While Bruno was visiting his father in an attempt to convince the man to help him perfect his blueprints and introduce them into service over the following years. Heidi had a meeting of her own within the building which housed the members of the Bundesrat and their offices.
The family she was born into as the illegitimate daughter of a mediatized Prince was complicated to say the least. But such was the nature of nobility. The von Bentheim family was split into two separate divisions.
Heidi was born the bastard daughter of Prince Gustav von Bentheim-Tecklenburg, and due to the nature of her birth her relationship with that side of the family was strained to say the least. However, her relationship with the von Bentheim-Steinfurt half of the family was actually quite good.
A windfall in her youth gave Heidi the opportunity to befriend the young Princess of the von Bentheim-Steinfurt family. Who she was distantly related to. Though they referred to themselves as cousins, their actual family relationship was far more removed than that.
By mere chance, she had saved the young Princess’s life, and in doing so not only gained the favor of such a powerful noble family, but a lifelong friendship with her distant relative. It was the father of said cousin who Heidi was visiting today.
After all, the man’s family was heavily involved with the High Command of the German Army. With his son being a member of the Information Division, and his younger brother being a general in the Central Division.
Heidi sat across from her distant uncle, who had a warm smile on his face. He was surprised to see the young woman, who he considered like his own daughter, to be visiting him at this time. But it was most certainly a welcome surprise at that. One which he could not help but give voice to.
“I’m glad to see your marriage to the Junker boy has been a happy one. And I am sure he is the reason you are here correct?”
Seeing as how the man wanted to get straight to business, Heidi immediately nodded her head, no longer standing on ceremony as she made her request of her favorite uncle.
“Uncle, your brother is in the Central Division am I right? If I’m not mistaken, he has some degree of power over whose applications to the Prussian War College are accepted, right? Bruno may not meet the minimum requirements of having served five years in the Army as a commissioned officer. But he has more than proven himself in the field during the Boxer Rebellion. Would you please-”
The young woman was stopped by a motion of her uncle’s hand. He did not appear angry that she was trying to use her connections to help her husband climb through the ranks of the Army more rapidly than his peers. After all, such was the nature of politics. Instead, he quickly surprised Heidi this his response.
“Say no more… I’ll be frank with you, though you are not allowed to repeat what I’m about to say outside these doors. The Central Division has already received two letters of recommendation for us to push your husband through the application process.
One was from his former Battalion Commander, a full-fledged colonel whose review of the boy was quite glowing. The other, surprisingly, came from the French General who your husband acted as a military advisor to during the final months of the campaign.
We were surprised to see that a general from a foreign nation, let alone the French would personally write a letter of recommendation on behalf of one of our officers. Needless to say your husband was immediately investigated for potential ties to the French Republic.
Don’t you give me that look. It was a formal procedure. He was quickly cleared of any potential wrongdoing. And the letter seemed like a genuine matter of respect from a man who served alongside your husband.
After careful consideration, the Central Division had decided that your husband will be attending the Prussian War College when the new semester starts in the fall. So, I assume you will be happy to know that for the next three years, at least. Your husband will be in a safe position to come home to you every night. That is, after all the primary reason you have come to see me, correct?”
Heidi was embarrassed to admit it, but her uncle’s words were spot on. She just wanted Bruno to be safe, and by her side after he spent the first few years of their marriage away from her arms.
Sure, she also wanted him to accomplish his dreams of rising through the ranks of the German Army, and since their interests co-aligned perfectly, why not try to use her connections to advocate for the man?
She was surprised however to see that such efforts were unnecessary, and that her husband was so impressive that he had even earned the respect of what many Germans would consider a hostile general.
Naturally, Heidi was quick to thank her uncle for seeing her on such short notice before departing from the room. Where once he was alone, the man poured himself a drink, and sipped from it, all while staring out the window of his office.
“The Wolf of Prussia, huh?”
Sitting on the man’s desk was a copy of the letter which General Henri-Nicolas Frey had sent German High Command. The words of praise he had written to what could be considered his nation’s most hated enemy would surely be considered treasonous by those more Revanchist minded French politicians.
“Not since Napoleon has a man so gifted in the arts of military affairs stepped foot into this mortal plane. And though I grieve to think about what consequences the contents of this letter may have on the future of my nation. I still feel compelled to state that this mere Captain of Infantry, Bruno von Zehntner, is a titan of war waiting to be awakened.
From the perspective of a foreign general who has learned from this young officer’s wisdom. I believe it would be most prudent for you all to expedite the process in which he rises through the ranks of the German Army.
I can only hope that future generations of my nation’s leadership find the notion of going to war with the Reich to be ill advised. For the day will come when this man stands unparalleled in the field, and when such a future finally arrives, may God show mercy to France and her people.”
This was just a small excerpt of the letter which the French General had written in his full recommendation of Bruno. But it was more than enough for the Central Division to take notice. And had ultimately been the deciding factor in showing Bruno unprecedented privilege.
—
Bruno’s meeting with his father lasted longer than the one Heidi had with her uncle. And because of that, the moment he finally left the man’s office, he found his wife sitting patiently for him. As if she had never left to begin with.
Despite their close relationship, Bruno was unfamiliar with Heidi’s ties to the von Bentheim-Steinfurt family. And because of this, he had no suspicions that she had wandered off to advocate on his behalf. Instead, he was happy to see that she was still right where she was seated when he first left her there.
“I’m sorry for the wait, darling. Now how about we go find a nice place to have lunch?”
Heidi also did not make a comment about where she had gone or who she had seen. Instead, she grabbed hold of her husband’s arm and smiled. Allowing him to escort her out of the Bundesrat and back to their automobile, which took them further into the city of Berlin.
The two of them stopped at a nice, quiet, and quaint little restaurant that served Vienna style cuisine. After ordering their separate meals, Bruno noticed that Heidi was continuing to stare at him, while resting her chin on the palm of her hand.
At first, he thought that maybe there was something on his face, but when he realized this wasn’t the case, he was quick to comment on why she had so suddenly become enamored with him.
“Is something the matter? Why are you staring at me like that?”
Heidi couldn’t contain her thoughts towards the man any longer, and was quick to reveal some of the things she had learned over the last few months. Things which Bruno wanted to keep to himself.
“The Wolf of Prussia? It has a nice ring to it doesn’t it? I’ve heard stories about you, from the wives of those men who fought in China. You know the ones whose husbands wrote back to their wives with detailed stories of their adventures in a foreign and mystical land.
Strange how they are so open about their experience in the military, while your letters to me were more… Reserved.”
Bruno honestly did not know how to respond to this statement. Heidi was raised like many people in the latter half of the 19th century, and the early 20th century. On grandiose ideals of honor and glory, which a man could earn on the battlefield through heroic action.
During this era, war was perceived as a rite of passage for all men to walk through, and that to do so was an almost chivalric adventure. Such notions were usually put to rest the moment a man had any actual combat experience, as war, even a relatively minor conflict like the Boxer Rebellion, was no walk in the park.
No doubt the men who sent these letters to their wives, making it seem like they had gone on a camping trip, did so to protect them from the reality of the situation. But Bruno was not the type of man to do such a thing.
He was not going to lie, or sugar coat what happened in the war. To do so would dishonor the memories of the fallen. Instead, he simply pulled out a cigarette and made a brief and blunt statement as he exhaled a large plume of smoke from his lungs.
“I did what I had to do over there for the sake of the Fatherland, and that’s all there is to say on the matter….”
Heidi who was very interested in Bruno’s perspective of the war could only pout as the man refused to elaborate. This was of course his way of protecting her from the things he had seen and done. From the true horrors of war. While at the same time being honest and true to the memories of those who died.
Ultimately, the subject would be switched when Bruno refused to budge on his position, and the two of them would instead talk about a far more pleasant subject while enjoying the rest of their date together.
