The weather was bad that morning, wind and rain, thick storm clouds and in the noise and confusion, Kelso wasnt even aware what kind of plane it was that made his luck run out. There was a roaring, a shadow to port, machine-gunfire ripping the Bristol apart, a bullet tearing into his left leg and then he descended into the safety of heavy cloud.
He turned back towards the British lines, to 7000 then 5000 and was aware of a burning smell. He made 3000, flames flickering around his engine. There was the briefest glimpse of the trenches below, the battlefields of Flanders. Time to go. He unbuckled his seat-belt, picked up Tarquin and stuffed him inside his heavy leather coat then turned the Bristol over and dropped out. He fell for 1000 feet, pulled his ripcord and floated down.
He landed in a shell hole half filled with water, unsure of whether he was on the British or German side of the trenches, but his luck was good. A khaki-clad patrol half plastered in mud reached him in a matter of minutes, clutching rifles.
Dont shoot, Im Flying Corps, Kelso shouted.
There was a burst of machine-gunfire in the vicinity. As two soldiers unbuckled Kelsos parachute, a sergeant lit a cigarette and put it between his lips.
Funny accent you got there, Captain, he said in ripest Cockney.
American, Kelso told him.
Well, youve taken your time getting here, the sergeant told him. Weve been waiting since 1914.
The field hospital was in an old French château which stood in glorious parkland. The trip out of the war zone had been hazardous and Jack Kelso had lapsed into unconsciousness thanks to the morphine the infantry patrol had administered. He awakened to a fantasy world: a small room, white sheets, French windows open to a terrace. He tried to sit up and cried out at the pain in his leg, pulled the sheets to one side and saw the heavy bandaging. The door opened and a young nurse in a Red Cross uniform entered. She had blonde hair, a strong face and green eyes and looked to be in her early twenties. She was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen in his life and Jack Kelso fell instantly in love.
No, lie back, she said, pushed him down against the pillows and adjusted his sheets.
An Army colonel entered the room wearing Medical Corps insignia. Problems, Baroness?
Not really. Hes just confused.
Cant have that, the colonel said. Taken a rather large bullet out of that leg, old son, so you must behave. A little more morphine, I think.
He went out and she charged a hypodermic and reached for Kelsos right arm. Your accent, he said. Youre German and he called you Baroness.
So useful when I deal with Luftwaffe pilots.
She started to go and he reached for her hand. I dont care what you are as long as you promise to marry only me, Baroness, he said drowsily. Wheres Tarquin?
Would that be the bear? she asked.
No ordinary bear. Ive shot down fifteen planes and Tarquin was always there. Hes my good luck.
Well, there he is, on the dressing-table.
And so he was. Jack Kelso got one clear look. Hi there, old buddy, he called then drifted into sleep.
Baroness Elsa von Halder had been trapped in Paris with her mother when the war began. At twenty-two, her father an infantry general killed on the Somme, she was from fine old Prussian stock with a decaying mansion and estate, and absolutely no money at all. As the days passed, Kelso filled her with tales of his privileged life back in the States, and they found they had something in common: both had lost their mothers in 1916, in each case to cancer.
Three weeks after he arrived at the hospital, sitting in a deck-chair on the terrace looking out over a lawn with many wounded officers taking the sun, Kelso watched her approach, exchanging a word here and there. She carried a package which she held out to him.
Field post.
Open it for me, he said, and she did.
There was a leather box and a letter. Why, Jack, its from headquarters. Youve been awarded the Distinguished Service Order. She took it out and held it up. Arent you pleased?
Sure. But I already have a medal, he said. What I dont have is you. He took her hand. Marry me, Elsa. You know Ill keep asking until you give in.
She did, and this time she heard herself asking, What about your father? Shouldnt you speak to him first?
Oh, itll take too long to get a letter to the States and back. Besides, amongst his many other qualities, my father is a snob. Hell love you, and so will Boston society, so lets get on with it. Theres a resident chaplain here. He can tie the knot any time we want.
Oh, Jack, youre a nice man such a nice man.
Germany is going to lose the war, Elsa. All you have to go back to is a decaying estate and no money. Ill take care of you, I promise. He took her hand. Come on, itll be good. Trust me.
So, she did, and they were married two days later. After all, he was right: she did have nothing to go back to.
The honeymoon in Paris was fine, not the greatest romance in the world, but then he was always aware that she hadnt married him for love. His wound had left him with a pronounced limp, which needed therapy, and she transferred to a Red Cross hospital in Paris. She became pregnant very quickly and Kelso insisted that she go to the States.
Any child we have must be born at home, I wont hear any argument.
You could come, too, Jack. Your leg still isnt good, and I asked Colonel Carstairs. He said theyd give you a discharge if you asked for it.
You did what? Elsa, you must never do anything like that ever again. For a moment, he looked a different man, the warrior whod shot down fifteen German fighters and then he smiled and was dashing Jack Kelso again. Theres still a war to win, my love, and now that Americas joined in, it wont take long. Youll be fine. And my old man will be ecstatic.
So, she did as she was told and sailed for America, where Abe Kelso did indeed receive her with considerable enthusiasm. She was a big success on the social scene, and nothing was too good for her, especially when she went into labour and produced twin boys. The eldest she named Max after her father; the other Harry, after Abes.
On the Western Front, Jack Kelso received the news by telegraph. Still in the Royal Flying Corps, where he had decided to stay instead of joining the Americans, he was by now a lieutenant-colonel, one of the few old hands still around, for losses on both sides had been appalling in what proved to be the last year of the war. And then suddenly, it was all over.
Gaunt, careworn, old before his time, Jack Kelso, still in his uniform, stood in the boys bedroom shortly after his arrival in Boston, and looked at them sleeping. Elsa stood at the door, a little afraid, gazing at a stranger.
Fine, he said. They look fine. Lets go down.
Abe Kelso stood by the fire in the magnificent drawing room. He was taller than Jack, with darker hair, but had the same features.
By God, Jack. He picked up two glasses of champagne and handed one to each of them. Ive never seen so many medals.
Loads of tin. His son drank the champagne down in a single swallow.
It was bad this past year? Abe inquired, as he gave him a refill.
Bad enough, though I never managed to get killed. Everyone but me. Jack Kelso smiled terribly.
Bad enough, though I never managed to get killed. Everyone but me. Jack Kelso smiled terribly.
Thats an awful thing to say, his wife told him.
True, though. He lit a cigarette. I see the boys have fair hair. Almost white. He blew out smoke.
They are half German.
Not their fault, he said. By the way, my personal score there at the end? It was forty-eight.
She saw then, of course, just how damaged he was, but it was Abe who spoke with forced cheerfulness. Now then, Jack, what are you going to do with yourself? Back to Harvard to finish that law degree? You can join the firm then.
You must be joking. Im twenty-three years old, and if you include my time machine-gunning the trenches, Ive killed hundreds of men. Harvard is out, the firm is out. Ive got the trust fund my mother left me. Im going to enjoy myself. He emptied the glass. Excuse me, I need the bathroom.
He limped out. Abe Kelso poured a little champagne into her glass. Look, my dear, hes been through a lot. We must make allowances.
Dont apologize for him. She put down her glass. That isnt the man I married. Hes back there in those Godforsaken trenches. He never got out.
Which wasnt far from the truth, for in the years that followed, Jack Kelso acted as if he didnt care if he lived or died. His exploits on automobile-racing circuits were notorious. He still flew, and crash-landed on three occasions. He even used his motor yacht to run booze during Prohibition, and his capacity for drink was enormous.
One thing that could be said for him, however, was that he treated his wife with grave courtesy. For her part, Elsa played the good wife, the elegant hostess, the affectionate mother. She was always Mutti to Max and Harry, taught them French and German, and they loved her greatly, and yet their affection for their drunken war-hero father was even greater.
Hed managed to buy a Bristol fighter and kept it at a small flying club outside of Boston that was owned by another old air ace from RFC days, named Rocky Farson. The boys were ten the day Jack strapped them into the rear cockpit and took them for a flight. Their birthday treat, he called it. The boys loved it and Elsa threatened to leave him if he ever did such a thing again.
Abe, as usual, was the man in the middle, trying to keep the peace, on her side because Jack had been drunk, but since Jack was rich in his own right, there was no controlling him.
Nineteen twenty-eight and 1929 came. Disillusioned not only with her marriage but with America, Elsa had only her sincere friendship with Abe and her love of the boys to sustain her. They were, of course, totally alike: their straw-blond hair and green eyes, their high German cheekbones, their voices, their mannerisms. No individual blemishes or birthmarks set them apart. Most times, even she couldnt tell them apart, and neither could Abe. It was a constant sport for them to change roles and make fools of everyone. Totally bonded, the only thing they ever argued about was who owned Tarquin. The fact that Max, as the eldest by ten minutes, was legally Baron von Halder never bothered them.
It was the summer of 1930 when the tragedy happened. Jack Kelso was killed when his Bentley spun off a mountain road in Colorado and fireballed. What was left of him was brought back to Boston, where Abe, now a Congressman, presided over the funeral. The great and the good were there, even the President, the twins in black suits on either side of their mother. They seemed strangely still, frozen almost, and older than their twelve years.
Afterwards, at the big house when everyone had left, Elsa sat by the open French window in the drawing room, elegant in black, and sipped a brandy. Abe stood by the fire.
Now what? he asked. Its a bleak prospect.
Not for me, she replied. Ive done my bit. I was a good wife for years, Abe, and put up with a hell of a lot. I want to go back to Germany.
And live on what? Most of the fortune his mother left is gone. Sad to say, theres not much coming to you in his will, Elsa, you know that.
Yes, I know, she said. But youve got millions. More than you know what to do with. You could help me, Abe.
I see.
Abe, weve always been good friends. Let me go home. Ill restore the estate, Ill restore the family name.
And take my grandsons with you? He shook his head. I couldnt bear that.
But theyre my sons, too, they belong with their mother. And Max Max is the Baron von Halder. You cant make him give that up, Abe, it wouldnt be right, it wouldnt be just. Please, Abe, Im begging you.
Abe Kelso sat for several long moments, the air thick with regret and loss. Finally, he spoke.
Ive often worried about it, you know what would happen when Max was old enough to appreciate the title. Would he move away to claim it, leave us all here? I always thought Id have at least a few more years before it came to that, but He stopped and sighed. But with Jack dead, and you wanting to leave, theres not much of us left, is there? He smiled sadly. Youre right, Elsa. Max does deserve that chance. And so do you. But on one condition. Here his voice became firm and strong. Harry stays here. I wont give up both my grandsons, I couldnt possibly agree to that. Ill give you what you need to restore the von Halder estate but Harry stays with me. Are we agreed?
She didnt even argue. Agreed, Abe.
Okay. We can sort out the details later about visitation, schooling and the rest. The only thing that worries me is how the boys will feel about this.
Ill talk to them.
No, let me first. Ask them to come to my study, would you?
Later that evening before dinner, when she went back to the drawing room, Max and Harry were surprisingly calm, but then theyd always been like that: alone, cool, detached, on the outside looking in. Although they loved their mother, they were aware of her inner selfishness, so the latest turn of events came as no real surprise. She kissed them in turn.
Your grandfather has told you?
Of course. They understand, Abe said. Took it surprisingly well. The only problem, it seems, was who was to take possession of Tarquin, but he stays here. That bear sat in the bottom of the cockpit on every flight Jack made. For a moment, he seemed lost in thought then he straightened up. Champagne, he said. Half a glass each. Youre old enough. Lets drink to each other. Well always be together one way or another.
The boys said nothing, simply drank their champagne, old beyond their years, as usual, as enigmatic as Tarquin the bear.
The Germany to which Elsa von Halder returned was very different from what she remembered unemployment, street riots, the Nazi party beginning to rear its head but she had Abes money, so she put Max into school and set about regenerating the von Halder estate. There was Berlin society, of course. One of her fathers oldest friends, the fighter ace from the war, Hermann Goering, was a coming man in the Nazi party, a friend of Hitlers. As an aristocrat, all doors, were open to him and Elsa, beautiful and rich and an undeniable aristocrat herself, was an absolute asset to the party. She met them all Hitler, Goebbels, Ribbentrop and was the toast of café society.
Hitler assumed power in 1933, and Elsa allowed Max to go to America for six months in 1934 to stay with his grandfather and brother, who was a day student at prep school. Abe was overjoyed to see him. As for the brothers, it was as if theyd never been apart, and on their birthday Abe gave them a special present. He took them out to the airfield their father used to fly from, and there was Rocky Farson, older, a little heavier, but still the old fighter ace from the Western Front.