Colonel Berry

Chapter Forty

"The grapes are left on the vines past maturity, waiting for a greater spread of edelfäule to make Trockenbeerenauslesse." Prinz Wilhelm paused and brought his glass to his nose again. "On rare occasions, such as with this wine, the winter's first freeze is deep, and the grapes are picked and pressed while still frozen."

David nodded. "And the water content remains as ice crystals."

"Exactly! Without the water, the juice is concentrated with high acid and intense sweetness. So sweet, in fact, I'm told the fermentation takes many weeks, and the yeasts die before much of the sugar is converted."

"Leaving us with this sublimity." David swirled the amber wine in his glass, nosed it and took another sip. "This has the intense concentration of Nikolaus Valckenberg's older wines, but a more subtle complexity."

"How does it compare to Château d'Yquem?"

"I've not had any older than the 1906." David nosed his glass again. "I would think the additional thirteen years have contributed to this depth."

"Can you get me some d'Yquem? A range of old vintages? I would love to compare, but so far, our agents have been unable to find any."

"Yes, it would be difficult for Germans in unoccupied France."

"We have some undercover there, but we don't want them to risk being detected. Ours is a very difficult accent to disguise."

"True. And the French pronounce it as dee-kem. I'll see what I can arrange. My grandfather has dealt with the château for decades, so we should be able to get some directly from them. If not, he has many bins of it in his cellar, and I will convince him to spare a few bottles for you, My Prinz."

General von Heeringen lifted his eyes from his glass. "I now understand your intense interest in wine, My Prinz. I enjoy my beer and schnaps, and before the war, malt whisky from Scotland, but I do not know much about wine. I will need to change this."

The three men continued discussing the wine, then they moved on to negotiating the watch transaction. Again, as he had done for the Fifth Army, David left the details of the timing, delivery and payment to be determined by wire with Hans in Biel.

When they had concluded their negotiations and finished the bottle of wine, von Heeringen rose and crossed to his desk to push a bell button. "We all have other matters to attend. I'll have my Adjutant escort you out."

Half a minute later, Oberst Grünewald knocked on the door and entered. "You rang, Sir?"

"Yes, you may escort Herr Meier out now."

After David had concluded his farewells, the Adjutant guided him along the hall and into his office, closing the door. "I have requested Leutnant von Simmern be brought to me, but he has not yet been found."

"I sent him to oversee the repair of my tyres and to have my auto brought here." David shrugged. "I thought it a good way to begin his punishment for what he had done to me."

Grünewald grimaced and looked down David's front. "Do you need to have that attended?"

"No, it's fine, for now. The doctor advised me to change the dressings twice a day and to check for infection." He glanced at his watch. "That was not much more than an hour and a half ago, and the pain has not increased."

The Adjutant slowly bobbed his head, remaining silent for a long while before he winced and asked, "How much have you been left with?"

"Fortunately, the cutting had not gone too deep, and the doctor was able to reunite the severed flesh. He told me if I can avoid infections, my penis should regain its intended functions."

"But your testicles? Can function be restored to them?"

"They were not involved. Von Simmern told his cutter to ignore them and to move directly to my head, my apple, as he called it."

"That is not the correct progression. We begin with threats of smashing balls. And if we get no yielding of information, we smash one. After that, if still nothing, we crush the other before we move on to the penis."

David blew out a loud breath, shuddering in the process. "I'm pleased he didn't follow that. The first cut was behind the ridge of my head." He watched Grünewald wince, then he continued, "When my story did not change, he ordered the knife moved to near the root, and the second cut was begun there before I finally convinced –"

"Oh, God!" The Adjutant shuddered. "Are you certain you don't need further medical attention?"

"I'm fine. There is nothing further they can do at this point – unless I develop an infection." David paused a moment as he clenched his jaws. "What needs attention is von Simmern. He seemed mesmerized by my penis, and I now wonder whether this has to do with the tiny size of his own. Some sort of subconscious desire to eliminate those larger."

The Adjutant tilted his head and furrowed his brow. "How do you know his size?"

"He told me that his is only about five centimetres long."

"Why on earth would he have given you that information?"

"As I had said earlier, the ways of skilled salesmen are subtle." David shrugged.

"How?" Grünewald shook his head. "How would you have contrived to lead the topic to that?"

"I allowed him to venture there when I realised he was fascinated by my size." David grinned. "I've been told it's closer to a horse's than a man's."

The Adjutant nodded, pursing his lips. "He must be removed from that position."

"Most definitely. And what about those who placed him there? Those who allowed him to remain? Those who allowed him to act as he did?"

"Yes, them also." He glanced at his desk and the clock on the wall. "Am I keeping you from other business?"

"No, I can do none until my tyres have been repaired." David checked the time. "He's had over an hour and a quarter now, and I told him to report to you when he arrived outside with my auto."

The Adjutant motioned to a chair. "Please, sit and relax." He winced. "If you are able. I must review the manning list and request some personnel documents. Can I get you something to read?"

David reached into his overcoat pocket, pulled out his book and held it up. "Thank you. I have a novel. In this business, one never knows how long waits might be."

David sat and tried to read, staring blankly at the pages as the reality of his close call increasingly filled his mind. He was brought out of his morbid thoughts by the knock on the door and the Adjutant's response, "Yes, come in."

"Sir, Leutnant Langwerth von Simmern is at the inner barrier, stating he has been ordered to see you."

"Bring him in."

A short while later, the young Leutnant saluted when he was ushered into the office, then he saw David and cringed. "Your auto is at the front door, Sir."

David held out his hand. "The keys."

"They're in the dashboard, Sir."

"Then, let's hope nobody has driven it away. You don't need any more troubles than you already have."

David rose slowly from the chair, exaggerating the discomfort in his crotch, then he turned to Oberst Grünewald, and extended his hand to shake. "I'll leave you to discuss this young man's future."

"You may have difficulty at the gate. I'll have one of my officers escort you to ensure you don't."

"Thank you, Sir. That shouldn't be necessary. Prinz Wilhelm had written a passport to ease my way, both at the border and here." David glared at von Simmern. "I wish I had been listened to and that I had been given the opportunity to confirm my identity when I arrived."