To celebrate Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II's Platinum Jubilee Discovering Diamonds is hosting a series of excerpts or articles written by our wonderful review team. For our author reviewers: the theme is an excerpt from one of their novels portraying royalty - or an equivalent leader-type character. For our non-writer reviewers: a favourite monarch and/or novel about Royalty... In other words, an enjoyable mix of entertainment to acknowledge Queen Elizabeth II's longest reign in British history! 70 years!
God Bless you Ma'am.
(say ma'am to rhyme with 'jam' not 'farm')
Today, an excerpt from
The Gingerbread Spy
by J J Toner
(The Black Orchestra Book 4)
The London Association for Dutch people in exile, VNL, was located in a disused church in Stockwell. A Dutch tricolour adorned the entrance, and a framed picture of Queen Wilhelmina hung on the wall over the reception desk.
“Goede dag,” said the girl on reception.
“Good afternoon,” replied Carter. “We are trying to locate an old friend, and we’re hoping you can help us. He’s from Holland.”
“I’ll do what I can,” she replied, smiling at Kurt. “What is your friend’s name?”
“Henk Janssen,” said Kurt. “He arrived in London in August 1941.”
The receptionist laughed. “I hope you realise, that is the most common name in the Netherlands. It’s like John Smith in England, or Daffy Jones in Wales.” She pulled a large register from a cabinet, opened it, and ran a finger down a list of names. Her lips moved as she counted, turning page after page. “At least 50 of that name have registered with us in the past three years. Do you have an address?”
“22 Hobbes Walk, Putney,” said Carter.
She checked her register again. “I’m sorry, I don’t have anyone registered at that address.”
“Could we step inside and talk to some of your members?” said Kurt.
She fluttered her eyelashes at him. “You could, but not today, I’m afraid. The members are all at a rally in Trafalgar Square to protest at the recent attempted assassination of our beloved queen, Wilhelmina. On the night of February 20, the Luftwaffe dropped bombs on the queen’s residence in a targeted attack. Several of her staff were killed, and the queen herself had a miraculous escape. Our members were furious about it.”
“I heard about it on the news,” said Kurt. “Flares were fired from the ground to pinpoint the house for the bombers.”
“Who would do such a thing?” said Carter.
The receptionist answered, tight-lipped, “Obviously someone who hates the Dutch royal family. Perhaps a member of the Nazi Party of Holland, the NSB.”
“Where else could we look?” said Kurt.
The receptionist closed the register. “It is entirely possible that your friend hasn’t registered here. Not all Dutch people in exile join our association. You could contact someone from the Netherlands Executive Committee. They were in charge of processing the earliest arrivals.”
“Where are they based?” said Carter.
She shook her head. “The NEC was wound up in 1942, and its powers were transferred to the Red Cross. Freddie Knottenbelt was the original Executive Secretary.”
“Do you have his address?” said Kurt.
“He had rooms in the Bonnington Hotel in Southampton Row. You might find him there.”
They thanked the receptionist and left the association.
Carter waited until they were outside to ask his next question. “How could there be Dutch Nazi sympathisers now, after the death and destruction Hitler brought to the Dutch people and their cities in 1940?”
Kurt made no attempt to answer that question.
About the Author
JJ Toner writes in several different genres: Irish detective stories, Historical Fiction, and Sci Fi. He is best known for The Black Orchestra series of World War 2 spy thrillers.
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