Dearest Irene,
I’m so looking forward to seeing you both. Life in Copenhagen is pleasant, but one does see the same people over and over again. The work can be repetitive, but Denmark is interesting, a political crossroads. We have to remember all the time not to say anything nice to the Danes about Germany and certainly not about Prussia, they hate each other. My landlady is a fine patriotic Dane, and I don’t dare tell her I have a sister in Berlin. Once when I did mention Berlin, she said she hoped I was not going there, the people were vile. Simple people are so easily influenced by common prejudices, so much irrational hatred festers in people’s hearts. And not just simple people’s.
I was in London recently. Mamma was in good form, busily making plans for my marriage even though the bride has not yet been identified. She introduced me to some nice girls, but her idea of a nice girl isn’t mine. Edward and Victoria asked me to dine in their new flat – it’s very pretty but I think they find living in a flat a bit infra dig. When Edward makes all that money he’s always talking about, they can move. He launched into the German shipping industry and the Kaiser’s schemes to rule the waves. He’s convinced there’ll be war within two years.
What is quite comic is the way Edward talks about his family. We all know that Aunt Catherine’s husband turned out to be a cad who went off with other women. But in Edward’s version his father was a major businessman with political influence and landed property, who married into a famous Suffolk family. And from what he says you’d think Victoria was descended from the kings of Scotland (actually, I think she is).
Following your advice, though, I’ve decided I like Edward, at least in moderation. V. has made him less bombastic. She’s become rather commanding, in America they’d say ‘bossy’, but she’s a good sort, and kind. They found a dinner partner for me, a vacuous young woman, but I chatted about the long summer evenings in Copenhagen and let her dwell on the charms of embassy life.
I’ve booked into the Pension you recommended – I’d like a little freedom. But I’m looking forward to visiting Thomas’s aunt and uncle at Salitz.
Yours affectionately,
Mark