Ketti.’ Teddy blew her nose and blinked back her tears. ‘Mr Churchill always manages to move me with his words. He speaks such truths in his own very special way, and he’s so reassuring and inspiring. There’s no one like him, really.’
Apparently the thousands in the streets listening now to the end of his speech agreed with her. As Winston Churchill finished speaking they began to shout and cheer, and they cheered him until they were hoarse, and then they started singing For He’s a Jolly Good Fellow and Land of Hope and Glory. Ketti and Teddy joined in, warbling like full-blown Cockney sparrows. And it struck Teddy suddenly, as she sang, that this war had been punctuated by rousing Churchillian speeches and by singing, and that somehow his words and the popular songs had kept them going, had been their mainstay when the future looked bleak.
The Prime Minister waved and left the balcony, and slowly the crowds began to disperse and stream away, and the two women moved with them. It was growing late, and Teddy and Ketti had had a long and busy day, one that had been exciting, even thrilling, but also a trifle wearing. Near Victoria Station they managed to find a taxi, clambered in thankfully and settled on the seat together. They were glad to be by themselves at last, and away from the milling crowds.
Teddy glanced at her aunt, and despite the dim light in the cab she noticed how worn out she looked, and exclaimed, ‘Why, Aunt Ketti, you’re absolutely exhausted!’
‘I’m afraid I am a bit, aren’t you?’
‘Yes,’ Teddy admitted. ‘But it’s been worth it, celebrating the downfall and defeat of the Nazis and the Third Reich.’
***
It was Theodora’s twenty-sixth birthday the following day, May the ninth, and that afternoon Aunt Ketti gave a small tea party for her, to which Ketti invited Teddy’s dear friends, Julia and Lydia Pell.
They came promptly at four, each carrying a prettily-wrapped present, which Teddy opened, as always touched by their thoughtfulness. From Mrs Pell she received a hand-painted silk scarf in pretty tones of lilac, magenta and pink, and from Lydia a string of amethyst beads which were quite beautiful. ‘You spoil me, and you’re far too extravagant,’ Teddy said, first kissing Mrs Pell and then Lydia. ‘Thank you both very much.’
A short while later, Aunt Ketti brought in the silver tea tray and the four women sat down around the Queen Anne tea table which was laden with a mixture of thin finger sandwiches, scones, and an iced birthday cake boasting a single candle. They were halfway through the tea party when the doorbell rang shrilly.
‘Who on earth can that be?’ Ketti asked, frowning. ‘We’re not expecting anyone else, are we, Teddy?’
‘No, I’ll go and see who it is,’ she volunteered, springing up, hurrying down the corridor to the front door. She jerked it open to find Mark standing on the doorstep, much to her surprise.
‘Happy birthday, darling!’ he exclaimed, stepping inside the hall, hugging her, picking her up and swinging her around so furiously her feet left the ground.
‘But you’ve already wished me that on the telephone,’ Teddy said, as he put her down on the floor at last and planted a kiss on her cheek.
‘But I wanted to say it in person, and with this,’ he explained, presenting her with the package he was holding. He added, ‘It’s a bottle of Dad’s best pink champagne.’
‘Oh how lovely of you, Mark, thank you. Come on, Aunt Ketti is with Lydia and Mrs Pell in the drawing room. We’re having tea. Perhaps you’d like a cup, and a piece of birthday cake?’
‘No thanks,’ he said with a huge grin. ‘I much prefer the champagne.’
The others were equally surprised to see Mark when Teddy ushered him into the room, and after he had greeted them in his genial way he set about opening the bottle. ‘It’s cold enough to drink now,’ he assured Teddy as she took the champagne flutes out of the china cabinet. ‘My father always keeps a few bottles on ice for emergencies, and I bagged one from his cellar for this very special occasion.’ The cork in the Dom Perignon popped like a gun going off, and some of the frothy wine rushed up and spilled out of the neck of the bottle. ‘Whoops!’ he exclaimed, quickly pouring the champagne into the flutes. ‘I mustn’t waste any of this precious stuff.’
Mark lifted his glass and toasted Teddy, and so did everyone else. They clinked glasses and sipped the wine and then Mark put his flute down, and turned to her. ‘May I speak to you alone for a moment?’ he asked.
‘Of course, Mark,’ Teddy replied, throwing him a swift glance, wondering if something was wrong. He sounded unexpectedly serious, even grave.
They excused themselves, and Mark escorted her down the corridor, through the back parlour and out into the garden without enlightening her, and she wondered what this was about.
Mark was aware that Teddy liked to sit under the old apple tree reading or sewing in the warm weather, and it was to this favourite spot that he now led her, holding her hand in his.
Once there he turned to her and gazed down into her baffled face.
‘You know I love you, Teddy, that I want to marry you, and I know you love me. But you’ve never agreed to become engaged. You’ve said over and over again that you wanted to wait until the war was over. Well, it is over now. Please say yes, please become my fiancee today.’
‘Yes, I will, Mark,’ she said after the merest hesitation. Her sudden joy was muted by her nagging worry about the Westheims, but she did not allow this to show. She looked up into his adoring face and the smile she gave him was radiant.
He reached into the pocket of his flying jacket, took out a black leather box and handed it to her without a word. But his eyes were fastened on hers and he watched her closely.
Teddy slowly opened the box. A breathtaking square-cut emerald ring with diamonds on either side nestled in the folds of the white satin. ‘Oh Mark, it’s beautiful!’
‘As are you, my Teddy,’ he said, and then asked, ‘Do you really like it?’
‘How could I not! It’s magnificent!’
‘Emerald is your birth-stone, as well as the colour of your eyes, and that’s why I chose it. And happy birthday again, darling.’
‘Thank you, Mark.’
He took the ring out of the box and slipped it on the third finger of her left hand. ‘Now it’s truly official,’ and so saying he swept her into his arms and kissed her on the mouth.
After a short while the two of them walked slowly up the garden path holding hands, and went back into the house to announce their engagement to Aunt Ketti and the Pells. Neither her aunt nor her friends seemed in the least bit surprised to hear this news. They congratulated them warmly, and Ketti said, ‘We’ve been expecting it, you know, for ages. And the three of us were only just saying that we’ve never seen anyone more in love than you two.’
Everyone laughed at this comment, and the newly engaged couple thanked Ketti and the Pells for their good wishes, and another toast was made.
Mark immediately put his glass down after only a sip and said, ‘I have to go, Teddy. I’ve got to get back to Biggin Hill. My pass is for a few hours, that’s all. Courtesy of a very romantic squadron leader, who agreed you should have your ring on your birthday. And who, by the way, insists on being present at the wedding.’
Teddy said, ‘Then we must invite him.’
Mark took his leave of Aunt Ketti and the Pells, and Teddy accompanied him to the front door, where she stood on tiptoe to kiss him goodbye.
When they drew apart, Mark murmured softly, ‘Let’s set a date for the wedding.’
Teddy’s face instantly changed. ‘You know I can’t, Mark! Not until I hear from the Westheims, find out when they’re coming. I’ve always told you I couldn’t get married without Maxim’s parents being present.’
‘But it might be months before you hear anything from them! Things are a mess in Germany, there’s nothing but chaos over there right now!’
‘I understand that, Mark, but knowing Ursula Westheim, I’m quite certain she’ll find a way to be in touch with me soon. Or someone else will be, on her behalf.’
‘All right,’ Mark said in a resigned voice. ‘We’ll wait for a while before we get married.’ He smiled at her and Teddy smiled back and she did not notice the uncertainty in his eyes. Nor did she realise at this moment that she would wait in vain to hear from the Westheims. In the weeks that followed there was no news from them. And they did not come.
THIRTY-TWO
She went back to Germany to find the Westheims and felt like an alien in an alien land.
She did not recognise the city where she had been born and had lived until she was almost twenty. There was nothing left standing to recognise. Berlin looked like some strange and distant planet, a moonscape covered with deep craters and weirdly-shaped mountains made of debris.
The city had been turned into a wasteland by Allied bombers which had flattened five hundred thousand buildings, a third of those in the city, and in so doing had destroyed most of central Berlin. What had not been laid to waste by Allied bombs had been demolished on May the second when the city had fallen to Marshal Zhukov and the advancing Red Army. Ruthlessly, the Russians had turned twenty-two thousand guns on what remained, a barrage of unprecedented intensity, and had thus reduced everything left standing to rubble, dirt and dust.
Teddy was stupefied by what she saw. Addicted to newspapers, and a voracious reader of international news, especially news about Germany, she had followed the events of the past few months scrupulously. Nonetheless, she had not envisioned that the city would be as ravaged as it was, or that it would have an air of such desolation about it.
She returned at the beginning of October, travelling from London to Berlin by train. The many arrangements for her journey had been made with the help of Mark’s father and Julia Pell. Charles Lewis had made certain that all of her papers were in good order, and had insisted on paying for the trip, even though she had not wanted him to do so. He had won his argument, and she had given in gracefully.
It was Lydia’s mother who had found her accommodation in Berlin. Julia Pell had arranged for her to stay with a woman called Anne Reynolds, who held an important administrative position with the International Red Cross, and had been a friend of Julia’s for over twenty years. Now a widow, Anne Reynolds had lived in Germany with her husband before the war, spoke fluent German and also knew the country well. These were just two of the many reasons she had been selected for her high-powered job.
According to Julia Pell, Mrs Reynolds had been sent to Berlin in July, when the British, American and French troops had entered the city to join with the Russian Army in the four-power control of Berlin. She had been allocated a small apartment in Charlottenburg, which was one of the areas in the British Zone, and she had written back to Julia Pell to say that although her quarters were not very large, Theodora was most certainly welcome to stay as long as she wished. In her letter she had added that she constantly travelled around the British Zone of West Germany on Red Cross business, and that it was more than likely Teddy would have the place to herself most of the time. And as it happened, this was the way it turned out.
After greeting her cordially when she arrived at the flat on Sunday afternoon, and showing her around, Anne Reynolds apologetically explained that she had to depart almost immediately for Frankfurt, on an assignment.
‘I’m afraid I only have time for a cup of tea with you before I leave,’ she said as they sat down together in the sitting room.
‘That’s all right, Mrs Reynolds, I do understand,’ Teddy said, taking to her at once. A tall, striking woman in her late forties, with blonde hair and a typical English-rose complexion, she had a friendly smile and a commanding yet sympathetic way about her.
‘Please make yourself comfortable, whilst I brew a pot,’ Anne Reynolds went on, ‘and I’ll be back in a moment.’ Then she suddenly changed her mind and said, ‘Now that I think of it, why don’t you come to the kitchen with me? I’ll show you where everything’s kept, and we can chat at the same time.’
‘I’d like that, Mrs Reynolds, and thank you so much for letting me stay here. It’s very generous of you to take in a stranger like this,’ Teddy said warmly, her gratitude very much apparent on her face.
Anne smiled at her, and as she led the way to the tiny kitchen, more like a large walk-in closet than a room, she remarked, ‘Julia Pell cares about you a great deal, thinks of you as another daughter. And since she’s one of my oldest and dearest friends, I was delighted to be of help to someone who obviously means so much to her. Besides, there are no hotels left standing, so I don’t know where you would have found accommodation. The Kaiserhoff, the Eden and the Adlon have been destroyed beyond recognition, and so have most of the smaller hotels. Rooms are at a premium.’ She sighed heavily, and added, ‘Most Berliners are living in cellars, or are camping out in the ruins. The city’s in a mess, and refugees are still pouring in every day.’
‘Where from?’ Teddy asked swiftly.
‘Everywhere really. Mostly they’re returning Berliners who left during the war, but there are refugees coming in from other parts of Germany, who think they will be better off here.’ She shook her head, and grimaced. ‘They’re not, of course. Conditions are terrible, and I’ve never seen such overcrowding in my life.’
Anne Reynolds now struck a match, lit the gas under the kettle and told Teddy, ‘We have our work cut out for us, I don’t mind telling you. Almost all of the hospitals are gone, blown apart in the bombing raids, and those that are left are very badly damaged. There’s also a shortage of medicines, food and fuel. The hospitals are full, jammed actually, and tuberculosis, typhoid and diphtheria are the cause of most deaths.’ Anne paused, swung her head to face Teddy, and asked matter-of-factly, ‘By the way, you were immunised for the last two, weren’t you? I told Julia you must be.’
‘Yes, I was,’ Teddy replied. She thought of Ursula and Sigmund, and wondered where they were, if they were amongst the refugees streaming back into Berlin. She was about to mention them to Anne Reynolds, then changed her mind, decided to do this later when they sat down for their cup of tea.
‘Disease is rampant in the city, Theodora,’ Anne informed h
er. ‘You could say it’s in the very air we breathe, since there are still thousands of dead bodies which have not yet been buried.’
‘My God, that’s appalling!’ Teddy cried, horrified by what she had just heard. ‘Where are they?’
‘In the rivers, under the piles of rubble, and lying in very shallow graves in gardens. Not conducive to a healthy atmosphere at all. And, of course, there are rats everywhere.’
Teddy shuddered and her skin crawled at the thought of the vermin. ‘It must be very, very grim out there in the streets.’
‘I’m afraid it’s really quite ghastly,’ Anne answered, concern flooding her eyes. She shook her head sadly. ‘We have an immense task, but we do try to do our best. For everyone.’
‘I know from working with the Red Cross in London how extraordinary the international division is,’ Teddy said. ‘I don’t know what the world would do if our organisation didn’t exist. I’m so proud to be associated with it.’
‘So am I,’ Anne murmured, and began putting cups, saucers and a small bowl of powdered milk on a tray. Once she had done this, she opened two cupboards, turned to Teddy, and explained, ‘Here are utensils, china, those sort of things. In here are basic staples, and food. There’s plenty of that, mostly tinned stuff, though, such as corned beef, spam and soup.’
She closed these doors, opened another, and went on, ‘There are a few luxuries here… tinned fruit, sugar and chocolate biscuits, courtesy of the PX and a friend of mine who’s a major in the American army. He very kindly keeps me supplied, on a regular basis, so do feel free to use whatever you wish.’
‘Thank you, Mrs Reynolds,’ Teddy murmured. ‘You’re being extremely kind and I’m very appreciative.’ It struck her now that she would have been floundering in Berlin without the help of Anne Reynolds, and she could not help thinking how lucky she was to have friends like the Pells, and a future father-in-law as caring as Charles Lewis. Between them they had made her personal search for the Westheims possible, and certainly easier than it would have been otherwise.