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‘It’s quite an honour to be seated next to the Reichsminister,’ said Minki, pouring them both a glass of wine from the crystal decanter on the table. ‘Have you met him before?’
‘Yes…once or twice.’ Lída blushed slightly, and lit a cigarette, her hand shaking slightly.
‘I suspect he asked to sit next to you…he’s always had an eye for a pretty girl.’
Lída sat down at the table, and inhaled deeply on her cigarette. Minki got the impression she was not happy to have been singled out.
‘I went out with him myself years ago – when we were both in our twenties,’ Minki went on. ‘Even then he could be very charming – even witty.’
‘Oh, I’m not going out with him,’ replied Lída hurriedly. ‘I already have a boyfriend – Gustav Fröhlich, the actor. Do you know him?’
‘No, but I’ve seen him in films – he’s very handsome. What does Gustav make of these rumours about you and Joseph?’
‘What rumours?’
‘Oh come on…everyone’s talking about it. That you and Goebbels are having an affair.’
Lída’s eyes filled with tears. ‘That’s absolutely not true! Obviously, Gustav is not at all happy about it.’
Minki was beginning to feel sorry for the girl, who had put out one cigarette and was nervously lighting another.
‘I think you should know,’ said Minki, leaning forward conspiratorially, ‘that Joseph’s wife is rather upset about your “relationship”. Apparently she’s mentioned it to Hitler, who is angry with Goebbels on her behalf. He adores Magda like a daughter…so take care.’
‘It’s not fair,’ said Lída indignantly. ‘Joseph and I are not having a relationship. We’re certainly not lovers. The problem is he won’t leave me alone. He finds any excuse to be with me, so I’m not surprised to find myself seated here. But the real problem comes at weekends. Gustav owns a house on the lake next to Goebbels’ villa. Now, whenever I’m there, Goebbels invites me over, and I don’t like to say no. We just chat, eat and drink a little, and sometimes he plays the piano – rather well, as is happens. If the weather is good, we go for moonlit walks by the lake. It’s quite romantic, I suppose, but it can also be embarrassing. These evenings always end the same way – I make my excuses, and go back to Gustav, but I can sense Joseph’s disappointment.’ She stubbed out a cigarette and took a gulp of her drink. ‘Oh, it’s so difficult – I just don’t know what to do about it.’
‘Perhaps Gustav should have a word with Joseph?’ suggested Minki.
‘Oh, he’d like to, I can assure you. But I’ve persuaded him not to. Goebbels is so powerful he could destroy both our careers. It’s a nightmare, really it is.’
Minki found herself rather liking Lída, and admired her for resisting Goebbels’ seduction. She knew from experience how persuasive he could be. But the girl was in a precarious situation – caught in the middle of the Goebbels–Magda–Hitler love triangle. If she continued to refuse Joseph, he might turn against her; but if she accepted his advances, Hitler could have her removed from Germany in an instant. Either way, it would mean the end of her career.
Gradually, the room began to fill up with guests. Magda took her place next to Max, but she scowled furiously when she saw that Lída had been placed in the centre of the main table. Finally, Goebbels arrived, all smiles and easy charm, shaking hands and kissing cheeks. He pulled out his chair and sat down between Minki and Lída. ‘Well, how lucky am I to be between the two most beautiful women in the room.’
‘Oh really, Joseph,’ said Minki wearily, ‘surely you can do better than that…’
He smirked and kissed Minki’s cheek. ‘Still a little firebrand, I see. Have you met Lída?’
‘Yes,just now. We had a very interesting chat, didn’t we, Lída?’
The young actress inhaled on yet another cigarette and smiled anxiously.
‘Minki, you must be very proud of Max,’ said Goebbels, pouring them all a glass of wine from the decanter on the table. ‘I thought the film was stunning.’
‘Yes…it was a very elegant piece of propaganda.’ Minki took a cigarette from a silver case, and slipped it between her lips.
‘I don’t know what you mean by that,’ said Goebbels, lighting her cigarette.
‘Oh, come on Joe…it wasn’t exactly subtle, was it?’
‘It was a moving account of the sort of dilemma we all might face at some time or other. As a journalist, you of all people should think it important to air these issues, surely?’
‘There is some moral justification for discussing such dilemmas, I agree, but what worries me is that it’s not a huge step from “let’s forgive a man for taking pity on his terminally ill wife”, to “let’s end the lives of people the state thinks are worthy of termination”.’
Max, sitting on her other side, coughed discreetly, and pressed his leg firmly against his wife’s thigh, warning her to keep quiet. But she had drunk too many glasses of wine, and was ready for an argument. Taking another gulp from her glass, she was about to launch into another angry outburst when she was stopped in her tracks by Goebbels leaning over and whispering in her ear: ‘My advice is to keep your opinions to yourself, Minki. Your own family is not without its own “moral dilemmas”, I understand. I’d hate for that little girl of yours to come to any harm.’
With that, Goebbels turned away, and spent the rest of the evening flirting outrageously with Lída Baarová.
During the drive back home, Minki sat next to Max in silence, trying to work out how Goebbels could have found out about Clara. The answer was glaringly obvious.
