Chapter 109 Parting Words and Parting Thoughts
Earlier that evening, Daniel Kauffmann had walked Erika back to her room
after a pleasant dinner in the banquet hall of the embassy. "May I come in for
a moment?" he had asked, as he turned the key to the door of her room. "I have
something important to tell you."
Erika had looked at him in surprise; the day had been much like any other.
But Daniel Kauffmann was clearly uneasy about something. He had dressed
elegantly for dinner, in a dark suit that belied his usually somewhat rumpled
bohemian appearance, but he had been uncharacteristically reserved all evening.
"Yes, Doctor, of course. What is it?" They were inside her room now, the
door safely closed behind them. Ju had placed a vase of fresh-cut flowers on
one of the night-tables, and the bedroom was redolent with its sweet fragrance.
Kauffman took Erika's hand and held it in both of his own. "Secretary
Schumacher and I must leave for Peking tonight, in order to prepare for a
conference next week."
"I am sorry to hear it, Doctor. But surely you will be back in a few days,
won't you?"
"Yes. Yes, I will. But you will not be here when I return."
Startled, Erika pulled her hand away and gave him an anxious look. "Where,
then, shall I be?"
Daniel Kauffman looked away from her rather guiltily, but then forced
himself to meet her questioning gaze. "Erika, please forgive me for keeping
this from you until now. I had hoped to surprise you, but .... You see,
although I have done my best, unfortunately I have made no real progress toward
restoring your memory in recent days. Furthermore, the vice-consul has informed
me that my work-load will be very heavy for the next few weeks, leaving me
little time to treat you."
"I ... I still don't understand, Doctor."
Kauffmann expelled a long breath slowly, his earnest face a picture of
chagrin. "Lorelei, it is no longer fair for me to pretend that I can cure your
condition. You need treatment more expert than any I can provide. Do you
remember my friend in Vienna, of whom I have spoken often?"
Erika nodded her head, suppressing a smile; hardly a day went by when
Daniel Kauffman did not make mention of his learned friend who seemed to have a
theory for everything.
"Well, I cabled him some days ago and told him of your case. As it
happens, if you were to sail immediately you could reach Vienna during a break
in his duties, and he could devote himself full time to your care. He is a
genius, Lorelei; if he can not help you, I fear that no one can. But ... it
means that you must sail tomorrow for Europe."
"For Europe? Tomorrow?" Erika wrung her hands in agitation. But where
shall I stay? How shall I live?"
"Please, Erika," the doctor implored as he took her hands in his own once
again. "Do not worry yourself about such matters; they are the least of our
problems. I have already taken care of your living arrangements; my friend has
secured a pleasant flat, not far from the Prater, and only a short distance from
his own home."
"But the expense? The cost of my passage?"
Daniel Kauffman squeezed her hand and smiled. "I have taken care of
everything. He reached into his jacket and removed a printed ticked and some
official-looking papers. "With Schumacher's help, I have even arranged the
necessary travel documents." He smiled at her. "Until you are safely in
Vienna, you are Lorelei Schoenfeld," he added as he slipped her papers back into
his coat. "I will leave these with the vice-consul for safe-keeping overnight.
"I can not let you do this, Doctor!"
"Lorelei, I have booked the passage already; if you do not go, then, truly,
I will have wasted the money. And Ju will have wasted her time." Daniel
Kauffman glanced meaningfully at the closet on the far wall.
Lorelei spun around and threw open the closet and found only a single white
dress hanging from a hanger above a pair of elegant shoes. Then she opened the
four drawers of her dresser in rapid succession but found only a single set of
undergarments and a silken nightgown. Only then did she see the shiny new
steamer trunk tucked against the wall behind the door. She opened it only to
find that while they had been at dinner, Ju had come to her room and packed all
of her garments and belongings into the trunk.
Daniel Kauffmann smiled benevolently at her. "I trust that my little
co-conspirator has done a good job?"
Erika, speechless, nodded, and wiped away a tear.
"Go, Lorelei. Go, with my prayers for your full recovery."
"But will I never see you again?" Erika asked as she threw her arms around
Daniel Kauffman.
Daniel felt the warmth of her cheek against his, and the melting softness
of her body pressed against his own. He took her in his arms and held her
tightly. Over her shoulder, he saw the bed in which she had lain while he
nursed her back to health. Would it be such a sin, he asked himself, to lead
this beautiful creature to that welcoming bed, and spend an hour in paradise,
before leaving on his journey?
"Oh, Daniel!" Suddenly Erika's lips were on his, warm and moist and
inviting beyond measure. He returned her passionate kiss briefly, feeling the
delicious electricity of love and lust course through his veins. He pulled her
closer, feeling, just for an instant, the insistent pressure of her firm breasts
against his chest. The tantalizing tautness of Erika's nipples was evident,
even through several layers of thin clothing. He felt his own excitement mount
and was sure that she could feel the swelling of his erection against her supple
thighs.
But, rebelling against his every manly instinct, he gently but firmly
pushed her away and held her at arm's length. "No, my dear Lorelei, not like
this. Tonight I am still your doctor. One day, or perhaps one night, I hope
that you will come to me out of love, not out of gratitude. My tour of duty
here ends next spring. When it is done, I will return to Vienna, and if you are
fully recovered, and if you have not yet found another young man, then ... we
shall see. But for all either of us know, you may have a lover, a fiance,
perhaps even a husband. My friend will leave no stone unturned as far as
locating whatever family you may have in Germany and Austria, just as I will
continue to look for them here. Surely one of us will succeed."
Daniel Kauffman took his pocket watch from his vest, and Erika's brimming
eyes followed it as they had done so often before. He glanced at it quickly.
"I must leave in an hour, Lorelei. But do not worry about anything. The
vice-consul himself will see to your luggage and he has graciously offered to
escort you personally to your vessel tomorrow. We are giving you a royal
send-off, are we not?" He chucked her under the chin gently and dabbed at her
tears with a handkerchief.
Erika Weiss took Daniel's hand and held it against her chest. "Thank you,
Doctor," she whispered, her voice trailing away into a gentle sob. "Thank you
for everything."
Daniel leaned forward and kissed her gently on the cheek he had just
touched. "Please, write to me when you arrive, and let me know how you are
getting along."
"Have no fear of that, Doctor."
"Auf Wiedersehen, Lorelei," Daniel whispered, as he retreated toward the
door. When he reached it, he turned and took in her ravishing beauty one last
time. He smiled, murmured "Go with God," and then he opened the door and
stepped out into the dark hallway.
Erika moved to the doorway and stood there for many seconds, listening to
Daniel Kauffmann's receding footsteps as they echoed on the hardwood floor of
the dark corridor. When she could hear them no more, she closed the door,
kicked off her shoes, undressed, and donned the nightgown Ju had left folded
neatly on a corner of the bed. Then she fell back onto the bed, only to feel
something under her pillow. Startled, she slipped a hand under the pillow and
removed a small, dog-eared copy of a volume entitled, "The Wonders of Vienna".
She opened the cover and read the handwritten inscription:
Next year in Vienna
With fondest regards,
Daniel Kauffmann
As Erika leafed through the book quickly, pausing now and then to enjoy the
lovingly detailed descriptions of the Schoenbrunn, the Prater, the Belvedere
Palace and other features of the great capital, her heart began to fill with
emotion and she began to hum the sweet, nostalgic theme of the "Blue Danube".
She clutched the book tightly to her chest as the first of what were to be many
bittersweet sobs swept over her.
