The Luck of the Weissensteiners (The Three Nations Trilogy) (20 page)

“I would never have guessed,” Jonah admitted. “Your name sounds so Dutch.”

“Visser is the Dutch equivalent of Fisher and it has Jewish roots. I have been fortunate in that I have been working in Hungary and Austria most of my life, so nobody has made the connection. If I was still in Holland my life would be quite different now I imagine. So we better keep it shtum. Tell me, how do you do it?”

“My dear friend, I have no idea,” Jonah said. “My family has either got a secret friend in the right place or
somehow we have slipped through the net. I am scared to death here. Both of us could be hanged for using Christian symbols in our work.”

“That is a rather dark point of view,” said Visser dismissively. “You have nothing to fear, Weissensteiner. The Countess has probably a good idea about you and might be the driving force behind your safety. She is well connected with some of the party members and their wives. You were very wise to attend.”

“That is what I thought, even though it has been a big risk to travel during the curfew,” Jonah replied.

“Half of life is a confidence trick, my dear friend,” Visser said. “Convince yourself you are
a goy, dress and walk like one, full of confidence and the air of entitlement. Nobody is going to look at you twice. Jews have been doing it for centuries and the gentiles have been none the wiser.”

“That
is what I thought too!” agreed Jonah. “But I am not enjoying the thrill.”

“It will get easier with time,” Visser reassured him.

“I hope you are right. You are an exotic foreigner in these circles but I am well established and one of many; the trap could snap shut at any moment. I don't think I will ever relax,” Jonah admitted.

“You must!” insisted the painter. “I hear the Countess has big plans for you. She wants you
to keep designing carpets and even wants to make an exhibition of your work. She has told me that she wants to be your patron and you could become very rich.”

“Rich and famous for sure - and dead as well,” Jonah said with a
laugh. “I am glad you warned me, I need to find a way out of this predicament.”

“Well
, best to wait and see what she has to say,” advised Visser. “I am sure she has a plan already in place. She would not want to be embarrassed by supporting a Jewish artist.”

“How come you know all this?” Jonah asked.

“The Countess and I are very close, Visser told him. “We don't have many secrets from each other. Behind the aristocratic and Christian exterior is a frivolous and rather modern woman. She always has had the wisdom to hide the more controversial sides of her lifestyle from the public eye.”

“Controversial
side? You do intrigue me Visser. Tell me more,” Jonah demanded.

“Not tonight
but you can expect a personal invitation soon. Next time the Countess calls for you make sure you come in person and do not send your aide Alma again. The Countess took serious offence when that happened, even though it was clear to me why you resorted to that measure,” he advised the weaver.

“Oh I don't know,” said Jonah. “I am not sure I am up for such a dangerous life.
I feel more comfortable living in my little corner of the world and hoping I will be alright.”

“Weissensteiner, with the Countes
s behind you, you will always be alright,” Visser assured him. “With a talent like yours you cannot hide in a corner. That ship has sailed my friend.”

“What exactly is your relationship with the Countess?” Jonah asked.

“Over dinner, my friend. Over dinner. Relax and enjoy the party. I bet you have not celebrated much of late. Here, have some more champagne and try to be happy. The future looks good for you.”

Jonah stayed at the party for several
more hours, exchanging pleasantries with some of the guests, being complemented on his craft but generally being bored and wishing he could leave and go home to his Alma. He was nervous about travelling in the dark and after curfew, about the Jewish servant at the farm, who did not seem to like him much, about Benedikt finding out about him staying at the farm and about the future of the country as a whole. He found it easy to talk to customers and make small talk during any sales or design meeting, but social chit chat with people who must not find out about his background was much more of an effort for him.

He had expected the Countess to take him aside at some point but she was always busy and never got round to talk to him. In his fear
, he started to worry that Visser was an undercover official who had just tried to sound him out, that the whole evening was a trap and set up purely to get him and his family. Part of him knew how ridiculous that thought was but with work camps and all the anti-Jewish legislation, even the most irrational of his fears seemed justified. The way and the reasons why people were being deported meant there was not much that could surprise him anymore.

He finally left the
manor house and made his way through the cold and the darkness to the barn on Benedikt’s farm. As he opened the barn door he saw Sarah, the Jewish servant sitting in the hay by the table.

“Were y
ou waiting for me?” he asked.

“I was, Jonah,” she admitted. “I needed to apologise to you. I had no right to confront you like I did. I guess I am just not used to hearing a sympathetic word these days. Everyone tells us how lucky we are and seems to think
we should be grateful and happy for not being in a ghetto or a labour camp. I know things could be harder, but that is no consolation. I am young. I want to be happy, dance, sing, and fall in love. I am reduced to nothing and the future has little prospects for me. You were the only person I could safely rant to, so that is why I flared up like that. I am truly sorry. Will you accept my apology? Please.”

“Of course I will but t
here is nothing to apologise for. I must admit that my comments were not the most sensitive ones. I’m afraid that I often speak before thinking. As long as I mean well, I think I can afford to do that but today was a good reminder that sometimes that too fails. “

“Thank
you for seeing it my way too,” she said.

“I was so surprised at Johanna, letting me stay here in the barn.
It overwhelmed me for a while and made me see everything in an optimistic way. When my daughter lived here she had a hard time with Johanna at first but gradually the two of them got on. I just wanted to give you hope that one day she will warm to you the way she warms to most people. Eventually,” he explained.

“
She is very concerned for you,” Sarah pointed out. “She often asks me how life is for the Jews in Slovakia, what has changed with the new laws and if I think you would be in danger of being discovered. For me, that is her one redeeming feature.”

“
Well, be sure to thank her for me tomorrow,” Jonah instructed.

“I will. Good night now. And good luck!”

“Good luck to you too, Sarah.”

At
precisely this moment, the government secretly negotiated with Germany for the deportation of 20,000 Jews to concentration camps in Poland. The German government declared it would charge the Slovaks 500 Reichsmark a head for transportation and settlement costs; this was a lot of money that the state did not currently have to spare and was why the administration asked for more time before their commencement. The Hlinka guard and the Jewish administration immediately started drawing up lists of citizens suitable for deportation. The lists of 'eligible' candidates was then divided into men and women and then into age groups. The labour camps needed strong men and so the first ones to be sent to Poland would be men in their physical prime. Jonah’s name was listed but a friendly, corrupt and heavily bribed pen crossed the Weissensteiners off all lists.

The New Year’s Eve party at the manor house was once again the social event of the year. It was one of the few occasions where time seemed to have reverted to the 'good old days of the monarchy' during which so many of the guests had enjoyed privileges they were no longer accustomed to in the new and independent Slovakia. Many rich Hungarians had opted to stay here after the Great War hoping that it would be easier to keep their properties and money. They were concerned about the political instability of a republican Hungary where old enemies might seek retribution for the abuse of power and position but more so they feared a Bolshevik revolution. In the Czechoslovak state they had seen a tumbling of their influence at first due to the dominance of the Czech aristocracy followed by the German military leaders and their emerging Slovak 'puppet' politicians. The Hungarians were equally unpopular with the emerging intelligentsia and players of the Slovak society who still had their reservations against their former Magyar oppressors. To some it seemed a high price to pay for evading the threat of Communism.

At the
manor house ball however, all of these problems seemed forgotten or unimportant. The Countess did not tolerate heated debate or disagreement in her house. As a charitable and generous woman she was a shining example of a respectable modern Hungarian and a role model to her countrymen.

The players in the current Slovak high society who had taken a shine to her also felt more positive to her countrymen. With her gi
ft for diplomacy she calmed any tension that might arise. Almost everyone in Bratislava wanted to be invited to her festivities.

She welcomed the German army officers and generals in the same way as Slovak Party leaders, nobility and her beloved artist friends. Having been wined and dined in separate groups by the Countess during the year
, they were all too obliged to her to dare stir up any trouble. Catholic party leaders spoke to their Lutheran rivals amicably about the goals they had in common, the army officials refrained from provoking the artists whose appearance they so detested, and the 'new aristocrats' of society pretended to be best of friends with the established and former noble men. To see such a convincing and unusual display of pretence and falsehood was in itself a sight that most people didn’t want to miss out on. Jonah, however, would have loved to miss out on such a charade and would have done so if had it not been for his dependency on the good will of his patron.

His new friend Visser took him under his wing and introduced him to a few more of the artists at the party. There was a Polish piano player, a Lithuanian tenor, an apparently
well-known French author and an Austrian poet. It was amazing how the Countess managed to keep all of these bohemian looking and politically left leaning people near her without raising the suspicion or worse, interference from the authorities. A string quartet played music for the first part of the evening but when the reception hall had filled up the Countess had the doors to the ballroom hall opened where a small orchestra started to play dance tunes and continued to do so well into the early morning hours.

Jonah and his group of artist
protégés were not tempted to dance and decided to stay in the reception hall where they could talk. They managed to secure themselves chairs in a little seating area where they continued drinking champagne and listened to each other’s life stories.

The Lithuanian tenor had been a star at the Hungarian Opera bu
t had fled after the Communist Coup in 1919. Since then he had spent long periods at opera houses in Munich, Vienna and Paris, but still took smaller professional engagements, especially those that had been initiated by his dear friend the Countess. Because of their strong bond, he always accepted her social invitations and the presence of intriguing characters at her gatherings.

The Austrian poet had only recently been introduced to
the Countess and was a novice to the circle. A close friend and admirer of his poems had insisted that the Countess meet this talented man.

The rest of the group all owed part of their success to the C
ountess, her connections and her sponsorship but what they all had in common – apart from some artistic talent – was a politeness and a distinct lack of competitiveness they employed in their conduct with each other. Jonah was surprised by the genuine support and admiration the members of the group displayed towards one another.

“The Countess has a good eye for congenial people it seems,” Jonah confessed to his friend Visser. “I have not enjoyed myself like this in a long time.”

“You are right. She would never take someone under her wing if she thought them socially inept for her little circle of friends,” Visser replied. “No matter how talented they are.”

“Is she as devout a Christian as they say?” Jonah wanted to know.

“Far from it,” Visser replied. “She has some humanitarian idealistic notions which I am sure she will relate to you one day.”

“I can't wait to hear about it. I am intrigued and flattered,” Jonah said.

“So you should be. The Countess enjoys a philosophical debate about the human condition and loves nothing more than hearing a new perspective and a fresh reflection on her own thoughts on the matter. She said she thought she had noted a spirited soul in you that she wants to get acquainted with. For that reason she has chosen you and your art as her next big project, so that she can spend time with you in direct and indirect observation.”

“Indirect observation?
What am I to understand by that?” Jonah asked.

“To hear you discuss your own philosophy and see you implementing
it in your daily work and life; to see if the two are coherent,” Visser said with a hint of a smile.

“That sounds more like a court investigation than a social contact,” Jonah said.

“I guess you could call it both,” Visser admitted. “Only the Countess never judges. She merely wants to learn from you and your ideas. She will remain your friend even if she does not agree with you. She only abandons the people who hurt her.”

“May I ask if the Countess has any special
protégées, ones she cares for in more ways than the ones we just described?” Jonah wondered.

“My dear Weissensteiner, I like your directness, but I am not at
liberty to tell such secrets,” Visser replied. “However, I have been instructed to persuade you to stay in one of the guest rooms in the house tonight and stay for another day. Tomorrow evening there will be a small intimate dinner party for the closest friends of the Countess. In the more intimate setting of tomorrow’s gathering you may find the answer to your questions.”

“Visser, why
do you waste your time painting? You should write plays with your sense of drama and suspense,” Jonah teased the Dutch man. “I shall not sleep a wink tonight but wonder about your riddles and allusions.”

A few hours after midnight
, Jonah was escorted to one of the guest rooms by a servant. Never in his life had he spent a night in a larger or more luxurious room. He wondered if this was part of the special treatment the Countess had intended for him in order to entice him into her little circle or
whether all of the guest rooms had such remarkable size and décor. If this was part of a strategy it was certainly working, he could think of many things worse than coming here for intellectual conversations and a little bit of comfort. Only it would be difficult to satisfy the demands for increased weaving production while spending time away from the workshop.

As he was visualising a sheltered future for himself and his family in the safety of this
brilliant new world and wondering how he could address the issue of the needed increased productivity, a few voices on the corridor brought him back to reality. A very loud and drunken man laughed in hysterics and sometimes speaking in German and sometimes in poor Czech to two muffled deep voices, who were probably servants or friends taking him to bed.

“Oh Nein, ha ha, nein, I
am ticklish, let go of me ha ha.”

“Please Herr Kommandant, please try to be quiet. We are in the sleeping quarters now.”

“Jawohl, Herr Judengeneral, jawohl. All is quiet. Shh. Ha ha.”

“Hold him while I open the door.”

“Genau, aufgemacht. All go in and then lock the door,” the drunkard giggled.

“Please be quiet!”

“You Czechs know how to party, oh I beg your pardon. You Slovaks. Tell her illustrious Highness I have had an excellent time tonight.”

“Thank you Herr Kommandant, I will let her know.”

“Tell her though that she must not invite such low life scum next time. These long haired communists and artists of the lower races. We must have none of that, ist das klar?”

“Jawohl Herr Kommandant, I shall advise the Countess of your sentiments. Now please enter the guest room.”

“You will see, my friend, my dear Hungarian friend, all this is going to end. We are not just going to send them away any more, we are going to get rid of them once and for all. Too many, too filthy, too dangerous. Stop tickling me ha ha.”

With that the voices retreated to the room and even though Jonah could hear that the voices were still arguing and laughing, he could understand nothing more of their dialogue.

For the rest of the night he found it difficult to settle down and sleep. He kept waking up, dreaming of a dinner table with the Countess and his family, surrounded by soldiers with their rifles aimed at each of the dinner guests. His brief period of feeling safe had ended as abruptly as it had begun earlier in the evening.

At the farm Sarah was waiting up for Jonah who had asked Johanna to be allowed to sleep in the barn after the festivities. Sarah had found a good listener in Jonah who never asked her for anything in return and who never tried to influence her in any way. With him she was able to let herself go, to complain about the abuse the two girls in the house exposed her to, about the coldness with which Johanna treated her and how lonely and
isolated she was since she started working on the farm. She was rarely allowed to spend the night with her family and when she did, they paid little attention to her. Her mother in particular seemed insensitive to the young girl’s needs and treated her with contempt as if it had been Sarah's own idea and fault that she was ordered to help out at the German’s family home. Instead of receiving sympathy for her isolation and hard lot, she was bossed around and made to feel guilty for not contributing enough in her own home and for preferring the 'easy' work with Johanna compared to doing the 'hard' work for her own flesh and blood.

No protest could placate the mother and no argument
could convince her. Sarah’s father and her brothers were too exhausted in the evenings to be good company and so the poor girl was starved of benign and decent human contact.

While she was waiting for Jonah in the hay she
fell asleep exhausted from the long hours she had worked and she did not wake up until the morning, when her absence was already noticed in the cow shed by Benedikt. He sent Maria to look for the lazy scoundrel and mumbled swear words under his breath, suggesting the Jewess had been drinking and partying if not whoring with her folks over the New Year celebrations, unaware that the Jews celebrated New Year on a different day.

Nobody could find Sarah at first. Johanna was informed about the missing servant and she immediately panicked that someone would discover a sleeping and
hung-over Jonah in the barn. She sent Maria off in the opposite direction so that she herself could enter the barn on her own. When she saw Sarah lying on the make shift bed instead of Jonah she assumed that something improper had taken place between her servant and the guest.

“You piece of filth, have you got no shame?” she shouted at Sa
rah. “Seducing an old man? Right in front of our noses? Where is he? Has he left?”

“No, he has not been here at all. I fell asleep waiting for him,” Sarah defended herself.

“What business do you have waiting for him?” Johanna demanded to know.

“No business at all,” Sarah said quietly. “Sometimes we talk. He listens to me like someone who cares. I am sorry if I did something wrong.”

Johanna found her initial anger and ire inexplicably disappear. She almost felt sorry for the servant girl. Well, Sarah would get enough of an ear full from Benedikt when she confessed to oversleeping. There was no need to give her any more grief on top of what was bound to come.

“Go on then. Hurry to the stables. Benedikt is looking for you. Say nothing about the barn and Jonah if you know what's good for you, do you understand me?”

“Yes, thank you!” Sarah said relieved and hurried away.

So Sarah was seeking comfort on the shoulders of Jonah, Johanna though
t to herself; probably not bad judgement on her behalf. He was more intelligent and realistic than any other Jew she knew and if her servant was associating with him then there was hope for her after all. Maybe the young Jewess had more potential than she had been given credit for. Johanna sighed deeply. She hated to admit it but once more in comparison with outsiders her own daughters were a disappointment, morally as well as in terms of productivity. This girl was a hard worker and never complained. The farmer's wife found herself annoyed at this realisation but in comparison, some of the Jews Benedict had employed were much more reliable and successful than she would have imagined.