"You don't," Volodya said. "I will contact you." He touched the brim of his hat, then walked back the way he had come.
He felt exultant. If Heinrich had not meant to accept the proposition he would have rejected it firmly. His promising to think about it was almost as good as acceptance. He would sleep on it. He would run over the dangers. But he would do it, eventually. Volodya felt almost certain.
He told himself not to be overconfident. A hundred things could go wrong.
All the same he was full of hope as he left the park and walked in bright lights past the shops and restaurants of Unter den Linden. He had had no dinner, but he could not afford to eat on this street.
He took a tram eastward into the low-rent neighborhood called Friedrichshain and made his way to a small apartment in a tenement. The door was opened by a short, pretty girl of eighteen with fair hair. She wore a pink sweater and dark slacks, and her feet were bare. Although she was slim, she had delightfully generous breasts.
"I'm sorry to call unexpectedly," Volodya said. "Is it inconvenient?"
She smiled. "Not at all," she said. "Come in."
He stepped inside. She closed the door, then threw her arms around him. "I'm always happy to see you," she said, and kissed him eagerly.
Lili Markgraf was a girl with a lot of affection to give. Volodya had been taking her out about once a week since he got back to Berlin. He was not in love with her, and he knew that she dated other men, including Werner, but when they were together she was passionate.
After a moment she said: "Have you heard the news? Is that why you've come?"
"What news?" Lili worked as a secretary in a press agency, and always heard things first.
"The Soviet Union has made a pact with Germany!" she said.
That made no sense. "You mean with Britain and France, against Germany."
"No, I don't! That's the surprise--Stalin and Hitler have made friends."
"But . . ." Volodya trailed off, baffled. Friends with Hitler? It seemed crazy. Was this the solution devised by the new Soviet foreign minister, Molotov? We have failed to stop the tide of world Fascism--so we give up trying?
Did my father fight a revolution for that?
iii
Woody Dewar saw Joanne Rouzrokh again after four years.
No one who knew her father actually believed he had tried to rape a starlet in the Ritz-Carlton hotel. The girl had dropped the charges, but that was dull news, and the papers had given it little prominence. Consequently Dave was still a rapist in the eyes of Buffalo people. So Joanne's parents had moved to Palm Beach, and Woody lost touch.
Next time he saw her it was in the White House.
Woody was with his father, Senator Gus Dewar, and they were going to see the president. Woody had met Franklin D. Roosevelt several times. His father and the president had been friends for many years. But those had been social occasions, when FDR had shaken Woody's hand and asked him how he was getting along at school. This would be the first time Woody attended a real political meeting with the president.
They went in through the main entrance of the West Wing, passed through the entrance lobby, and stepped into a large waiting room--and there she was.
Woody stared at her in delight. She had hardly changed. With her narrow, haughty face and curved nose she still looked like the high priestess of an ancient religion. As ever, she wore simple clothes to dramatic effect: today she had on a dark blue suit of some cool fabric and a straw hat the same color with a big brim. Woody was glad he had put on a clean white shirt and his new striped tie this morning.
She seemed pleased to see him. "You look great!" she said. "Are you working in D.C. now?"
"Just helping out in my father's office for the summer," he replied. "I'm still at Harvard."
She turned to his father and said deferentially: "Good afternoon, Senator."
"Hello, Joanne."
Woody was thrilled to run into her. She was as alluring as ever. He wanted to keep the conversation going. "What are you doing here?" Woody said.
"I work at the State Department."
Woody nodded. That explained her deference to his father. She had joined a world in which people kowtowed to Senator Dewar. Woody said: "What's your job?"