Colonel Berry

Chapter Twelve

David and Maria descended the stairs at twenty-five past seven to the aroma of fresh coffee, and they startled Bethia and Karl in the kitchen. "Good morning. You're up early for a Sunday."

Bethia blushed as she grinned. "As are you, David. Let me make more coffee."

"Thank you, but we're having breakfast with the men." He glanced at his watch. "They're expecting us in a few minutes. I'll see you at ten thirty, Karl."

"Looking forward. I'm just on my way to a meeting, but I'll be back before then."

As David guided Maria across the courtyard, he said, "More than a casual friendship. Wonder how long it's been this warm."

"Last evening she told me that though she's wanted to, she hadn't yet invited him to remain overnight."

"Possibly thinking of our security."

"That's what she said. I guess she saw it as no longer an issue." Maria steadied herself on David's arm as they descended the gentle slope to the carriage house. "It's not a risk anymore, though, is it?"

"No, it's not. I'm looking forward to my meeting with Karl and to what evolves from it." 

A minute later, Manny answered the knock on the door, and he ushered them in with a flourish. "Ya both take ya coffee straight, don't cha?" 

"We do, thank you." Maria breathed deeply. "Smells delicious."

"Them's the steaks — We've Aussie brecky for ya this morning, with googies, mushies, pikelets 'n all. Ready in 'alf a mo."

"Sounds wonderful."

Greg chuckled as he arrived with two mugs of coffee. "I can translate if you wish." He directed them to the two chairs at the head of the table.

"No, that's fine. It'll be fun to see if I can sort it out from observation."

David led Maria to the table, holding her chair as she sat before he settled beside her. Then as they both watched the assembly line of three in the kitchen corner arranging food onto plates, David leaned and commented in a low voice, "Since the cooks left, they've been rotating the duties, and they have all become rather proficient."

"That was when the Sappers left, wasn't it? After the tunnel had been completed. That's already four months..." She paused as a plate was set in front of her, followed immediately by one in front of David. Then in a coordinated move, the men all set plates on the table and sat. Maria applauded. "Bravo! Superbly done."

Dolf shrugged. "We have to find ways to keep ourselves sharp and working as a team, to be creative and to have fun. We're pleased you enjoyed it."

Manny pointed his fork toward Maria's plate. "Them pikelets ain't as fluffy as Mum makes, but they gives the idea." He shrugged. "I hope the taste too."

Maria examined her plate, then raised her coffee mug. "Here's to getting this war won so we can all get back to what we know. Back to enjoying life as we should." She smiled at Manny. "The Australian culture seems so different. Must be difficult being the only Australian here."

Greg let out a loud laugh. "The only bogan from the outback, you mean. Otto and I are real Australians — from Melbourne."

Manny blew a raspberry at Greg, then Dolf said, "Gentlemen, we've a lady present. Besides, we're here to eat, not spat."

They all began eating, and after a few bites, Hans asked Maria, "We've all been wondering why the Swiss women are more difficult than the German ones. They don't seem interested."

"Interested in what?"

"In..." He paused and blushed. "You know, in getting it on."

"In sex, you mean. I'm Swiss, and I'm very interested in sex." Maria shrugged and smiled. "But remember what I told you at Christmas; for most women, friendship and companionship come first."

"We can't even get to that stage here."

"Alright, think for a moment. Most of the Swiss women have stable lives with family and friends. People from school, church, work, whatever. The German women have had their lives turned to chaos. The young men shipped off to war, their friends gone, possibly their lovers." She shrugged. "Where would you expect to have more success?"

Wolf nodded. "I figured that's why they said there were so many in the Gasthäuser and Trinkhallen up there and almost none here. Where would we find them here?"

"Young women looking for companionship usually do it in pairs or in small groups. And in safe places. Strolling in town, in parks, sitting in a café or in a tea room. Maybe visiting a museum or art gallery. You can often tell by the way they're dressed and present themselves; they're on display to attract."

Maria paused to savour another bite, then she continued, "Remember what I told you at Christmastime about the natural design. Women are the flowers. We're meant to attract attention, and we often do things unconsciously, like the primping and preening and other body language moves we talked about. Subtle actions that give hints to our interest."

"We saw that in Germany."

"Where did you meet them?"

Dolf laughed. "We stumbled into it. The crowds of women walking home from a shift in the munitions factory. We didn't look anywhere else, just picked the pretty smiles with the right body language."

"So, we should wait outside the factories here," Otto said. "We haven't done that."

Maria shook her head, covering her mouth as she said, "No." Raising her hand, she finished her bite before she continued. "No, there is no forced labour for women in factories here, and even if there were, the women have companionship. The men haven't been shipped to war."

Manny pointed his knife toward Maria's plate. "We should let the lady finish before we get into the good stuff."

Greg forked a pikelet and lifted it. "I thought you said this was the good stuff."

"Them is, but I meant..." He blew a raspberry to Greg. "You know what I meant."

"We call your picklets crumpets, Manny," Maria said as she cut a small wedge, dredged it through an egg yolk and moved it toward her mouth. "But, yes, we should eat while our brekky is still warm."