The Ambassador's Daughter by Pam Jenoff

Author:Pam Jenoff [Jenoff, Pam]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Publisher: Harlequin
Published: 2012-02-11T13:00:00+00:00

Chapter 11

Papa is at his desk when I return, trying to read with the lamp turned down too low. That morning when I’d returned from Krysia’s to wash and change, the apartment had been neater than I remembered leaving it, as if the maid had come on the wrong day. Now, it is a sea of strewn papers once more.

We eye each other warily. “I’m sorry,” I say quickly, forgoing my usual stubbornness. I have no energy to argue after my day at the battlefields and confrontation with Ignatz.

Relief floods his face. He does not wish to continue our quarrel, either. “As am I. I just worry about you.”

“I’m going to keep working for him, Papa,” I say, struggling not to waver, to keep my voice clear and calm. I have never dared to defy my father like this and I can hardly believe my own resolve. Alienating him and leaving for good is unthinkable. But on this point I stand firm. “The work we are doing is important and it matters for the delegation and for the conference and for Germany.”

His mustache pulls downward as he bites his lip, unable to disagree. “I understand, but I’m worried, liebchen. You seem to be attached to Captain Richwalder in a very strong way. This is not the time for complicated alliances,” he adds, before I can protest. More so than fretting about propriety, Papa is concerned about me. He does not want me to get hurt. I should not be surprised—he has always put me first. But there is something more urgent about his worry this time, as if he is standing above me on a ladder, able to see things in a way that I can’t.

“And then there is Stefan,” he adds. “He’s a good man and he cares for you deeply. He’s sacrificed much.” I’m your daughter, I want to say. My happiness should be what matters. But to say this would be to admit that my happiness lies with Georg, not Stefan, and how could I tell him that? “Your well-being is everything to me,” Papa says, reading my thoughts. “I only wish...”

That the things that make me happy and the things that are good for me were one and the same. “I know.” I raise my hand, warding off a return to the debate. “I went to Reims with Krysia today to see the battlefields.”

He nods. “I saw your note that you’d gone somewhere.”

“Do you mind?”

“To the contrary. I’m glad. I’ve been so busy with the conference, but it’s no excuse. We’ve been remiss in not going and reminding ourselves of the very reason that we are here.”

“I had no idea about the extent of the devastation. You had not told me.”

“With Stefan fighting, I thought it might be too much. Sometimes I forget that you are not a child.” He had been trying to shield my innocence. Still, I am frustrated by his hypocrisy—wanting me to be educated but not aware, teaching me to be curious and yet sheltering me from the truth.

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