Chapter 14: Wall Street Swastika: Hitler at the Savoy:
Winston Churchill instantly scribbled a response and told the trusted messenger to take it back to zu Putlitz at once. They all waited nervously for a reply. This could be a scandal of major proportions. The wayward Prince of Wales was known to get himself into all sorts of trouble despite the warnings of his father the King and his more cautious mother. He needed supervising to say the very least. And no doubt Hitler was just the sort of savvy politician to take full advantage of such naiveté.
Putlitz himself appeared as Winston had requested. He was in a hurry to rush up the stairs to Winston’s suite of room at Morpeth Mansions. Winston’s wife had the hot soup ready to serve along with tea sandwiches. She brought out her silver tea service and got very serious pouring the boiling hot water into the teacups.
Putlitz handed Winston a photo he had taken of Herr von Wessel and his wife meeting with officials at the German Embassy to arrange the meeting with the Prince as soon as possible. He had a photo of Herr von Wessel signing a letter which his wife slipped into a fancy envelope. Then she hand addressed it with a very ornate style handwriting which she must have been practicing or even learning just for this special occasion. They sealed the envelope and handed it back to their messenger with a smile.
Winston handed the photos to Edward and Dora to examine. Dora could appreciate the wily ways of the von Wessels, having experienced them herself on many previous occasions. They seemed to be planning something particularly wicked to judge by their smiling, cagey face expressions and the way the husband and wife were casting each other pregnant looks.
“When is the appointed time?” Winston questioned Putlitz in his flowery language.
“I overheard that it was to be tomorrow at five in the main ballroom at the Embassy,” he revealed.
“We don’t have much time,” Edward observed. “We’ve got to stop them right away or it will be too late.”
“I don’t want to alarm their Majesties. I shall have to take care of this myself,” Winston asserted. He headed to his offices at Parliament accompanied by Dora and Edward. He started to search through filing cabinet after dusty filing cabinet for a copy of the original lease. The German government was after all leasing Prussia House from Parliament. He wanted to acquaint himself with the terms. He called file clerk after file clerk. Finally he found what he was looking for. The lease was expired and never renewed!
“So they are there illegally!” Edward exclaimed.
Churchill had a secretary type up a lease with very disadvantageous terms. He picked a functionary and carefully instructed him not to answer any questions about who sent him. He was just to say “a committee of Parliament”. That ought to put the kinks in their sails!
Mrs. Churchill, Churchill, Dora, and Edward were enjoying a hot cup of tea at Morpeth Mansions waiting for the boy’s return smiling to themselves when he came back with a blank look. “I could not find a soul. The Embassy was deserted.”
“What!” exclaimed Churchill. “But this is the very hour of infamy when they are supposed to be corrupting the Prince of Wales under the very noses of the British people.” He had instructed the boy to head to the very chamber and wing of the building.
The messenger shrugged.
Churchill got on the phone. He called around London to his confederates and associates. Had anybody seen the bastards?
Br-r-r-r-ring!
“Hello!” Winston answered the phone. It was a favorite waiter from the Savoy Hotel which he liked to frequent, not somebody he had contacted by somebody who was calling spontaneously because he had observed what he thought Churchill might be interested in.
“What! The von Wessels are in the main dining room of the Savoy Hotel!” he exclaimed. “They have rented a room. The Prince has just appeared! This is infamy!”
When he hung up Edward guessed, “Maybe they caught on that you were up to something.”
“We will figure that out later,” Churchill chose his favorite bowler hat and they were out the door in a rush. Edward drove Churchill and Dora to the Savoy and ditched the car on the sidewalk for the flunkies to park.
They rushed into the lobby. They headed for the main dining room where all eyes among the guests were agog. There sat His Majesty at tea with not only the von Wessels but Adolf Hitler himself!
