“My lips are sealed,” she said, letting loose of Cronley’s hand so that she could cover her mouth with it.
“Is Colonel Schumann here?” Mattingly asked. “And what’s going on here?”
“He arranged to be in Vienna so he wouldn’t have to be here,” she said, and then pointed toward the entrance to the main dining room.
Cronley followed her gesture. He saw a brigadier general walking toward them. And then read a sign mounted on a tripod:
CIC/ASA WELCOME TO EUCOM LUNCHEON
MAIN DINING ROOM
1200 30 OCTOBER 1945
—
“Shit,” Colonel Mattingly said under his breath, and then he said, “Good afternoon, General.”
“Rachel,” the general said, “may I say how lovely you look?”
And how very sad, Cronley thought. I wonder what that’s about?
And who’s the general?
“Colonel,” the general said, “I’m more than a little surprised to see you here.”
“Truth to tell, sir, I forgot about the luncheon. I’m here on other business.”
“Really?”
The general put out his hand to Cronley.
“I don’t believe we’ve met. I’m General Greene.”
“General, this is Captain Cronley,” Mattingly said.
“I thought it might be. I’ve heard a good deal about you, Captain.”
“How do you do, sir?”
A captain wearing the aiguillette and lapel insignia of an aide-de-camp walked up to them.
“I think, Jack,” General Greene said, “that you know everybody but Captain Cronley.”
“Yes, sir,” the captain said. “Ma’am, Colonel.” He put out his hand to Cronley and said “Captain” as he examined him very carefully.
“Colonel Mattingly has brought Captain Cronley as his newly arrived,” General Greene said. “So, what you’re going to have to do, Jack, is rearrange the head table so there’s a place for them.”
“General,” Mattingly said, “as I said, Captain Cronley and I are here on business—”
“So you said,” Greene interrupted. “But you have to eat, and if you eat with us, all the newly arrived will get to see the deputy commander of EUCOM CIC sitting right up there beside the president of the CIC Officers’ Ladies Club at the head table, won’t they?”
“Yes, sir,” Mattingly said.
This general is sticking it to Mattingly.
Ordinarily, I’d be delighted, but Mattingly is already pissed at me, and this is likely to make that worse.
“And we wouldn’t want to deny the newly arrived that, would we?” Greene went on. “So, Jack, you rearrange the head table while Mrs. Schumann, Colonel Mattingly, Captain Cronley, and I slip into the bar for a little liquid courage. When everything’s set up, you come fetch us, and we’ll make our triumphant entry.”