I like him, but I would be willing to kill him in the air; as he would me. That would be an honorable death for a warrior. And my conscience, like his, would be untroubled. But for me to stand by silently waiting to hear that his throat has been cut by Gr?ners hired assassins would not be honorable, and I could never find an excuse to forgive myself.
A final thought came to him:
My father would understand my decision.
That brings me back to how do I tell him?
He will almost certainly be at the Duarte mansion for the reception after the funeral. I will somehow manage a minute alone with him.
[SIX]
1420 Avenue Alvear
Buenos Aires, Argentina
1605 19 December 1942
"I wondered what happened to you," Se?orita Alicia Carzino-Cormano said, walking up to Hauptmann Freiherr von Wachtstein and smiling at him over the rim of her teacup. "Is this pretty awful for you?"
Peter bowed and clicked his heels, but there was not time for him to reply before Se?orita Isabela Carzino-Cormano walked up to them.
"Se?orita," he said.
Isabela gave him her hand to be kissed, and he kissed it.
"I was deeply moved when the decoration was given to Poor Jorge," Isabela said.
Peter nodded.
"Isn't that decoration the one your government gave our Poor Jorge?" she asked, touching Peter's Knight's Cross.
"Yes, it is, Peter replied. I wondered if either of you charming ladies have seen el Teniente Frade?"
"I don't think he's here," Isabela said. "I think his father's disgraceful behavior embarrassed him and he left."
"Excuse me?"
"Oh, for God's sake, Isabela!" Alicia protested.
"Of course," Isabela said. "You are too much of a gentleman to have noticed him."
"Noticed him doing what?"
"Weeping in the church, like a child. And, of course, quite drunk."
"I understand he was quite close to el Capitan Duarte," Peter said.
And holds himself responsible for the poor bastard's death.
"If Cletus is not here, then he's probably at the Guest House," Alicia volunteered.
If I can get to a telephone, I can call him.
"Se?orita, do you happen to know where I could find a telephone?
"Finding the telephone is easy," she said. "There are two lines here. But if you intend to make a call..."
She inclined her head. Peter saw a group of people near a telephone set in an alcove in the wall. A gentleman was speaking excitedly into it, and he was oblivious to the dirty looks of the others waiting for it.
"I was thinking of calling a friend," Alicia said. "But it was no use, so I gave up."
"Se?orita, I am staying at the Alvear Palace. My call is important. Official business. Might I suggest that you walk down there with me and make your call from one of the telephones in the lobby?"
Inspiration! I don't know where that idea came from, but it was divinely inspired. I can walk out of here with her If I can get rid of the older sister, that would not be a bad idea, in any case which will satisfy Gr?ner's curiosity about what happened to me. And I can telephone Clete from my room.
I don't have his goddamned number! How the hell do I get the number?
"In Argentina, Capitan, young ladies of a certain position do not go to a gentleman's hotel," Isabela said.
Shit!
"Se?orita, I am a stranger to your country. No offense was intended."
"And none should have been taken," Alicia said. "If you need to make a telephone call from the hotel, I'll be happy to walk there with you. It would be nice to leave here anyway."
"You are very gracious."
And you have marvelous eyes. I wonder why I never noticed that before.
"Se?orita, what are the customs of Argentina? May a stranger to your country telephone a young lady of a certain class and ask her to take dinner with him?"
"If the stranger is a gentleman, and you certainly are," Alicia said, "and they have been properly introduced, and we have, in the presence of the young lady's mother, then it is acceptable."
"Wonderful! And might I presume to avail myself of this acceptable custom in the next day or two?"
"You may call, and I will see if I am free."
"You can't tell me that now?
"You may call," Alicia teased, "and I will see if I am free."
"I will adjust my schedule to yours," Peter said. I will, as a matter of fact, now that the subject has come up, do everything necessary, including standing on my head, to see that fantastic hair undone and spread out on my pillow. But for now, Se?orita, may I accept your gracious offer to walk to the hotel with me, so that I can use the telephone."
"You may not care about your reputation, Alicia," Isabela said. "But I do. I can't let you go to the Alvear alone with el Capitan von Wachtstein."
"How do you propose to stop me?" Alicia said. "Wrestle me to the ground?"
She has a spark too. I like that.
"Perhaps," Isabela said, "under the circumstancesI would have to ask Motherwe could escort an honored guest of our country to the Alvear."
"I'llask Mother," Alicia said firmly, and turned to Peter. "You will wait for me?"
"With my heart beating frantically in anticipation of your return."
He watched her move across the foyer. The curve of her hips is magnificent too, and she has a delightful walk. When she disappeared behind a door, he turned to Isabela. "And will you excuse me a moment, Se?orita?"
"Certainly," Isabela said.
And with a little bit of luck, you won't be here when I come back.
He walked quickly across the foyer toward a corridor.
One of the servants surely knows the number of the Guest House. I just hope this corridor leads me to the kitchen.
He was in luck in the kitchen, which he hoped would turn out to be an omen: The first person to notice him there was the housekeeper from the Guest House.
"May I help you, mi Capitan?" Se?ora Pellano asked, smiling as she walked up to him.
"I was wondering if you could give me the telephone number of the Guest House, Se?ora?"
"Is there anything I can do for you there, mi Capit?n? I'm afraid the telephones here are all tied up. And in just a few minutes I will be returning to the house on Libertador myself. I would be happy..."
Thank you, no, Se?ora. If you would just give me the number, please, Se?ora."
"I will write it down for you," Se?ora Pellano said.
As he came back into the foyer, Oberst Gr?ner was waiting for him.
"I was about to organize a search-and-rescue party for you, von Wachtstein," Gr?ner said. "What were you doing in the kitchen?"
"Looking for someone, Herr Oberst."
"For whom?"
Peter gestured across the foyer to where the Carzino-Cormano sisters were standing.
"For them. Or at least for the younger one. They come in pairs down here, I have just learned."
"With a little bit of skill, I'm told, they can be separated,"
Gr?ner said with a smile. "Which answers my second question for you."
"Which was, Herr Oberst?"
"If you would like to come by my quarters for a light supper with myself and Frau Gr?ner."
"Herr Oberst is most kind."
"There is always something for you to eat at my quarters, Peter," Gr?ner said. "But that fraulein is, I would judge, a rare opportunity. Good luck!"