Opposite Sides

CHAPTER 6

  In the millions

  It was not unusual for middle-class households to employ foreign girls, especially to do lower house duties such as washing dishes or peeling vegetables, duties even the scullery maids loathed doing. Heidi settled in well and after a few weeks it was decided that she could help Mary with normal domestic duties to keep the household running smoothly. Whenever Hans caught a glimpse of her she was carrying a duster or sweeper, quietly humming to herself as she moved silently in and out of rooms reserved for Miss Turner, Jan and himself. Servants in all houses were expected to be unobtrusive and quiet as they went about the daily duties. Sometimes Heidi did forget and could be heard singing in one of the upstairs rooms as she made up the beds. Mary would have to lay down the pile of fresh linen she had been carrying, find Heidi and reprimand her.

  “Sorry. Sorry, Mary. I try to remember.”

  The excitement of Christmas had come and passed and in a few days everyone would be celebrating the last day of the year. The weather had become so dismal and cold that nobody had even wanted to go outside. Heidi had remained with Mary and Ellen in the kitchen and although Hans had been cheered by knowing she was so close, he was rather upset that he had seen so little of her. Heidi was only too pleased to have a job and a little money of her own. Usually, as soon as the girls finished with school, they were off to the cities, preferring to work in factories or shops where pay rates were better and time off was greater. The middle class English found they were having to look abroad for those willing to be general maids in their houses, especially as their homes did not carry the prestige of the landed gentry.

  Saturday morning dawned dismal and cold again. It was the third Saturday in a row the weather had been awful with intermittent snow flurries and a biting icy wind that found its way into every corner. Hans could feel the tension in the house brought on by the bad weather and from being cooped up indoors. Voices became more strained and tempers were on a short fuse.

  The awful morning dragged out into a bleak, cloud-covered afternoon but at least the snow had stopped. Finally, as the daylight faded, the low clouds began to part so that by early evening, the heavens were finally lit up by hundreds of crisp, twinkling stars. Things were looking up again.

  Hans had been sitting upstairs at his desk, trying to finish reading the chapter of a book that had occupied him for most of the day. The small fire burning in the grate had kept the bedroom moderately warm so that he had intended to return to his reading as soon as the supper table had been cleared. When he did return, he decided to sit for a while in the flickering semi-darkness watching the small flames curl round the blackness of the coal. What made him move over to the window, he did not know but something inside pulled him over, and as he wiped the glass, he looked upwards finding the constellations he recognised: Ursa Major, the Great Bear; and the bright star in Auriga that helped him find the nearby Perseus.

  The moon rose, its pale light glimmering through the windowpane taking away the faintest stars making the night sky less crowded. He got up to shut out its light but as he touched the curtain, he changed his mind and decided to leave it as it was. The night was beautiful and enticing.

  On the other side of his bedroom window was the rear garden, whiteness stretching out until it faded into the dimness of a perfect winter night. Trees that normally stood like dark, unfriendly giants now welcomed him with their silver canopies and intriguing shadows. As he continued to gaze downwards, a movement caught his attention. He wiped the glass of the window once more and peered intently through the circle he had made in the condensation. A figure, wrapped well in heavy clothing, was making its way across the lawn, leaving a trail of white smudged footprints indented into the frozen grass.

  Who could that be? he wondered. Who would be walking outside at this time of the year?

  He was intrigued. He grabbed his coat and rushed outside to investigate. For a while the lone figure melted into the dark shadows and Hans wondered whether his eyes had been playing tricks with the light but just as he was about to turn back to the house, a silhouetted movement caught his eye. He stepped out in its direction until he could plainly make out the outline of a person near to one of the large oaks.

  “What are you doing out here in the cold?” he called as he came upon them from behind. His call made the figure start and it swung round to face him. The woollen scarf was immediately pulled down from the face.

  “Heidi!”

  “Ach, Hänschen, you made me jump! I’m not cold at all and I just had to get out of the house. We’ve been shut in for days and days and the evening sky looked so beautiful now that the clouds have cleared. Look, at that.” She pointed up to three stars still visible in the moon-lit sky. “Look! Isn’t that the tail of the Bear?” She turned to face him. “I love looking at the stars. I used to do it with Papa on clear evenings and we’d play a game to see who could find shapes. Do you ever do things like that?”

  “Yes. I was doing exactly the same thing. Trying to see them from my bedroom window. Look, Heidi, see those four over there and then those fainter three? Do you know what they are?”

  She hardly had to follow his pointing finger for she was well conversed in the lore of the sky.

  “Oh, yes. They’re Perseus.”

  They stood looking upwards at the sparkling carpet above, with Heidi outlining the shapes and pictures the Ancients had also seen. “I had another letter from Papa today,” she said with a sigh in her words. “Arrived with the afternoon mail.”

  “Mmm.” Hans was not really listening. He stopped looking at the sky and looked at Heidi standing in her long grey overcoat. “Why did you come to England?”

  “To work.”

  “Why here?”

  “One gets good experience in England. Besides, there is no work at home. Nowhere. It’s almost impossible to find work.”

  “Really? Uncle hasn’t written to me and mentioned anything like that.”

  “Maybe he didn’t want to worry you. Our rich people are not taking on any more servants. I tried everything: I found nothing. Want to walk with me?” she asked.

  They began walking round the whiteness that covered the lawn making their way over to the back gate which led directly on to one of the paths which skirted the perimeter of a field. Hans knew the way well for he had walked the circuit many times.

  “Why didn’t you stay longer at school, Heidi? You were such a clever girl.”

  “Papa couldn’t keep us all. My brother Christian had to go away to find work. And now it is my turn.”

  “Fifteen and a half is such a young age to be away from home.”

  “I know. When Christian was looking for work, Papa asked your grandfather if he had any ideas. He was told to write to Herr Klön to ask if there was a position in his factory. Christian was willing to try anything. Any job, it did not matter what. If not with your uncle, perhaps he could put in a good word for Christian.”

  That surprised Hans for neither uncle nor Renard had told him they had heard from any of the Friedls.

  “Uncle Karl? What did he say?”

  “It was several months before we heard back. By then, he wrote and told Papa that people were loosing their savings and firms were going under. He said he was sorry but the had nothing to offer at his factory.”

  “Yes, I guessed that would be the case. He had to lay off some of his own workers.”

  “Then, out of the blue, he wrote to Papa to say he had found a job for me if I wanted it . . . in England. Was I willing to go? So, here I am.”

  Her face lit up into a pleasant smile.

  “So, you are here to replace Ellen?”

  “What makes you say that?” She appeared surprised.

  “Isn’t Ellen leaving then?” he asked sounding just as surprised as she had looked.

  “Not permanently. She will be going home for a few weeks when her mother’s confinement ends.”

  “When what?” Somehow he felt as if he were missing something.

/>   “When she has her baby. Ellen tells me it will be her eigth one.”

  “Oh.” He did not want to get into that embarrassing subject, for he found anything to do with babies quite daunting, so he changed the subject. “Do you miss Salzburg?”

  “When I get homesick. Do you?”

  “I did at first. A lot. I did, too, when we first went to live in Berlin. I missed my grandparents, especially Oma. I missed the mountains and Sunday bells. I still feel Austrian although I’ve spent almost as much time in Germany. It was so different: busy, noise, parades. I liked watching Kaiser Wilhelm in his coach go by and all the soldiers in their shining hats with colourful feathers on top. Because Papi was in the army, we were always expected to go and watch the parades. But all that waiting made my legs ache. Renard stood to attention all the way through and cheered and saluted when the carriage rolled past.”

  “Was it good to live in Berlin?” Heidi tipped her head slightly to one side side like a puppy when one spoke to it.

  “I don’t like city life,” he replied rather dryly.

  “I’ve never lived in a city. I thought cities would be an exciting place to live.”

  “No, not all the time.”

  “Do you like it in England?”

  “I’m beginning to. It’s better now.”

  “I’ve heard you speak English. I think you’re good.”

  Hans put on his English face and accent and spoke to her in English.

  “Like a true Englishman, I play now cricket. Bowl away!” He swung his arm up and forward in a curve as if bowling the ball. “El-be-vay.” That was not quite correct. He laughed and tried once more. “No, el-bee-double-you! That is: leg before wicket.” He switched back into German. “See? I do still make mistakes. Not yet fluent.”

  “Sounds perfect to me,” she answered. “Have you made lots of friends?”

  “Yes, have. It took a while. When I came here I suffered the same as when we first went to Berlin. Teasing and such. The boys kept saying horrible things. I could hear them talking and laughing. I understood just enough to know they were talking about me. I got into some really bad fist fights with some of them. Nosebleeds and bruises as large as saucers.”

  “Poor Hänschen. Why? Everyone has been so nice to me.”

  “It’s different with boys and it’s worse when you don’t understand each other. Your mind plays tricks with you. The boys didn’t like me coming from Germany. The war, you see. I met some people who had to change their name and make it sound more English. Mrs Brymer told me she had a terrible time during the war years. And she was English. People were so suspicious of her because she had a German husband even though they had lived here for years and years.”

  “Really?” Heidi’s eyes widened and her mouth dropped open. “Did you meet them here?”

  “Yes. I stayed with them for a while. They used to live in the school cottage where Mr Knox, the grounsman, now lives.”

  “Were the boys suspicious of you, do you think, Hänschen?”

  “I think so. I’ve had to change many things but I think it’s better now. I’ve got some good friends now and as long as I play cricket with them every now and then, they accept me.” He snapped his fingers together to fire away the rest of his thoughts on that subject and focused more on Heidi. He nodded. “So, . . . I can help you. What do they say here?” He spoke to her in English, trying to imitate how the other boys would have spoken. “Chin up, me girl. Don’t let ‘em grind you down.” He laughed with himself as he realised that the girl did not understand. He returned to German. “It’s good for me now. The more English I become, the better.” He tried to sound cheerful but seeing the tears in Heidi’s eyes, he felt his last words sounded rather hollow. “Come, it’s cooling off. I’ll walk you back to the house.”

  The track widened and they were easily able to walk side by side. For several minutes they walked in silence, each thinking their own personal thoughts. She lightly touched his hand and they paused in their steps while he kicked at an oversized stone in front of him.

  “How long have you been away from home?”

  “Almost a year now. I’ve been here such a long time. Almost as English as the English. My grandmother would be pleased.”

  “She came from England, didn’t she?”

  “Yes. Not far from here.”

  They continued walking again. Two dark figures silhouetted against the dark foliage of the low bushes beside a wooden post and rail fence. They said nothing for a few minutes but enjoyed each other’s presence, the closeness of companionship that is heightened under the cover of night. Heidi hesitated. The darkness had sharpened Hans’ field of perception and awareness and he felt there was something else she wanted to to tell him. He stepped back as she moved directly in front of him.

  “Hänschen, do you really have any idea about the terrible things that have been happening?” The corners of her mouth dropped so that she looked sad.

  “Where?”

  “In Austria. Assassination attempt on our chancellor.”

  “Really?”

  “Among others. Then, there was that trouble Germany. You heard about that?”

  He shook his head.

  “Surely, when you left Germany you knew things were very bad.”

  “Such as?”

  He could only think that he had forgotten, if he ever knew of it. Uncle Karl had protected them from the worst of the troubles although he had noticed long queues of poorly dressed people outside the soup kitchens that had popped up in some of the side streets. He had caught glimpses of them through the train window when he had travelled across the city with his brothers and aunt. Besides, Heidi had always lived in Austria, so what did she know about a country which was across the border?

  “Don’t you ever get any news from Herr Klön, your uncle?” Her voice went up several octaves to show her surprise. “Surely he writes to you?”

  “Not about that. His letters are short and are mostly about what my brothers have been doing. Mainly Renard. Axel is much quieter so I do not think uncle takes much notice of him.”

  “What is Renard doing?” she asked.

  “Thinking about starting his own business. It is his way of asking Oma for some money. Uncle did write at Christmas and said that money was tight and that banks were not lending. He said that many businesses were struggling to keep on their employees. But I can’t think it is that bad because he would not have allowed Renard to waste his part of our grandmother’s inheritance. He will be going in business with a friend.”

  “What business?”

  “I don’t know.” Hans thumped his hands on the sides of his thighs to warm them up. His warm breath curled outwards and evaporated into the cold night air. “Uncle hasn’t told me much about it.”

  “He could lose it. It is not a good time.”

  “That’s up to Renard. Axel’s still at school so nothing Renard does affects him.”

  “It may do, if Renard loses all his share.”

  Hans did not want to think of that possibility so he began walking again, taking the right hand turn that would take them back in the direction of the house. They had walked not fast but just enough to keep away the cold of the night-time air.

  “When you left Germany and came here everything was in a mess. Were you aware of that?” Hans nodded dismissively. Heidi continued. “Don’t you remember those bad days when money meant nothing?”

  “Didn’t impinge on me much. We were shielded from most of it.”

  “You were lucky. It was bad for those who lived off the land. One day when Mama was complaining that we didn’t have enough flour to last the week, I heard Papa tell her that it took millions of Krone just to buy one loaf. I believe it was even worse over the border.”

  “Are you sure about that?” He was stunned. He wondered whether to believe her. Maybe Heidi had got her facts wrong. She was still young and as women were not involved with business it could be that she had only heard part of the situation. “Wh
en I first came here, my uncle wrote and told me that prices were still increasing. I knew there were crazy prices before but I didn’t take much notice then!”

  “Everything still costs so much!” Heidi exclaimed, “and Papa doesn’t have anything left. Not even his savings he so carefully put away.”

  “How come? I always thought your father was so good at managing his money.”

  Heidi shrugged her shoulders and at the same time gave a shaky laugh. She dropped her head and stared in silence at the dark ground in front of them. Finally, she lifted her head and looked him in the eye.

  “Papa was good with his finances but it wasn’t enough. Nothing’s as it was. Everything’s changed. That’s why I’m here. Too many people are squabbling over things, ordinary things.” He could see that she was upset. “Did you know that Papa had to leave the farm?”

  “No. No one told me.”

  “Papa wasn’t the only one who lost out. You know, Papa had taken over the land from his father and grandfather so he had come to think of the land as his. No-one could buy the farms when they were for sale so the government took them over and we had to leave.”

  “When?”

  “When the Krone crashed a year, maybe eighteen months ago. That’s when people started to lose all their savings. Shops were empty because people had no money to buy things.”

  “Yes, I had heard about that. Empty shops. I’d seen some in Berlin. A neighbour of ours had a friend who lost his shop. That was about six years ago. Had his pistol from the war hidden somewhere and when his wife returned from the market, there he was in the bathroom. Stone dead.”

  “How awful for her! Poor lady!” Heidi was one who could easily feel the pain of others. “Was it because of the hardship?”

  “I suppose it was as he was never the same after he had returned from the war.”

  Heidi reflected for a moment but then her facial expression lightened and her mouth formed a smile.

  “We don’t have the old Krone any more. We’ve got new money: the Schilling. The government tells us it’s much better than the old.”

  “Is it?”

  “I’ll show you. I’ve got some with me. In my room.” They walked slowly in unison together. Heidi gave a sigh. “The new Schilling might be better but it won’t do Papa much good. It won’t get back Papa’s farm. It hasn’t helped my brothers get work. No one wants farm workers.”

  “Could they not find some other kind of work?”

  “No. My brothers tried to find work across the border. It was the same there. Farmers couldn’t or wouldn’t take on anybody. So, they thought they’d try in a factory. They went north into Germany. They’d hoped to find work in the factories or even in the coal mines. But that didn’t work, either. Foreign workers and French soldiers had taken over all those jobs. Germans and Austrians weren’t wanted any more. So, the boys came home again. Without a steady income, Papa can’t find enough food to feed all of us.”

  “Yes, I do remember some food shortages. We were lucky. Uncle had connections.”

  “You were lucky. Papa made us walk into the town centre where the nuns dished out plates of soup with a slice of bread. It wasn’t enough but it helped I hated always being hungry but at least none of my family starved to death.”

  “Things have improved since then, haven’t they?” he asked hoping to bring the subject to a close but Heidi was upset and he had removed the tight cork from its bottle.

  “A little but it got worse before it got better. The worst time was when we moved away from the land.”

  She had alarmed him by what she had just said and he wanted to know more.

  “What do you mean, worse? How worse? I mean, could it have got much worse?”

  She drew in a long, deep breath to calm herself. The cold air constricted her throat and she ended up coughing.

  “I overheard Papa talking with the boys . . .” Heidi broke off her words and began coughing again, each expulsion of her breath forming spheres of warm air before her.

  “Breath into your hands. It will help,” Hans suggested, showing her what he meant.

  It worked. Heidi pulled her scarf up to cover her bottom lip.

  “Papa told the boys that if they got a job, to make sure they were paid twice in the day. He said that the papers were reporting that people who were paid only in the evening ended up being out of pocket because prices had risen that much during the day. Imagine working a whole day and then only having enough money for the tram fare home! There were people living on the streets because they couldn’t pay their rents any more. When they went to the Ruhr, the boys said landlords were asking up to nineteen billion Marks a week.”

  Hans stopped dead in his tracks as though he had just crashed in to a tree. He turned a full semi-circle to stand directly in Heidi’s pathway.

  “Impossible! Are you absolutely sure?”

  “That’s what Papa said was reported in the headlines: nineteen billion. He noticed it when the paper boy called it out. Yes, I know it was. Yes, nineteen billion.”

  Hans was speechless for a while. Nineteen billion Marks! He knew Heidi was probably right for she had a good head for figures. No wonder nobody had written and told him about that. How could anyone deal with figures like that? And what would that pile of worthless paper money even look like? When he had regained himself, he asked,

  “Things are better now though, aren’t they?”

  “A little,” she replied and they began walking again. “The government tells us that the economy is returning to normal but many families are still struggling. Our neighbour, Frau Horst has four children. They’re no different from other families. Her children are so frail and thin and she’s at her wits’ end to find enough food. Her husband’s not had work for ages so they’ve not got enough money to buy anything. She sometimes takes them to queue for food but it takes all morning. I feel sorry for her little ones. It’s so hard on them.”

  “That’s terrible, Heidi.”

  “My brothers only found odd jobs, like shovelling dung or chopping wood. So, when your uncle wrote that there was a job here in England for me if I wanted, it was like a fairy-tale come true. I couldn’t believe it. I don’t know why me. Why was I the lucky one?”

  He shrugged his shoulders.

  “I don’t know. Uncle uses his influence. Seems it stretches this far.”

  “You’ve been very lucky. Here in England where things are so much better.

  “I have my grandmother to thank for that. But not everything’s rosy here, either. I am told there are soup queues and kitchens here as well. The poor are the ones who always suffer most during any crisis.”

  “You sound like one of the Communists.”

  “Well, I’m not! I just think those people are unlucky.”

  “Then, I’m really lucky, aren’t I? And to end up in exactly the same place where you are. Luck or co-incidence?”

  “I didn’t know you were coming,” he added quickly as he opened the gate to let her through but Heidi didn’t hear. She swished through the gate and swirled herself round on the crunchy frozen grass almost knocking him with her outstretched arms.

  “Lucky! Lucky me! I still can’t believe it’s happening!”

  Heidi’s still young enough to pull through without too many scars, thought Hans as he watched her cavort around him, her two loose pigtails swirling around her head as they tried to keep up with the swing. She’s experienced more of life with its roughness than ever I will.

  Heidi laughed. The moonlight reflected off her face, giving her the appearance of a porcelain doll. Then, a broad smile appeared as she stopped directly in the middle of the path.

  “You know what?” Her eyes were wide with excitement. “I can send money, real money to Mama and Papa. You know, Hänschen, it may only be a little . . . I don’t earn much, you know, but I know it’ll help buy food for them all. They won’t be hungry any more.”

  They walked slowly past a row of large dark rhododendron bushes and t
hen took a narrow path which wound its way through a small park as they passed by empty flower beds and low bare-branched shrubs.

  “I know life looks rosy here but there are many people in the large cities who are finding it very hard. We read that the rich have it easy while the poor either work their bodies into the grave or spend many days lining up at soup kitchens but one really does not know what to believe. My friends around here are the lucky ones for their parents have enough money to give them a good start in life.”

  “I’ve got a good life, too,” said Heidi emphatically. “I have a job and money of my own. Not much but a little over each week to help Mama and Papa. They will be pleased,” she said with conviction in her voice and determination in her face.

  “What else has made the news since I’ve been away?” Hans asked. His interest and concern had been roused and he wanted to hear more. His uncle had never worried him with information such as that. Although he had mentioned that things were difficult, there had been nothing about poverty or starvation. Maybe Uncle Karl did not want to burden him with further worries or he had no wish for Hans to return home to a miserable existence. His thoughts of what may be were stopped by Heidi now telling him about the new groups and their support by the Trade Unions.

  “ . . . and they’ve been springing up just about everywhere,” she said.

  “I know all about Trade Unions. I have studied them in the college.”

  Hans was reminded of the last lesson Mr Moore had given to the class. He had told them about the struggles between the classes in Britain and how people were banding together to fight for their common cause. Maybe, the same was happening the other side of the Channel. He wanted to hear more.

  They had reached the part on the track where they could climb a style and head across two narrow pony fields but with high trees blocking the moonlight, he thought it better to keep to the path.

  “I only understand a little of what’s been happening,” continued Heidi without even stopping to take a breath. “Papa said some of them only wanted to make trouble but now even important people were giving their support to some of the groups.”

  “What groups?”

  “Fascists and such like.”

  “Yes, there are a few here. Crazy ideas!”

  Hans had read about Mr Mussolini and his Fascist followers in Italy in the daily papers that were delivered to the college library every day. Some people were worried about their popularity but many considered Italy too far from Britain to be much of an immediate threat. More worrying was the growing unrest in the northern cities where heavy industry needed a large population. Hans had already seen some indication of growing unrest in the streets in Berlin where he had seen different groups marching and shouting their slogans in opposition to each other. As a child, he had been frightened when those angry mobs had taken to the streets.

  “Papa said that General Ludendorff was one of them.”

  “What? A fascist?”

  “A trouble-maker.”

  “General Ludendorff?” His voice rose in a crescendo. He could remember his father talking about that man, for he was an important officer in the Kaiser’s army. “Why, was he a trouble-maker?”

  “It’s only what I’ve heard from the grown-up’s talking. Papa was always talking to someone about such things.”

  “I think it’s marvellous the way you’ve picked it all up.” He remembered that when he had stayed with Oma in Salzburg during the long holidays, Heidi had been the most astute of them all. She was fortunate, for her father had been a patient man and took the time to explain all the marvels of anything that had interested any of his children, his daughters as well as his sons. Heidi had always shown an interest in everything. Her mind never stopped working and she never stopped asking questions. She had been such a clever child so it was no wonder she knew about everything.

  “Well, last year, the General, together with another man . . . ,” Heidi tapped her head several times as if by doing so, the name she sought should pop out. “I can’t remember his name.” She laughed. “It can’t be that important. Well, their group . . . a hundred or so, marched along one of the main streets in Munich and as that’s not that far away from us, Papa was most interested.”

  “I think I remember that there was something in the papers. Round about Christmas time, I believe. How did you hear about it?”

  “Papa was told about the march. A friend of his went to Munich for the day.”

  “When?”

  “November in twenty-three, I think and that’s when he saw unions marching. I think there was a group of Bolsheviks there, as well. Trade Unions and Bolsheviks but agreeing about nothing. Then it turned ugly. Someone called the police. Papa’s friend said there was some fighting and some of the marchers had pistols. Soldiers or police were called and some of the marchers were shot.”

  “Really?”

  “Yes. The newspapers reported that General Ludendorff and this other man were arrested for their part in the putsch.” She took out her handkerchief and wiped her nose which had become drippy in the cool air.

  “I remember uncle telling Renard something about a General being part of a putsch. In thirteen or fourteen just before the war but I did not take much interest. Renard is the political one in the family.”

  “This time the trouble-makers were arrested. I remember Papa discussing their trial last year with Herr Sessel but he said the judge was too afraid to do much with such a famous General involved.”

  “Oh?”

  His voice betrayed his inner thoughts for he did not share Heidi’s interest for things political. He remembered now that Mr Friedl had always found the subject interesting and had voiced his opinions rather openly and loudly to anyone willing to listen.

  By now they had reached the gate and brick pathway which led back into Miss Turner’s garden. The window lights of the distant house began to lighten the blackness around them and it was much easier to see.

  “I wonder if we’ll hear any more of them?” Hans unlatched the gate and let Heidi through. “What was the group, anyway?”

  “I don’t know. Not Bolsheviks. Not this time. Not like the Fascists in Italy. Something to do with a union and their working members. Something like that.”

  “Unions here hold demonstrations too. Workers want a share in profits. That’s what Mr Moore tell us.”

  “Do they have fights here?”

  “No. They’re not strong enough. Here they do lots of talking. What about in Austria?”

  “Papa says our politicians will sort it out. They’ll have to, won’t they?”

  “I guess so.” Hans blew through his teeth so that his breath whistled. “They can’t afford to let the whole country collapse back into conditions as bad as nineteen nineteen.”

  Heidi sighed, then shook her head.

  “That’s what Papa says, too. The governments will have to make it work.”

  They had almost reached the house. A strong light from an upstairs window lit the ground ahead of them and as Hans glanced upwards, he thought for a minute that someone had been watching them. But now there was nobody.

  Hans led Heidi round the edge of the building. She followed him as they walked in silence, each withdrawn into their minds, thinking how fate had somehow removed them from the disastrous realities back home. In a minute they had reached the back-door porch and by now Hans had already made up his mind to tell Heidi he was available to help her, whenever she wanted. He did not want her to suffer any more than she had done and did not want her to feel the loneliness he had felt during those first few months of arriving in England.

  “Remember, Fräulein,” he said as he placed his hand on the doorknob, “While you’re here, Mr Hans Resmel is always at your service. You’ll remember that, won’t you?”

  “Thank you. It’s very good of you.”

  He opened the door and let her go in first. The clock on the wall read a few minutes after ten.

  “Come. We’ll make some cocoa toge
ther. You need a hot drink after all that. It was cold outside.”