“Well, I didn’t desire to honor you precisely. I simply did not want to dine alone tonight.”

  “Of course, Ma’am.” He wasn’t sure where the conversation was going and remained carefully non-committal.

  “I mean, any number of my cousins and other relatives would be delighted to break bread with me. The problem is, I have to watch continually for efforts to manipulate me. All for my own good, of course.” The dry sarcasm was evident in her voice.

  “I can understand how that would make you weary.”

  “Exactly. And I have come to understand that you do not have your own agenda.”

  Colin had picked up the wine glass and set it down again. “I don’t know if that is entirely accurate, Ma’am. My plan is for you to be successful, and I will not compromise on that.”

  “And yet you are completely honest about it. You don’t try to manipulate me; you try to convince. And you are loyal as well.”

  “I believe that is what I am supposed to be in this position,” he replied.

  “Oh, stop being so careful, Colin. Lighten up. You manage to stay relaxed in the office. Just relax tonight. This isn’t a state dinner.”

  He studied the queen carefully but surreptitiously. He no longer had Clarice to guide him, and he had to think carefully about things. It hit him, all of a sudden, that Queen Margaret was a lonely person. Everyone she dealt with was working an angle. To endure that day in and day out must be crushing. She was looking for a friend. That wasn’t in his job description, but he decided that he would have to be a friend for her to succeed.

  “Does that make it acceptable for me to dip my tie in the soup, then?”

  She released one of her belly laughs. “I will try not to be critical if you are gauche.”

  “Oh, thank you, Your Majesty. Every day I am terrified of running afoul of the social register.”

  Margaret laughed delightedly. “If that were to occur, I’m sure I could convince them to make an exception in your case.”

  The conversation meandered through current styles and fads in England. They talked about everything and nothing. For the first time since he learned of Clarice’s death, Colin felt relaxed. He hoped Margaret took the opportunity to release herself from her worries, at least for the evening. They would return all too soon.

  “What are your plans for the future, Colin?” the queen asked.

  “You mean, what do I want to be when I grow up?”

  She grinned and nodded for him to continue.

  “I sort of fell into government work. After I took my Masters, at Oxford, of course, a friend suggested I join him in the PM’s office, and I applied and was accepted. I spent twelve years there before the PM seconded me to your office.”

  “What was your undergraduate college?”

  “I was at Trinity College in Oxford.”

  “Do you have good memories of college life?” she asked.

  He shrugged. “I am something of an introvert. I didn’t have much of a life until I met Clarice.” He smiled to himself at the memory. “She began including me in the activities around campus – she made sure I wasn’t hiding in my rooms.”

  Margaret wondered if she should change the subject. Was it safe to allow Colin to wander down these shadowy corridors of time? But she had never believed in coddling people either.

  He visibly shook himself. “She was everything to me, you know. I understand that I must move on, and I am indeed getting some distance. But it’s like all the fun went out of life.”

  “I haven’t spoken of it much, but I felt much the same way when I lost my parents and sister. I was always jealous of Lilibet because she was going to be the queen, and I wasn’t.” She laughed harshly. “It never occurred to me that my sister would have to die for me to be the queen—God, what a fool I was. And I had to maintain the stiff upper lip and not let people know how much I miss them. And we’re getting maudlin.”

  “Oh, not at all,” Colin immediately responded. “It’s good to talk about these things.”

  “Occasionally,” the queen replied.

  After a lull in the conversation, Colin spoke. “Well, I suppose I should be getting on. Do you need help with the dishes?”

  There was another bark of laughter from the queen. “The kitchen staff would probably die of a collective heart attack if I stuck my hands in the dishwater. And thank you, Colin, for a delightful evening. I think we both needed it.”

  Colin stood and bowed. “Your Majesty, the honor was mine.”

  After he left, she asked the steward to pour her another cup of coffee. She sat and sipped it as she pondered the evening. Yes, the dinner with Colin was satisfactory.

  § § §

  June 24, 1944; 2 PM

  Prime Minister’s Offices

  Tokyo, Japan

  Isoroku Yamamoto reminded himself of the law of unintended consequences. He had succeeded in ending a ruinous war and preserving the nation. But in so doing, Japan had lost a certain degree of sovereignty. The Americans were establishing bases across the Japanese home islands after negotiating favorable terms.

  The Americans were polite during the negotiations, but there was no question of the ultimate conclusion. The military installations were ostensibly to project American force across the northern Pacific against a potential Soviet threat. But everyone understood that the American presence was to prevent Japan from again sallying forth to conquer.

  The prime minister was convinced that developing a mercantile strategy would ultimately benefit Japan far more than military dominance. And the Americans would essentially pay for the military umbrella they extended over the country. So he had mixed emotions about the situation.

  Yamamoto was somewhat distracted when his secretary marched into the office.

  “What is it, Oye?”

  “Four men to see you, Prime Minister.”

  Yamamoto looked up quickly. “Who is it? I don’t have anything on my calendar this afternoon. It was reserved for study.”

  “Plans sometimes change, Prime Minister.”

  “Very well, give me a minute to finish what I am reading, and then I will see them.”

  “They will see you now.”

  Yamamoto nodded. “Very well.”

  He slid a desk drawer open as he stood and pulled his Nambu pistol from the drawer. He then turned and bolted for the bookcase. Unlatching it, he quickly slipped behind the hidden door and pulled it shut. Behind him, he heard shouts in the office. It would take them a while to open the door. But if they knew enough to neutralize his security, they would be waiting at the bottom of the hidden stairwell.

  Most people were not aware of the hidden passageway along this floor that was accessible from the stairwell. Tactically, he needed to get into a position to acquire reinforcements. Strategically, he wondered who was behind the coup attempt. Most likely, it was a group of radicals in the military, although he was careful not to be wedded to his assumptions.

  Walking across the landing to the other side, he pulled a concealed lever along the edge of a door and then opened it. After pulling the door closed, he turned. Low wattage lightbulbs allowed him to see the length of the corridor. He decided to walk the length of it and exit into the stairwell at the corner of the building. If he could grab a taxi and get to the Osaka naval base, he could assure his safety and begin planning a counter to the coup. The plotters were playing with fire and didn’t know it.

  Upon arriving at the door to the next stairwell, Yamamoto stopped to listen carefully. It was quiet on the other side. Holding his pistol in one hand, he eased the door open with the other. As he stepped through the door, a hand clamped down on his right hand and pistol.

  “You have brought shame upon the Japanese people, Admiral. It is time to correct that error.”

  The last thing Isoroku Yamamoto saw was the flash of a muzzle.

  CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN

  June 25, 1944; 8 AM

  The White House

  Washington, DC, USA

  “I want to know what is going on in Tokyo,” Harry Truman demanded. He looked around the Oval Office without allowing his eyes to settle on any one thing.

  “All we know at this point, Mr. President, is that there was a coup against Yamamoto. We have heard nothing from him, and there seems to be no government spokesman,” William Donovan explained. “All Americans have been restricted to either the embassy or where they have docked.”

  “No word from the emperor, then?”

  “Nothing, Sir.”

  “You told me you were building out your assets in Japan, Director Donovan. What went wrong?”

  “Most of our people in Japan are of European descent,” Donovan replied. “We understood it would take time to gain the trust of any native Japanese. And the risk of the radical element trying something like this was well known.”

  “So it was the radicals?”

  Donovan raised his hands, palms up. “The only creditable alternative would be if the Emperor enlisted aid in deposing Yamamoto. We knew the Prime Minister was calling the shots, and Hirohito was not necessarily happy about that.”

  “So it could be the emperor?” Truman asked.

  “It could be, but we rate that as unlikely. While Hirohito engenders a lot of goodwill among the people, he lacks the organizational structure to arrange something like this.”

  “So, it is likely the Army?”

  “That would be our guess. The Navy is largely loyal to Yamamoto - assuming he is still alive.”

  “And you think he is dead?”

  “I think so. If he were still alive, we would probably have heard something.”

  “And if the radical element can assume power, then we would likely be back at war with them. I’m telling you, Director, we can’t afford that.”

  Donovan nodded in agreement. “To be honest, Mr. President, we should have recognized this as a risk and planned accordingly. The responsibility is mine.”

  “Is this a prelude to you offering your resignation, Mr. Donovan?”

  “Well, yes, if you want it.”

  “I don’t want it. Falling on one’s sword is a noble endeavor, but it does little to solve the current problem. And you are wrong. The responsibility is mine. And there are a few things we can do about it.”

  Truman stood and walked to the door and opened it. “I need to send a message to General Marshall.”

  The Army Signal Corps sergeant walked into the room carrying his notepad and a handful of pencils. Truman waved him to a seat and began dictating.

  “Please send a message to General Marshall as follows,” and the sergeant began sketching that weird script called shorthand. “Given the unsettled conditions in Japan at this time, please direct all United States military units guarding interned Japanese military equipment and ships to be issued with live ammunition. Furthermore, they are to resist any attempts by Japanese personnel to resume control of those assets with all necessary force. Please respond by reporting your actions.”

  Truman looked over at Donovan. “Does that cover what we need to do?”

  “I suggest we put the embassy in Tokyo on alert with instructions to resist any incursions with deadly force. If the Japanese were determined to seize the embassy, there would be little we could do about it, but I don’t suggest we roll over for them.”

  Truman turned to the sergeant. “Okay, send the message to General Marshall, and now let’s get one to the Secretary of State.”

  “Yes, Mr. President,” the sergeant replied, flipping to the next page in his notebook.

  “You know, Mr. Donovan,” Truman continued, “I like working with the non-commissioned officers. I don’t think they are afraid of anyone except, maybe, their wives. Isn’t that true, Sergeant.”

  “I would not attempt to contradict you, Sir.”

  “But you would if it became necessary.”

  “I would do it with all possible respect, Sir.”

  Truman laughed. “Very well. Let’s get this message together for Secretary Hull. Mr. Secretary, please put the embassy in Tokyo on alert. They are authorized to use deadly force to maintain the security of the facility. Also, put our embassies in the far east on alert for unexpected events.”

  He watched as the sergeant finished. “Okay, dress it up and send it immediately.”

  The sergeant stood. “Of course, Mr. President.”

  “What else do we need to think about?” Truman asked after the stenographer left the Oval Office.

  “I have already put all my offices in the Far East on alert.”

  “And I assume Marshall will do so for the military installations when he gets my message. Most of our military is in or around Japan at the moment, anyway.”

  Truman stood, indicating the meeting with Donovan was over.

  “I’m going to get the War Committee in here at ten o’clock this morning. I would like you back here for that.”

  Donovan stood. “Of course, Mr. President.”

  After Donovan left, Truman spoke to his appointments secretary. “I want the War Committee in here at ten o’clock. And I need to squeeze Vannevar Bush in sometime before then.”

  Fifteen minutes later, the secretary opened the door to the Oval Office.

  “Dr. Vannevar Bush, Mr. President.”

  Truman stood as the thin man of medium height walked in.

  “Dr. Bush, thank you for coming so promptly.”

  “I serve at your pleasure, Mr. President.”

  “I just have a few moments this morning, but I need to pass a directive to you. It appears that there has been a coup in Tokyo, and Yamamoto is out.”

  “That bodes ill, Sir.”

  “That is exactly the truth. I would like you to press forward with all due speed on the Manhattan project. Having new weapons in hand may suddenly become critical to the United States.”

  “I understand,” Bush replied. “We are currently working at the limits of our current budget, but I will make sure that we don’t slow things down.”

  “That will be fine. I will send you a memo to backstop our conversation. If things get worse in Japan, we will likely look for additional sources of funding for the project.”

  “Yes, Sir. What are we going to do about Japan?”

  “That is the question of the hour, isn’t it? We have a treaty with Japan, and I intend to hold them to it. We interned their fleet and a lot of their military hardware. I instructed our people to do whatever they need to do to avoid having it fall back into Japanese hands.”

  “That is liable to become bloody if the Japanese push it.”

  “I hope it doesn’t come to that, but if it does, we will be prepared.”

  “Is there anything else that I might help with to be of further service, Mr. President?”

  Truman put his hand on Bush’s arm. “Not at this time. I have been pleased with your work, and I know it has been difficult because I have not clearly defined General Groves’ role.”

  “That has not been a problem, Mr. President. General Groves has been careful and considerate.”

  “Good. Thank you, again, for coming on such short notice.”

  “You are certainly welcome, Sir.”

  § § §

  June 26, 1944; Noon

  Hirschberg im Riesengebirge

  Silesia

  “The Germans are holding strong south of Liegnitz,” Brigadier General Plotnikov stated. “It doesn’t make sense. If Schörner has his four divisions to the north, there shouldn’t be much to stop us.”

  Chuikov stared down at the map and chewed his lip. “And Schörner keeps pushing north. He must know we can slice him to ribbons anytime we choose. Unless…”

  He turned and looked at Plotnikov. “I think you should try to get some scouts both south of Liegnitz and around the German advance. What if the Germans moved some strong forces from along the Oder into Silesia?”

  The other general turned pale. “What would be their objective?”

  “They don’t know we’re here… maybe. I would say they want to drive on to Poznań and hold it.”

  “That would be dangerous.”

  “Yes, but we represent a danger to them. It might be the time to crush the German army completely. If we can succeed at that, we will be able to drive through to Prague or force a crossing of the Oder, and they won’t be able to stop us.”

  “But we must know where they are located,” Plotnikov argued. “If we can come to grips with them, we can do what the Red Army does best, and that is to crush them in an embrace.”

  “Get the scouts out,” Chuikov ordered. “Now is not the time to be parsimonious. If the Germans hold Poznań, it will soon get very hungry for us.”

  “As you wish, Comrade General.”

  As Chuikov watched the other general leave the command tent, the adjutant walked over to him.

  “I’m not sure I understand what is happening, Comrade General.”

  “I have become convinced that the Germans just made a big mistake. That being the case, it will put us in a position to roll over all of Germany in the coming months. We know their reserves are nil, and we will hit them before they can reconstitute their reserves. That will give us a chance to end this.”

  “Will they just crumble then?”

  “No, Comrade Colonel, of course not. It will involve the hardest fighting we have ever engaged in. But it is also a marvelous opportunity.”

  The adjutant nodded. “I understand, Comrade General.”

  “I certainly hope you do. We will have to think quickly, decide quickly, and move quickly. One thing the Nazis will not do is stand around and wait for us to get ourselves together.”

  CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT

  July 3, 1944; 8 PM

  Reich Chancellor’s Meeting Room

  Frankfurt, Germany

  “I suppose the first item on the agenda is a report on the war,” Schloss said.

  Kirche looked up in surprise as he usually opened the governing council meetings and managed the agenda.

  “Since the Reichsmarshall is back in town,” Schloss continued, “I would ask him to give us a summary so that we can discuss things.”