Russian series 03 - The Eagle's Fate (8 page)

Nadya inspected her reflection in the long mirror by the door, thinking how pleasant it felt to wear silk again. The gown was a little loose, for she was slighter than Tatya, and the pale colour, which set off Tatya’s looks to perfection made her look rather dull and colourless. A richer shade would have suited her better, improving her pale eyes and nondescript hair, but Tatya always dressed in pale shades, and it was ungrateful to find fault with the clothes she had so generously provided. After all, this was a great improvement on the dowdy, serviceable clothes she had worn these past few years, and what did it matter how she looked when no one would see her but Tatya and Irina…and Andrei—Captain Valyev, she corrected herself. But her mind repeated ‘Andrei’ nevertheless.

She thanked Marfa, who had been gauging how much she should take in the seams of the other gowns, and went down to dinner. A wide corridor ran the whole width of the building on this floor, with bedrooms opening off on both sides. The floor was carpeted, with polished boards at the sides, and the walls covered with deep pink watered silk, with pictures hung between the white-painted doorcases. Figure of fine porcelain stood on little consoles here and there, and elegant gilded
torchieres
supported gold candelabras after dark. A wide staircase occupied the centre of the house, sweeping up to the floor above and down to the entrance-hall below, with marble treads and wrought-iron banisters.

The entrance-hall was paved with white marble and the walls were also white, with a moulded cornice. The consoles,
torchieres
and little chairs were estate-made, but well-designed and fashioned in a light-coloured wood, and bright with flowers in white vases and troughs. The salon and dining-room opened off on either side, and a corridor ran across the back, leading to other rooms on one side, and the domestic regions on the other.

The footman on duty opened the doors of the salon for her and she went in to find Tatya already there, a picture in elegant silver-grey silk, talking to Andrei, whose uniform had been brushed, cleaned and pressed, and was once more worth of St Petersburg. Only the tarnished silver of braid and some patchy fading of the dark-blue cloth showed it had been worn on campaign.

He was laughing at something Tatya had said, standing looking down at her as she sat on a small sofa, but the laughter faded as he turned and saw Nadya. After one brief glance, he turned away and moved slowly across to the window, where he stood looking out, leaving Tatya and Nadya to talk to each other for a few minutes until Irina came down, and then he gave Tatya his arm across to the dining-room, Irina and Nadya following together.

The dining-room had been redecorated since Nadya had last been here. The paneled walls were painted palest green with white plaster-work swags and garland of flowers appearing to hang from the cornice between gold-framed pictures, and the stove in the corner had been retiled in green and white. The chairs were white, with a little gilded ornament on the carved splats. Their seats were covered with same damask in two tones of gold as the curtains, and matched the carpet. The rectangular table had been reduced to its smallest size, and was a symphony of white linen, sparkling crystal, white, green-bordered porcelain, and gold flatware, with posies of autumn flowers and leaves in crystal bowls. Nadya thought it a great improvement on the previous dark oak and sombre dark green colouring.

Tatya took the head of the table, with Irina and Nadya on either side and Andrei opposite her, and said Grace, and then a quartet liveried footmen served such a meal as Nadya had only dreamed of for years. It was not particularly elaborate, being only
bortsch,
smoked trout, chicken cooked in a creamy sauce, and a compote of damsons with
smetana
, but it was daintily served and the vegetables were fresh and cooked to perfection. It was rounded off by a selection of luscious hothouse fruits and accompanied by fine wines.

Throughout the meal, Tatya kept up a flow of light, amusing conversation, in which she was ably supported by Andrei, and Nadya observed wistfully that a warm current of affection and understanding flowed between them, so that their talk had a lively sparkle. She had always admired Tatya’s wit and intelligence, as well as her beauty, and they were much in evidence now. She talked with an animation which also fired Andrei, so that he too glowed with life and amusement, every inch the handsome hussar, and the ideal partner for his lovely hostess.

Nadya and Irina were not neglected, of course. Tatya was skilled at drawing quieter, shyer people into a conversation, and Andrei was as courteous and attentive to Irina as to Tatya herself, but Nadya was very conscious that he addressed not a word beyond the necessary civilities to herself, and barely even glanced in her direction.

Coffee was served in the salon in delicate Sevres
oeil de perdrix
, and the conversation became more serious as, inevitably, the war became the major topic. Tatya gently led Andrei to give some account of the long withdrawal from Vilna, to which all three ladies listened with close attention, and there was some tentative exchange of new about friends and acquaintances, many of them known to Nadya in the old days. It was saddening to hear how many had been wounded or killed.

Eventually, Andrei rose to his feet and said regretfully, ‘I’m sorry, Tatya, but I beg you’ll excuse me. I must set out very early in the morning, so I think I should bid you goodnight and goodbye now.’

‘Of course, my dear man—although I shall see you in the morning,’ replied Tatya, who would have been up to speed a parting guest even if left in the middle of the night. She rose and gave him her hand.

‘I can’t tell you how much I’ve enjoyed this interlude of civilisation, and such very pleasant company,’ he told her as he held on to her hand after kissing it, smiling down at her.

Irina and Nadya had risen too, and Irina said shyly, ‘I’ve so much enjoyed meeting one of Lev’s friends. I wish you a safe journey.’

Andrei bowed over her hand and replied, ‘I’m sure he’ll soon be safely back with you, and we’ll all be dancing at your wedding. I’m delighted to have made your acquaintance.’

As he turned towards the door, Nadya realised that he was not going to say anything to her at all, so she blurted out an agitated, ‘I haven’t thanked you…’

He half-turned in her direction and replied coldly, ‘I should much prefer you did not.’

‘Andrei!’ Tatya protested. ‘You must accept Nadya’s thanks and mine too! Whatever would she had done without you! Indeed, this is carrying modesty too far!’

‘Modesty has nothing to do with it,’ he replied stiffly. ‘I should find your friend’s gratitude unacceptable, even if I deserved it. I brought her here against my own wishes, and no I desire only to have nothing more to do with her.’

‘Andrei!’ Tatya exclaimed again, shocked and indignant. ‘Whatever are you thinking of? Why, I’ve never know you to behave this way’

‘I’m sorry, Tatya. I have no wish to distress you, and if my behaviour offends you, I apologise. I have good reason for it, as Princess Serova very well knows!’

‘Indeed I don’t,’ Nadya protested. He stared her straight in the face for a moment, his expression clearly showing his disbelief, then turned away.

‘I’m sorry,’ he said again to Tatya, and then left the room.

There was a stunned silence for a moment, even Tatya’s serenity deserting her, but she was the first to recover, putting a comforting arm round Nadya, who was shaking.

‘My poor dear!’ she said soothingly. ‘I can’t imagine what got into him! He’s usually so courteous—well, you did say you thought Maxim might have upset him, I know, but I didn’t realise that he felt it so strongly, and after all this time! He must have been under a great strain all these weeks, and shaken by the battle, and very, very tired—I’m sure, when things are more normal, he’ll realise that whatever the trouble is, it’s not your fault!’

Nadya tried to make herself appear to be comforted and cheered, and maintained that appearance until she was in bed and safe from observation, and then cried herself to sleep.

It was early when she woke, with the sun not yet rise, although the redness of the eastern sky showed this was imminent. There were sounds of a horse moving about on the gravel below her open window, and , realising what this meant, she sprang out of her bed, hastily pulled a wrapper over her night-shift, thrust her feet into the first pair of slippers which came to hand, and sped along the landing to the stairs.

She slowed up considerably as she descended, nervousness overcoming her impulsiveness, and stopped at the foot of the stairs, peering through the open front doors on to the portico, where she could hear voices—Tatya’s and Andrei’s. Hesitantly, she crept forward until she could see them.

A groom was holding Andrei’s horse, ready-saddled, and Andrei himself was standing, kiver in hand, on the gravel at the foot of the three steps, while Tatya stood on the top one, so that her head was a little above his. He was smiling up at her, all his attention on what she was saying.

Nadya took a few more steps, almost to the door, and then became acutely aware of her appearance, huddled in a shapeless wrapper, bare ankle showing below it, uncombed hair hanging about her face. In any case, is she went out he would only look at her in that cold, hostile fashion and say something curt and probably unpleasant. Better to go back upstairs and watch him go from the window.

For another moment she hesitated, then, thinking she could at least give him her blessing, she raised her hand and made the sign of the Cross. The movement must have caught his eye, for he suddenly looked past Tatya and saw her.

They stared at one another, Nadya’s uplifted hand arrested in mid-movement, until Tatya realised that something was amiss and glanced round. That broke the spell, and Nadya’s hand completed its movement as Andrei, to her surprise, gave her a stiff little bow of acknowledgement, and then she turned and fled up the stairs, back to her room.

She stood leaning against the door, recovering, and then crossed to the window and watched from the concealment of a curtain as Andrei and Tatya came out on to the gravel. He kissed Tatya’s hand and then her cheek, clapped his kiver on at a jaunty angle and swung up into the saddle, passing a coin to the groom as he took the reins. Then he saluted Tatya, and set off down the drive, disappearing round an intervening group of trees at a brisk trot, just as the first rays of the sun sparkled on the dew-wet grass.

Chapter Four

Tatya made no mention of Andrei’s departure, or of Nadya’s appearance in the hall when they met at breakfast. After enquiring if her two guests had slept well, she told them that the servants had reported that the sky to the north-west had been lit up all night with the glow of a great fire, and she had herself seen, from the back of the house, a mass of black smoke rising from the same direction. She had sent into the town to enquire for news, as the governor would probably have heard something by the Imperial courier of what was happening.

‘In Moscow, you mean?’ Nadya asked. ‘Do you think the fire is there? Surely it’s too far away…’

Tatya bit her lip, then said doubtfully, ‘Well, it could be one of the bigger villages, I suppose, but there’s really not anything extensive enough to make such a glow in that direction between here and Moscow. Except Kolomna, and it was further away than that, I’m sure. I remember my grandfather saying that
his