We Shall Not Sleep_ A Novel - Anne Perry [141]
Lloyd George read it. The blood drained from his face, leaving it as white as his hair. “God Almighty!” he said in a shaking voice. He swallowed and looked up at Joseph, still standing in front of him. “You had this throughout the war?”
“Yes, sir. We had no idea who was behind it, only that he had great power and was willing to murder to put this plan into effect. He tried all through the war to bring about an Allied surrender so that this empire of his could still come about. We code-named him ‘the Peacemaker’ because we believed that the avoidance of war was his purpose, even if it meant robbing us of both freedom and honor to do so. We now know that he wishes to influence the terms of the armistice so that Germany can rise again quickly and rebuild its armies, and the plan still be carried through.”
“Never!” Lloyd George said instantly. “We must find out who he is and hang him as a traitor.”
Matthew resumed the story. “We have tried all through the war to do that, sir. Only now have we succeeded, and only because some of the men who believed in peace and were unaware of the true extent of the price he was prepared to pay for it have finally seen what he is, and are willing to come forward to unmask him, regardless of the cost to themselves.”
Lloyd George turned instantly to Schenckendorff, the one man in the room about whom he knew nothing. He wore a British volunteer uniform, but the command in his bearing, and the obviously painful injury to his foot, which was still heavily bandaged, marked him as other than he seemed.
Schenckendorff stood up, without the slightest wince even as he put his weight on his foot, and bowed. His face was tight and pale. “Manfred von Schenckendorff, sir. It was I who obtained the kaiser’s signature to the treaty. At the time I believed it was for the peace of Europe and so that we might rule without war for all the years to come. Now I know that that dream was never possible. I have seen both your country and my own lose the best men of a generation, and wash the earth in blood. I have come through the lines to where Chaplain Reavley fought in Ypres, in order to expose my cousin, my former British ally, so this never happens again. Because if he is not stopped, he will engineer a peace that is only a hiatus between this war and the next.”
“Your cousin?” Lloyd George asked tensely.
“Dermot Sandwell. His mother and mine were sisters,” Schenckendorff replied. Then, seeing the disbelief in Lloyd George’s face, he added, “Beautiful women, Irish, not English or German.”
“For God’s sake!” Lloyd George exploded. “Sandwell’s one of the best, most loyal men we have! That’s preposterous.” He looked at Shearing with increasing anger. “What possessed you to believe this poppycock, man? Have you no more sense—”
Mason stepped forward, freeing himself from Judith’s arm. He stood to the right of Schenckendorff, facing the prime minister. His voice shook as he began to speak, then gathered emotion and strength.
“My name is Richard Mason, sir, war correspondent. As a young man I reported on the Boer War and was horrified beyond my power or ability ever to forget by the brutality and waste of life I saw there. So was Dermot Sandwell. I met him shortly afterward, and we both swore that such slaughter should never happen again. I believed that there must be a better way, even if it had to be brought about by deceit and a conspiracy of men who had more power than our soldiers or politicians. I was prepared to give my life to that cause. All through the war I reported to Sandwell to help at least part of his activities, in an attempt to bring the carnage to an end, and create a peace that would last.”
Lloyd George stared at him in incredulity and something close to dismay.
“What Colonel Schenckendorff says is true, sir,” Mason continued. “I could give you chapter and verse of it, were there time, but there isn’t. Colonel Schenckendorff and I are willing to give our lives to pay the price of our delusion. Matthew, Joseph, and Judith Reavley have followed in the steps of their