“ Etratat.” He studied her a moment and then said,“ Etratat.”
They touched glasses in a toast and drank. As Noelle set her glass down, she surreptitiously glanced at her wristwatch. General Scheider was talking to her, but Noelle only half-heard the words. Her mind was visualizing what was happening downstairs. She must be very careful. If she moved too quickly or too slowly it would be fatal. For everyone.
“ What are you thinking about?” General Scheider asked. Noelle turned quickly.“ Nothing.”“ You were not listening.”
“ I’ m sorry. I suppose I was thinking about us.” She turned to him and gave him a quick smile.
“ You puzzle me,” he said.“ Aren’ t all women a puzzle?”
“ Not like you. I would never believe that you are capricious and yet”— he made a gesture—“ first you will not see me at all and now we are suddenly spending a weekend in the country.”
“ Are you sorry, Hans?”“ Of course not. But still I ask myself— why the country?”“ I told you.”
“ Ah yes,” General Scheider said.“ It is romantic. That is something else that puzzles me. I believe you are a realist, not a romanticist.”
“ What are you trying to say?” Noelle asked.
“ Nothing,” the General replied easily.“ I am just thinking aloud. I enjoy solving problems, Noelle. In time I will solve you.”
She shrugged.“ Once you have the solution, the problem might not be interesting.”“ We shall see.” He set his glass down.“ Shall we go?” Noelle picked up the empty champagne glasses.“ I’ ll just put these in the sink,” she said.
General Scheider watched as she walked into the kitchen. Noelle was one of the most beautiful and desirable women he had ever seen, and he meant to possess her. That did not mean, however, that he was either stupid or blind. She wanted something from him. He intended to find out what it was. Colonel Mueller had alerted him that she was in all probability giving aid to a dangerous enemy of the Reich, and Colonel Mueller made very few mistakes. If he was correct, Noelle Page was probably counting on General Scheider to protect her in some way. If so she knew nothing at all about the German military mind