Chapter 10: Dinner

Dinner was totally decorous and the conversation was mostly between the men, talking shop. 'Nothing much different from a British dinner party before, and to a large extent, during the war, ' she thought, 'I wonder when the sex will start?'

Suddenly the officer sitting opposite her addressed her, "What are your views on whether England should have a suitable provincial government, or should continue to be ruled from Berlin with your Parliament merely advising?"

Her Colonel, sitting beside her, moved the hand on her knee a little higher under her dress and squeezed her leg as a warning.

"Oh, I don't much care. All governments are really made up of civil servants and they are the ones who actually run the country. The politicians just dream up ideas of policies and then the civil servants tell them why they can't do it immediately, and carry on as they always have."

Her inquisitor pressed on, "But do you not think our great Führer is a better leader than your Winston Churchill was?"

Lady Johnson shrugged and said, "There is no comparison. The Führer is the head of state. The head of state in England is the King, and he has accepted that England is now a ... dependency of Germany."

The Colonel beside her breathed a sigh of relief at the diplomatic answer, and relaxed his hand, which 'accidentally' slid a little higher. Lady Johnson, careful not to offend him over something as minor as a hand on her thigh, obligingly parted her legs a little to allow him easier access.

"What is ... dependency?" the man opposite demanded.

"Oh, it is somewhere between actually being a part of a country, or part of its empire. It isn't a province, but it isn't able to have its own locally organised government," said Jane, then added, "May I ask you a question, sir?"

"Of course," said the officer airily.

"At a table laden with superb food and with five beautiful ladies and myself as company, can you think of nothing more interesting to ask about than politics? Do German ladies much concern themselves with such matters, or do they leave it to the menfolk as we tend to do?"

There was much laughter from the men around the table, and the target of her wit spluttered good-naturedly, but made no answer.

The Colonel carefully turned the discussion to the topic of contrasting favourite foods in England and Germany. There was another round of laughter as Jane, by this stage made somewhat reckless by the wine she had been drinking, said she liked the taste of warm German sausage.