The Defeated Aristocrat by Katherine John Page A

stay here, won’t you, Wolf?’
    ‘Please, and Martha and Heinrich if you have room.’
    ‘There are plenty of rooms. I’ll tell the maids to get them ready. You’ll be moving in tonight?’
    ‘I will, but I’ll have to telephone Martha and ask her when she’s leaving Lichtenhagen. It will depend on how soon she can pack.’
    ‘Use the phone in the study,’ Martin offered. ‘I’ll join you there in a moment.’
    Wolf turned to the twins, ‘I want a solemn promise from both of you that you’ll attend lectures, study hard, and stop fighting.’ When his request was met by silence, Wolf waited.
    ‘Damn it all, Wolf, Germany’s fallen apart. A man has to look out for himself …’
    ‘Not at the expense of his brother. Shake hands with Paul and we’ll have no more politics under any von Mau roof.’
    Paul was the first to step forward with extended hand. Wolf watched Wilhelm take it before heading for Martin’s study. He telephoned Martha on the Post Office line, told her Ludwiga was preparing rooms and suggested she bring Heinrich to Konigsberg that afternoon. She said she, Pippi and the children were aiming to arrive on the six o’clock train that evening but she’d telephone to confirm so he could send a carriage and a cart to meet them at the station.
    Martin joined him after he replaced the receiver. ‘Lotte’s devastated.’
    ‘I saw,’ Wolf concurred. ‘Have they caught Anton’s murderer?’
    ‘No. Georg Hafen visited Lotte twice, but from what little he said I don’t think the police know where to start looking for the killer. Georg’s as shocked and angry as we are. The police regard fellow officers as family.’
    ‘I gathered as much from Peter,’ Wolf pulled a chair close to the fire.
    ‘I heard Wilhelm telling you about Franz.’
    ‘How could you allow Franz to negate my will, Martin?’ Wolf reproached his brother.
    ‘I didn’t allow him to do anything.’ Martin limped to a chair on the other side of the hearth. ‘The day after Gretel received the telegram that you’d been killed, Franz went to the courthouse, challenged your will in Gretel’s name and filed an application to take control of the von Mau estate. He didn’t consult me, Lotte, Liesl, or the twins. We didn’t find out what he’d done until Johanna Behn visited me. She, in her capacity as von Mau family lawyer, had been notified of Gretel’s application by the court. I took Johanna’s advice and lodged a counter application in Heini’s name so we could delay Franz’s application pending a hearing. Lotte, Liesl, the twins, and I hoped you were alive but Johanna warned all evidence was against us. The military don’t often make mistakes in identifying bodies. Thank God they made one in yours.’
    ‘I’m sorry for snapping. I wasn’t aware of the facts.’
    ‘Johanna refused to represent Franz so he had to find another lawyer. He was given access to the estate account in June on condition the money he drew out was used solely for the castle and farms and Johanna monitored his transactions.’
    ‘Franz showed me the estate bank statement. It’s lean.’
    ‘Franz invested heavily in war bonds before the court ruled Johanna had to monitor transactions.’
    ‘Clever move considering we lost the war,’ Wolf said caustically.
    ‘It was the first thing he did when he was given temporary control of the estate.’
    ‘He told you?’
    ‘I haven’t spoken to Franz. Not even when I saw him in court when we made the counter-application, but you know Konigsberg.’
    Wolf repeated the maxim. ‘It’s more of a village than a city.’
    ‘The hearing to decide the future of the estate is scheduled for next week. You turning up alive will upset Gretel and Franz’s plans.’
    ‘Martha told me they’re charging you rent. I couldn’t believe you’d pay to live in our family town house.’
    ‘Franz threatened to evict me if I didn’t, and as I’d spent every penny of mine and Ludwiga’s savings converting the