The Exception by Alan Judd

Author:Alan Judd
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Atria Books

SIX

The Princess herself inspected the dining room before dinner that night, accompanied by the majordomo and house steward. She wore her blue and silver gown, the one she privately thought of as her coronation gown, and her most delicate gold shoes. Dinner, according to Willie’s custom, was usually a plain affair. It always had been, with the Hohenzollerns. For all their tradition, they had little feel for regal living, still less for luxury. Those who did not know this probably suspected parsimony, but there would be no chance of such error on this occasion. The porcelain Neuosier dinner service was beautifully set off by the silver cutlery with its acanthus palmette decoration. That was based on the English “King’s pattern,” but Herr Himmler was most unlikely to know. The candelabra gleamed and the glassware, with gilded cartouche and engraved war trophies surrounding Frederick the Great’s initials, shone. The climax of the menu would be roast goose, with snails and vegetables. Herr Himmler was reportedly partial to goose.

It looked as if set out for a heavenly host, she thought as she contemplated the glittering table, and the ceiling and walls executed in scagliola. It was almost a pity to spoil the scene by eating in it, she remarked to the majordomo. She had always loved the sight of a well-laid table awaiting diners, with its sense of imminent occasion and that delicious expectancy which you wanted to prolong forever. It was just as she liked to picture one’s reception in heaven, so often described by those who had seen through death’s door as a joyous banquet; though she did not remark on this to the majordomo, being troubled by the thought that he might hope to be invited.

The earthly banquet went well, she concluded later. Everyone seemed determined to be convivial and no one struck a sour note, though von Ilsemann was perhaps a little too quiet. Willie, in one of his smarter uniforms, was in particularly good form, laughing and talking more than usual. Herr Himmler was charm itself, so different from some of the Nazis one met. It showed, as she had more than once remarked to Willie, that the people at the top—the very top—were not only able but civilized. The adjutants were charming, too, and Fräulein Mouse was pleasant enough although, as the Princess had already gathered from friends in Berlin, she never had much to say for herself. The Princess had never met Frau Himmler but felt he could have done better for himself than the Mouse. Perhaps he was unadventurous in that respect.

The important thing, of course, was that the occasion should enhance Willie’s chances of being invited to return to his throne, while at the very least securing continuance of the annual grant made to him by successive German governments. That was essential. From early in the dinner it was apparent that all was going well. While the soup was being cleared Willie described his shooting exploits to Herr Himmler, who listened with an expression of polite inquiry and without appearing too obviously bored.

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