Heinrich returned to the Royal Phoenix hotel late that evening. The first thing that he noticed when he opened the door to his suite was the bouquet of red roses on a small table in the antechamber. It was tied with the same ribbon that he himself had helped James Dorr affix earlier. He heard his wife's voice call out from the bedroom suite. "Heinrich, bist du?"
He drew in a deep breath before entering. On the chaise-lounge in their room, James Dorr was sitting next to his own wife who had clearly been crying, her hair straggled from its braid. "Good evening, mein herr." James said. "I have spent this lovely afternoon becoming better acquainted with your wife."
Heinrich was dumbstruck; the bed clothes were turned down. James Dorr mock-fumbled around for a moment before pulling his sweater vest back over his shirt.
A few hours earlier.
James Dorr arrived at the Royal Phoenix hotel clutching a bouquet of roses. He asked for the Baronness von Rheingarten at the front desk, and had a seat in the lobby. He knew her without a doubt when a striking woman in a blue dress with red embroidered trim descended the staircase.
"Baronness von Rheingarten?" He asked, and her head turned, her long, dark braid trailing behind her. "Allow me to introduce myself. My name is James Dorr. I used to be a senator on the island of St. Gregory where your husband was commandant. He is detained by business and has asked if I might show you around London. This way, you needn't fear facing any anti-German sentiment exploring on your own." He handed her the bouquet of roses.
"That is very kind of you. You were a friend of Heinrich's during the war?"
"Not exactly, but war makes for strange alliances. He requisitioned my home, so we lived together for a time at Sous les Chênes. Perhaps he mentioned something about his time there?"
"No, Heinrich is not one to tell war stories, not even to his wife. He did his job, and I think he wants to leave it at that. I can only imagine the horrors he faced."
"Quite," James responded sardonically. "Shall we take a walk?" he asked to change the subject.
After strolling by Westminster and the iconic palaces, the two stopped in an extravagant tea room for afternoon tea.
The baroness was impressed. "Champagne?" Then she seemed sceptical. "Why are you being so kind to me? You and Heinrich were on opposite sides of the war."
James gave her a nervous smile before reaching out to take her hand. "Perhaps I'm trying to seduce you. Or I would be if I were a little younger."
The baroness laughed tentatively, unsure if James was joking. "Oh, why-ever would you want to seduce me?"
James wished that he could be a smooth lothario, but something compelled him to be honest. "I'm sorry, I don't mean to hurt you. I just wanted to have something that is important to him. Your husband- he invaded my island, my home, and even appropriated my wife."
"Was?" the Baroness asked in her native German.
"I'm sorry if you didn't know about their affair," James said
"No, I cannot believe this to be true. Heinrich is a faithful man."
"This is the girl I have raised as my daughter." James took a photo out of his wallet and shared it with frau von Rheingarten. "This trip, you see, your husband came to meet her." She gasped.
"Yes, I see now that it must be true. She bears a strong resemblance to my sons." She began to tear up, and James moved his chair closer to comfort her.
"Let's go; I can see that this has come as a shock to you. We can take a walk in the park. Clear the air."
"No, take me back to the hotel. Herr Dorr- James, you said?" He nodded. "Now that we share secrets I think you should call me Lorelei."
James Dorr escorted Lorelei von Rheingarten back to her hotel. "I should leave you here, Lorelei." He said in the lobby.
"Come up to the room, James. I don't want to be alone this afternoon."
Once back in the hotel room, she asked him, "Do you have something sharp?" James pulled out a pocket knife and offered it to her. She angrily attacked the seal on a box of wine bottles.
Victorious, she proclaimed, "Here, we drink this now. Heinrich will be furious that it's gone."
"I'll get some glasses," James said with a smirk.
Several glasses of Spätburgunder later, Lorelei asked, "where do we go from here, James?"
"I don't know, Lorelei." He rubbed her back to comfort her. "I'm sorry, but I love my wife. I don't think that I can follow through with our plan."
"Ja." She said. "But we can make them suspect." Lorelei turned down the bedclothes and reached for her perfume. She dabbed it on her wrists and brought them to James' neck.
He caressed her arms, and she began to undo his collar. He drew in a sharp breath. Lorelei looked up at him expectantly and asked, "can I change your mind?"
James genuinely hesitated, though not without a secret satisfaction that his plan was coming to fruition. "Perhaps."
"Do you have any scars from the war, James?"
"Yes." Time had all but healed the brutal beating he'd received many years ago. Crops of pink scar tissue were all that remained of the wounds.
"Show me," she commanded, and James began to remove his shirt to comply. As she surveyed the unnatural pinkness on his flesh, she asked, "did Heinrich do this?"
"Indirectly. I could have been killed for helping my son. The Baron had me sent to a prison camp instead. I suppose it was a kindness."
"Let me repay his 'kindness.'" Lorelei replied, fingering his scarred torso.
"You are not indebted to me, Lorelei." He shuddered; only Felicity had touched him there.
"Indebted, no. But I am angry. And you share my anger. It is a powerful emotion that connects us, ja?"
James nodded and they moved together towards the bed.
"Don't leave," Lorelei whispered as James was putting his clothes back on. "I cannot face Heinrich alone." Always one to do the honourable thing, even when committing adultery, James agreed to stay until Heinrich came back. Lorelei and James sat together on the chaise-lounge, awkwardly waiting.
At last Heinrich returned to the hotel and found his wife in the company of James Dorr. Lorelei began a tearful tirade to her husband in German; Heinrich stood immobile, absorbing her words and the hurt he'd caused.
James felt vindicated, though he was sad to cause any hurt to Felicity or Lorelei. At last he interrupted, "Ah Baron, I should be going. But before I do, you should know that there are consequences to your actions. You are not an invading army and I am not a doormat. If you seek to normalize relations with my daughter, you will do so with total transparency. You cannot have your cake and eat it too."
"I do not understand what you mean about cake. But I remember now that I underestimated you in the past and I have made the mistake of doing so again."
"Cheers, mate," he replied sarcastically. Raising the bottle of Spätburgunder, James continued. "Thanks for this. I think I'll have the front desk call me a cab; I do fear that I've had a bit too much to drink after all."
James was showing himself to the door when Lorelei called out, "wait, Herr Dorr." She ran over and kissed him passionately, in front of her husband.
James smiled. "Danke shön, Lorelei. Do take care."
Heinrich couldn't believe his eyes.
Once back at the flat above the flower shop, James peeked into the bedroom of his sleeping grandchildren. I'm a lucky man, he thought, though I will have to explain myself to Felicity.