That Summer in Berlin by Lecia Cornwall

Author:Lecia Cornwall [Cornwall, Lecia]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Penguin Publishing Group
Published: 2022-10-11T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE

“We have received invitations to all the finest parties that are taking place during the Olympics. We cannot accept them all, so we must choose the best,” Ilsa told the girls at breakfast the next morning as they were seated at their usual table by the window in the Adlon’s café. Julia looked delightedly at the thick stack of invitations in the countess’s hand, all of them printed on expensive paper and all of them embossed with swastikas, which made Viviane shudder. “There’s no party like a Nazi party,” Felix might have quipped if he were here. She looked out the window at the weather, while Julia gushed over the dazzling array of exclusive society events. The cool, wet weather was unusual for August in Berlin, everyone said, and a terrible shame for the Olympic Games.

The games went on anyway, rain or shine. Each day, loudspeakers mounted in the trees along the Unter den Linden broadcast the sporting events taking place that day as they happened. People stopped on the busy street to listen to the broadcasts of the most popular events, or they visited the special viewing rooms that featured the new medium of television, a marvelous box that showed wavy black-and-white images of races and medal ceremonies.

Outside the Adlon and the Eden and other premium hotels, polished automobiles waited to whisk Olympic officials and guests of the very highest rank and importance to the day’s events at the stadium. The city was crowded and chaotic with so many visitors.

“Which invitations shall we accept?” Julia asked eagerly. “How many can we accept?”

Ilsa smiled at her fondly, like a dear friend—or a daughter—and Julia smiled back. Viviane regarded her stepsister with a slight frown. She was growing very close not just to Otto but also to his mother. The two hardly seemed to even notice that Viviane was sitting beside them.

“We’ll start with the most important ones, of course,” Ilsa said, smiling. “Herr von Ribbentrop is hosting one, as is Hermann Göring, and the Goebbelses will be holding a very grand party at their lovely estate on Peacock Island.”

“May we attend Herr von Ribbentrop’s party? He knows my father,” Julia said.

Ilsa nodded. “Of course, my dear—and it would be quite impossible to attend the Görings’ party without attending the Goebbelses’ affair. Do you both have suitable gowns for so many parties? You can’t wear the same dress twice. You’ll need to look your very best. Magda Goebbels is the head of the German Fashion Institute, and she will be watching.” She smiled at Julia. “These are important events for Otto, and he must be seen. Having you on his arm will impress people.”

Julia blushed with pleasure at the compliment.

“We shall visit the shops this afternoon.” Ilsa made it a command, not an invitation.

“Oh, but I have plenty of gowns, and the count has invited me to attend today’s events with him at the stadium,” Viviane said quickly. “He is particularly interested in the hundred-meter race.”

Ilsa’s smile dimmed. “A race? My husband does not realize that looking beautiful is a race, the most important race of all.

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