The Luck of the Weissensteiners (The Three Nations Trilogy) (21 page)

Egon's career as radio engineer was far more prestigious in her eyes than Gunter
’s promotion in the infantry. Maria had always been socially inadequate but since she had lost her virginity to a married Jew and had brought so much shame to the family, Johanna would have happily traded her for the obnoxious ugly Wilma who at least was no trouble on that account. Roswitha was functioning well but was so desperate for love and attention that both Sarah and Greta were preferable to her too.

Johanna felt
almost ashamed that she could feel such coldness for her own children, yet feel warm affection for complete strangers and, for all of that, Jews. She could not allow herself such kind feelings just because her own Aryan offspring was such a disappointment to her. Had not life been so much easier before Wilhelm had married Greta? The Jews were then only abstract strangers and oddly dressed figures on the street that she could hate along with everyone else. Now she found herself compromised in her feelings.

Benedikt had joined the Hlinka Party and was well respected thanks to his reputation amongst the farming community. His German background was no longer a hindrance in the party ranks but a welcome quality. There was even talk of him becoming an advisor to the agric
ultural secretary. Bound by strict party policy, he would not have much sympathy or understanding for his wife’s conflicting emotions and for the occasional help she gave Jonah and his family.

Unaware of the worry he was causing his family by not returning to the
farm or to the workshop the following day, Jonah had a lovely day at the manor house. When he came downstairs in the morning the house was already almost completely tidy and it was not even lunch time. He admired the Countess for such great organisational skills. The servants were still busy in the ballroom but the big reception hall was already prepared to seat and feed the many overnight guests. Jonah was one of the last ones to appear. His friend Visser was already seated and was playing cards with two ladies whom Jonah had not seen at all the night before.

Still shaken by the incident with the German Kommandant on the corridor during the night and by what he had heard the drunkard say
, Jonah only reluctantly joined them at their table. He could have done with a little more solitude to digest the vicious threats voiced so casually by the drunken officer. It might have been helpful to talk about this experience with Visser but not knowing the two ladies it wasn’t an option.

“Weissensteiner, my friend.
Come and join me and these two beautiful friends of mine. I hope you had pleasant dreams?” the painter asked.

“Good morning, good morning. May I introduce myself?” Jonah asked politely. “I am Jonah Weissensteiner, the weaver. I am afraid it seems our Dutch friend has forgotten all etiquette of introductions.”

“Get over yourself you putz,” Visser exclaimed. “This is Edith and this is Esther, two of t
he more elitist friends of her illustrious Highness.”

“How do you do?
” Jonah said formally and kissed their hands in old Habsburger style. “I don't think I saw you at the party last night. I should have mingled more and not wasted my time on this good for nothing,” he joked.

“We
did not attend the party,” said Edith. On closer observation she did not look too much like a lady at all, even though she had a modern and fashionable dress on, no doubt an expensive design from Prague or Vienna. She had a dark skin complexion and thick bushy black eyebrows but her head hair was convincingly dyed straw blonde. Her hair was short and curled tight to her head, as a lot of modern women did these days with hot irons. She was petite but far from fragile or gentle. Jonah sensed a strength and assertiveness that he knew more from farmer’s women such as Johanna or Maria than from aristocracy.

“Oh, did you just arrive this morning?” he asked to keep the conversation going, “I never thought the Countess would permit such a neglect of her invitation,” he said with a wink in his eye.

“Far from it!” called out the other woman, Esther, who was equally well dressed but who too had a less noble air about her. She had dark hair, her nose was half way between Jewish and Slavic, and she appeared bigger and stronger than her friend and continued in a sober and matter of fact manner:

“We were staying upstairs, holding our own private soiree. We don't hold much for dancing and the high society of Bratislava. Or rather, they do not hold much for us.”

Jonah was intrigued by this hinting at secrets but did not know how to find out more without sounding rude and impertinent. Visser came to his aid.

“I guess it is safe to tell you this since you
too are an outsider in the current Slovak society, Edith and Esther are confirmed spinsters and hate pretending otherwise to officers and wannabe male suitors. The Countess is an eccentric and even though she is not of that persuasion she loves to surround herself with wild characters. I hope you are not offended.”

“I can't say I am offended,” Jonah said. “I don'
t know the first thing about it to be honest. May I ask you ladies why do you not want a husband? Why do you choose to live like that? Ach, as if life was not complicated enough,” Jonah mused.

“I am sorry for my ignorant friend!” Visser apologized to the ladies.

“That's fine,” Esther assured Visser. “I like directness and honesty in a man and I shall reward it with honesty and directness myself. Herr Weissensteiner, I for one did not choose it, even so, I am not sure I would blame or credit a God for it. A folly of nature maybe?  I am not sad about it, so I don't want your pity. Did you choose to be a Jew? You did not I guess from your looks but others consciously have. Let us not try to solve that mystery. I would much rather discuss a delicate commission I have in mind for you. It is no coincidence that you should meet us here. We have come especially to seek you out. We would like to order one of your beautiful wall carpets and we would like it to have an Eve and Eve theme if you catch my drift.  Would you at all consider designing and making one for us?”

“My dear lady
, thank you so very much for considering me, but I must refuse,” Jonah replied. “I am sure you can guess that I am in enough danger already. Just imagine what would happen if the Catholic Hlinka Guard discovered a Jew manufacturing indecent art. With a Christian biblical theme! It is too dangerous, as much as I would love to oblige you.”

“Are you not designing b
iblical themes for others already?” asked Edith.

“Yes and
as a Jew, my situation is dangerous enough as it is. I am already breaking the law by accepting such commissions, by coming here to socialise with gentile people and even just by travelling here. I must not tempt fate any more,” Jonah explained.

“Our commission would not be dangerous my friend,” Esther promised. “We understand your situation perfectly well and we had in mind to offer you a safe place where you could carry out this work in complete safe
ty from the Hlinka devils. The Countess suggested you may do it here in the manor house.”

“The C
ountess knows about your plans and she approves?” Jonah asked surprised.

“Jonah, the arts have always been a bit more liberal and free,
” Visser said. “In the current fascist climate, the Countess plays along with the powerful people but her heart has remained as open and as daring as it always has been. If she enjoys the finished product she said she might well order one of those frivolous artefacts herself.”

“
What a strange idea to have a hanging carpet of such themes. Why not have a painting or a sculpture?” Jonah asked the ladies.

“I was impressed with your detail and
your precision,” Edith explained. “Stunning, I thought, that man is pure genius and so I wanted one of your carpets for myself. Only in the Garden of Eden I don't want an Adam with my Eve, and that is how the whole idea was born,”

“We could not stop thinking about it ever since,” Esther
added. “We simply must have one. Please say yes!”

“How would that e
ven be possible?” Jonah asked. “Move my workshop here to the manor house? I have a family and the two big looms take up a lot of space. Where would we be able to fit all that?”

“The C
ountess is a patron to the arts and I trust she has not only seen your weaving workshop but several others in her life,” Visser dismissed Jonah's doubts. “She is confident that there will be enough room for you to work and live in the grounds.”

“What if you don't like my designs?” Jonah worried. “Ladies, it is a lot you are asking me to do, a lot to risk. Is this some kind of whim or have you thought it through thoroughly? I would need to speak to the Countess.”

“Of course we have thought it through,” Edith assured him. “The Countess is very excited about you being here. There are a few outbuildings that could be used as your studio as well as for your living quarters. Your life may also be much safer in the confinements of the Estate.”

“Maybe you are right but so far I have been very lucky,” Jonah said hesitati
ngly. “I would be tempting fate by changing any of my circumstances now.”

“
With a name like that you can't seriously believe in luck and coincidence?” Esther said, shaking her head in disbelief. “Don't tell me you thought you were saved by your God or Lady Luck? You are far too intelligent to be so superstitious. You must have at least suspected, if not known, that it is the Countess who bribes your name off all the lists?”

Jonah
’s heart sank. So the authorities did have their eye on him. His hopes that somehow in the complex administration his name had failed to register were smashed into pieces.

“It may sound foolish now but I did believe in my luck,” Jonah admitted. “The Habsburg Empire was a complex
multi-national melting pot. I always thought it very conceivable that administrative errors might occur. How naïve of me indeed,” Jonah said disillusioned.

“Now don't despair my dear friend!” Visser tried to reassure him. “So far it has saved you and your family. You should be happy. If the bureaucrats accept her money today, they will also take it tomorrow. Had it only been luck
, then it could have run out at any moment. The Jews here are safe compared to other places in Europe but the Countess has excellent connections that make bribing and protection much less complicated. Without those you would have to find a trustworthy go between who approaches the civil servants in question. You would have to pay him before you can even pay the bribe itself. You are as safe here as you can be.”

“Is the Countess not risking her own life and fortune by doing this?” asked Jonah worriedly.

“I don't think so,” Visser assured him. “All of the nobility have their own 'pet-Jews' as you might call the phenomenon. The leader of the Hlinka party has a Jewish tailor, another party official is protecting his chess partner and that is just the tip of the iceberg. When it comes to party politics they are hard liners but in their private life they bend the rules and turn a blind eye. If the schemes of the Countess were ever to become known, she would be in good company. She would be reprimanded at the most.”

“Just think how safe you all would be here!” sa
id Esther. “No Hlinka guard, no house searches or whatever might be considered as the next step in the anti-Semitic policies.”

“It sounds tempting, but as you can imagine I will need a little bit more time to reflect on this and I will need to discuss it with my children. “

“It is your children that will benefit the most from it,” Visser said. “There will be more protection here than anywhere else.”

“Don't take too long,” warned Esther. “This current quiet in Slovakia feels much more like the calm
before a storm.

Soon after this conversation
, Jonah took his leave and made his way to the farm. He had hoped to speak to the Countess herself that morning, but Visser informed him that she had left the manor house early on urgent business in Vienna and the dinner plans had been postponed until her return. She seemed an interesting character the Countess, always full of ideas and plans, and never standing still in one place.

Only just before he arrived at the barn did he remember that he had said he would be back after midnight and by failing to appear he might have worried Sarah or
Johanna. As he entered the barn he saw that the make-shift bed had been taken down and there was no sign that anyone ever had expected him to stay the night.

Jonah approached the farm building carefully, looking for signs of Benedikt and the other workers. He seemed to be lucky and managed to sneak into the building unobserved. His luck stayed with him and he managed to find Sarah in the laundry room without alerting Maria or Roswitha to his presence.

“Thank God you are here,” Sarah sighed. “I was so worried about you when you did not show up last night. Are you all right? What happened?”

“Oh I am fine,” he assured her. “Of course I am fine. The Countess invited me to stay at the house to meet some of her guests in the morning. I couldn't deny her.”

“What a relief!” Sarah exclaimed. “Johanna came to visit you in the barn as well and she was not impressed to find me there. She thought I was there to seduce you. So she does not know about Alma does she?”

“It never came up.” said Jonah with a wink. “My girls believe that Johanna has a suspicion about Alma and me but I don't want to say anything and implicate Alma any more than necessary. She is risking her life for this foolish thing between us.”