Heydrich nodded warily.
'Goring?'
'Surely you don't suspect the Reichsmarschall!'
Hitler dismissed his shock with a wave of the hand. 'Who knows?
The air war over the Channel came close to breaking him. Goring hasn't
the stamina for wars of attrition. He was trained for aerial
dog-fighting-nothing else. But what of my question? How do you rate the
chances of gaining peace by clandestine means?'
Heydrich licked his thin lips. 'As long as Churchill rules in London,
my Fuhrer, England will fight us.'
Hitler nodded. 'And the result?'
'England will be crushed.'
'No,' Hitler said softly. 'There will be no war with England.'
Heydrich waited for some evidence to back up this mistic assertion.
'There will be no war with England, because soon Winston Churchill will
no longer sit at the head of the British government.'
Heydrich's pulse quickened.
'Does that statement surprise you, Heydrich? t shouldn't.
Because you are the man who is going to ensure that my prediction
becomes fact.'
it took all of Heydrich's self-control to hold his facial muscles in
check. Renwve Churchillfrom the government? It was too fantastic ...
'Let me ask you another question, Herr Obergruppenftihrer. You consider
yourself a good judge of men. What do you think of the Duke of
Windsor?' Heydrich chose his words carefully. 'As you know, my Fuhrer,
I handled security on the occasion when the duke secretly met with
Reichminister Hess in Lisbon. During my limited time with the duke, I
developed an impression of a weak, self-centered man.
He-behaved like a spoiled child.
Having voluntarily relinquished the throne of England, he would like
nothing better than to sit upon it again, if only so that his American
wife can be called 'Her Royal Highness.' Windsor imagines that he would
do anything to anain this end, when in fact he would probably do
everything short of what is required.'
Hitler smiled. 'You are indeed a good judge of men. But none of that
matters in the slightest. It is the royal blood that matters, Heydrich-
The blood. The English pretend to abhor my racial policies, they revile
me at every turn. Yet in the final analysis they revere the blood just
as we do!' Hitler tugged anxiously at his forelock.
'How would you rate Windsor as a friend to Germany?'
'There can be no doubt of his sympathies, my Fuhrer.
From an intdllectual standpoint, he s the @ost right-thinking Englishman
in the Empire. His actions in France proved that.
Knowingly or not, he accelerated our invasion timetable by at least a
week. But may I ask, my Fuhrer, why this is relevant? The English
constitution forbids an abdicated king from ever resuming the throne,
even should he wish
to. 'Don't worry about the English constitution!' Hitler
snapped contemptuously. 'If the English people recalled Windsor, would
he accept?'
'Undoubtedly. He said as much to Hess in Lisbon.'
'Well, the people are going to recall him, Heydrich. And soon.'
Heydrich blinked.
'If King George were to die suddenly,' Hitler postulated, 'what would
happen? There are two possibilities. Either his eldest daughter,
Elizabeth, would assume the throne-a highly dubious prospect,
considering that England is engaged in a life-and-death struggle@r the
English people would remember the Duke of Windsor, their once-adored
Prince of Wales and uncrowned king, who now wastes his
not-inconsiderable gifts as crown governor of the Bahamas.
Which alternative do you think they would choose, Heydrich? Which would
you choose? An empty-headed child, or the strong hand of a man trained
to rule? How important will Windsor's romantic follies seem in the face
of England's greatest peril?'
Heydrich shifted uncomfortably. 'I ... I'm not sure the English view
these things as we do, my Fuhrer.'
'Rubbish! And what does it matter? Windsor would only be the window
dressing! The real power of England is in Downing Street! That is
where the change must be made!'
Heydrich sensed that Hitler had finally come to the point of this
meeting. 'But how is this change to be made, my FuhrerT' he asked
softly.
Hitler's eyes flickered. 'Ruthlessly, Heydrich' ' as all acts of war
must be. On the tenth of May, Winston Churchill is going to die.
And with him King George the Sixth. When that happens, Britain will
hold its breath, headless for a few moments of history. And through
that brief window, we shall snatch the prize we want-peace in the west.
Then Russia will be ours for the taking, and Guderian's panzers will
roll!'
Heydrich cracked his boot heels together and stood rigid before his
master.
'Have you been struck dumbt' Hitler asked, his very posture a challenge.
'No, my Fuhrer. It's simply that ... the scope and genius of your
concept have shocked me.'
Hitler nodded. 'I understand. Few men think as I do, with a mind
unfettered by the restraints of so-called 'civilized'
SPANDAU PHDENIX
war. Such a concept is ludicrous, a blatant contradictior terms.
But I'm sure you're wondering exactly how deaths of these two men will
gain us peace from the English.'
Heydrich nodded, though he was actually wondering how the deaths of
those men could be accomplished.
. 'It's quite simple,' Hitler explained. 'When the new prime minister
takes Churchill's place, his government will be mine. Or at least
sympathetic to my ideas. Don't look so surprised. Like Haushofer and
others, I too know of certain Englishmen who want peace.
However, the men I speak of are Then of deeds, not words. They
understand my true aims, that my primary goal is to expand eastward-not
into Britain. They know that Adolf Hitler is the hammer that will crush
