He toyed with the box for several seconds, wondering if he asked her to marry him there and then what her answer would be. Would he spoil the perfect day if he offered it to her? Or would it lead to many more perfect days just like this? There was only one way Johann could know, and his courage did not fail him this time. He let his crutch fall aside as he dropped to one knee, fighting the pain in his leg as he bent it, and in his chest, which was throbbing with nervous joy. At first, Ava looked alarmed, as though she thought Johann had overdone things and had fallen down with fatigue, but then Johann reached towards her and took her hand in his, reassuring her.
He looked up into her eyes as the wheel turned behind him. He was oblivious to the attention he was getting from the passers by, and he ignored his pain as he pulled out the ring box and opened it with one hand, all the while holding Ava with the other. Then he held the ring up for her to see, and the stones sparkled in the sunlight and reflected in her eyes as she gazed upon them.
‘Ava . . .’ He paused to suppress a cough, his nerves having parched his throat. ‘Ava, would you do me the great honour of being my wife?’
Chapter Fifteen
Present day.
At Langner’s art gallery and auction house, Tayte and Jean had moved to the back of the gallery with Rudi Langner, and were now in a room full of Old Masters. Having just been told that Johann had proposed to Ava Bauer in 1941, Tayte was keen to know whether she had accepted.
‘So Johann got the girl?’
‘Yes, they married the same year,’ Rudi said. ‘As I mentioned earlier, it was quite a silver lining after my father was wounded. He could have been killed, of course, but had he not been evacuated from the Eastern Front, who knows whether he would have had the chance to propose?’
‘That’s very interesting,’ Tayte said. ‘Your father led us to believe that he and Volker fell out over Ava Bauer. Yet we now know that any contest between them over the girl had been won by the end of 1941, and in your father’s favour.’
‘There has to be more to it,’ Jean offered.
‘I suspect there is,’ Tayte said, thoughtfully, wondering whether Strobel had been able to let the matter go once Ava had married his best friend. He also began to wonder whether a child might have come from Johann’s and Ava’s marriage, but without access to the vital records he needed to see, he didn’t yet know how he was going to find that out. He hoped the Kaufmanns would soon be able to help out there. ‘Do you know what became of Ava?’ he asked Rudi. ‘You must have been curious when you found out about her.’
‘I was very curious,’ Rudi said. ‘But my father would never tell me how or why they separated, or whether she had died during the war or lived on. You’d have to ask him about that yourselves, I’m afraid.’
‘I hope we get the opportunity.’
‘Yes, so do I,’ Rudi said with a slight smile to hide the emotion that had crept into his voice at the idea that his father was unlikely to live much longer.
‘You’re very close to your father, aren’t you?’ Jean said.
‘Yes, very much so. He’s a selfless, hard-working man, and please don’t suppose that his wealth is driven by vanity or greed. He donates a great deal to many charities, especially those connected with the holocaust. He’s always been someone to look up to. I’m very proud of him.’
Jean offered Rudi a kindly smile. ‘And I’m sure he’s very proud of you, too.’
‘Did your father marry again after the war?’ Tayte asked. He’d been wondering why Johann Langner had chosen to adopt rather than father a child of his own.
‘No,’ Rudi said. ‘Perhaps once was enough for him. Or maybe he never got over Ava Bauer. But as I said, he didn’t like to talk about it and I didn’t like to push him. I could see how upset it made him.’
Tayte wondered then whether the reason Johann Langner didn’t like to talk about Ava was related to the terrible thing he’d said Strobel had done. ‘Did your father ever talk about Volker Strobel?’
‘He mentioned him a few times, mostly from the years when they were growing up as friends before the war. He has many stories to tell about his time in the Hitler Youth, but not so many from the years during the war—at least, not many that he’s told me. While we were talking about Ava and how he came to ask her to marry him, he did tell me that Volker Strobel invited him to the concentration camp at Dachau soon after the wedding. Apparently, he had a special wedding gift for my father. When I heard what it was, I was as shocked as my father, I can tell you.’
Chapter Sixteen
Dachau, Germany. December 1941.