In the Presence of Mine Enemies by Harry Turtledove

in a while, he was tempted to find out anyhow. He’d never yielded to temptation. Too much rode on it.
    All she said was, “You played that well,” which hardly encouraged fantasies.
    Heinrich shrugged. “I thought it was the best chance I had to make. And the four of us have been playing bridge a long time. I know how Willi’s beady little mind works.” He grinned to make sure Erika didn’t take him seriously.
    She smiled, too, but only for a moment. “You think about things,” she said in musing tones. “And you think other people—even women—can think about things, too.” She paused, then added, “I wonder if Lise has any idea how lucky she is.” She eyed him speculatively.
    Not knowing what to say to that, he didn’t say anything. And does Willi have reason to worry about me? he wondered. The mere idea made him nervous for all sorts of reasons, of which temptation was among the least important. When he was tempted by a woman like Erika Dorsch, that showed how urgent the other reasons were.
    Not saying anything proved a good idea on general principles, for Lise and Willi both came back into the dining room at the same time. Willi carried a tray with four glasses of Kirsch on it. He couldn’t resist doing a little routine with the tray, as if he were one of the English butlers in such demand among wealthy German families. Lise laughed. Erika rolled her eyes up to the ceiling. Plainly, she found her husband less than amusing tonight.
    Willi handed everyone a glass of cherry brandy, then raised his own in salute. “Sieg heil!” he said.
    â€œSieg heil!” The others echoed the words. Erika sounded subdued. Heinrich made sure he seemed enthusiastic. So did Lise. If they were the good National Socialists and Aryans they pretended to be, they had to sound that way when they hailed victory…didn’t they? All at once, Heinrich wondered. Erika really was an Aryan and, he presumed, a good Nazi. Shedidn’t worry about sounding indifferent. But, being who and what she was, she could afford to slack off on small things. The Gimpels couldn’t afford to slack off at all. Like Caesar’s wife, they had to be above suspicion, for suspicion meant disaster.
    â€œThat’s quite a nightcap,” Heinrich said, and mimed being hit over the head with a club.
    â€œYou can sleep late tomorrow,” Willi Dorsch said, knocking back his own Kirsch.
    Lise snorted. “You know our children too well to say anything silly like that. Francesca likes to sleep in, but Alicia and Roxane will be up at the crack of dawn.”
    â€œGhastly habit,” Willi said. “Our two like to lie in bed, the lazy good-for-nothings.” He stuck out a finger in Heinrich’s direction. “Meant to ask you: are the Americans going to make their assessment this fiscal year?”
    â€œI’m…not sure,” Heinrich answered cautiously. He knew the Americans were unlikely to, but didn’t want to say so in front of Lise and Erika, neither of whom had the security clearance to hear such things.
    Willi’s wave said he understood why his friend was being so cagey. It also said he thought Heinrich was being a wet blanket. He asked, “Are we gearing up to wallop the Americans if they don’t meet the assessment?”
    â€œNot that I’ve heard,” Heinrich said, which combined caution and truth.
    â€œI haven’t, either,” Willi said. “You know how I was complaining a while ago about not living in glorious times?” He waited for Heinrich to nod, then went on, “I didn’t think we were getting this soft when I grumbled, I’ll tell you that.”
    â€œI don’t think we’re soft,” Heinrich said. “Germany rules the biggest empire the world has ever seen. Ruling and conquering are different businesses. A ruler can forgive things a conqueror would have to step