The Seeds of Power Page 18

  As the table was big enough to seat forty without discomfort, the place settings were some distance apart, but he discovered that he was much closer to Anna than anyone else. ‘I gather you have met the Dagger, Mr Cromb,’ Anna remarked.

  ‘The Dagger?’

  ‘My sister, the Princess.’

  ‘Ah. I have met the Princess, yes, Countess. And a lady called Olga.’

  ‘Oh, yes, Catherine’s mother.’

  ‘It seems to me that the Prince has a regular harem.’

  Anna smiled. Not so you’d notice. Olga happened to be the Queen of the Harvest one year, and the Prince got her pregnant. The Prince attempts to do this every year, of course, but this was only the second time it has happened within living memory. So, the babe was brought into the house, and when Olga’s marriage turned out badly, the Prince brought her too. But he has not again taken her to his bed.’ Her tone indicated that she had made certain of that.

  ‘Now tell me, what do you think of my baby sister?’ Charles glanced down the table to where Alexandra was in animated conversation with the Smyslovs. ‘I think she is very beautiful.’

  ‘Is she as beautiful as I?’

  ‘She may become so, with time,’ Charles said, again picking his words with great care.

  Another gentle laugh. ‘Would you like to fuck her?’

  ‘Countess, you say the damnedest things.’

  ‘Would you still rather fuck me?’

  She was getting to him at last. ‘Yes, Countess. I’d rather fuck you. But that’s your brother-in-law’s privilege, isn’t it?’

  She showed not the slightest reaction. ‘Why, yes, Mr Cromb. Mind you, I could ask him if he’d allow you the privilege, just the once, perhaps. Would you like me to do that?’

  ‘Don’t you ever tire of tormenting people, Countess?’

  He watched her eyebrows move. ‘I am perfectly serious, Mr Cromb. I find you a most attractive man.’

  ‘Just as you were serious when you suggested that a Yankee whose father came up from the bottom end of society should contemplate marriage to your sister?’

  ‘We live in changing times, Mr Cromb,’ Anna said, perhaps unconsciously quoting her lover. And now she was indeed speaking seriously. ‘I suspect, were she encouraged to think about it, Alix might find you most attractive as well. I know that the Prince would very much like to see my baby sister married. And...well, there are problems. I think he might look upon your suit very favourably.’

  ‘Don’t you think I should know what these problems are, before I make a proposal?’

  Anna ate for some seconds before replying. ‘Alix has no problems which can possibly affect you, in America, Mr Cromb,’ she said. ‘She is twenty years old, and in every way healthy. And a virgin, as I told you. I will wish you success in your enterprise. And indeed, I will help you in every way I can.’

  ‘You say the Prince is eager to marry the Countess Alexandra off,’ Charles ventured. ‘But should he not be even more eager to marry you off, Countess?’

  Anna gave her secret smile. ‘No. He is not the least anxious to marry me off, Mr Cromb. Nor do I have any desire to be married.’

  *

  ‘You’d love America,’ Charles said. ‘I live by the sea, the bay, that’s Quincy Bay, really, and the Atlantic Ocean. It’s tremendous. But west of the Alleghenies we have prairies every bit as enormous as this one.’

  It was dusk, and the sun was sinking. It was the end of April and still fairly early in the evening, and the family had not yet assembled for dinner. At last he had been allowed this time alone with Jennie. He was, actually, very nervous. He could not look at her without his imagination taking control of his mind as he remembered what she had suffered. And she remained so very attractive. More than either of the far more lovely Bolugayevska sisters he longed to take her in his arms, hold her against him, stroke her hair and allow some of his strength to flow into her body. But quite apart from the fact that she was his cousin, he had the Prince’s warning that she would undoubtedly reject him.

  ‘You make it sound a paradise,’ she murmured.

  She watched the sunset, rather than him.

  ‘It is. Or can be. Jennie...’ He picked up her hand and she made no resistance. ‘You and I are possibly the only family either of us have in the world. It is certainly my duty to care for you, protect you and nurture you. But I wish you to know that I have feelings for you far beyond any call of duty. Will you let me take care of you, for the rest of your days?’

  She squeezed his fingers. ‘I would love you to be able to do that. But...Bolugayen is all the home I have ever truly known. It was terrible in the beginning, but since Mr MacLain became Prince, why, it has been a heaven on earth. Do you know that Bolugayen is about the only estate in Russia where the freeing of the serfs has not been accompanied by some disturbance?’

  ‘You are in love with him. You know you can never be more to him than a mistress.’

  ‘But I know I admire him, more than anyone else in the world. Love, the sort of love of which you speak, has nothing to do with it. He is well satisfied, and...so am I.’

  She had given him a cue to try another tack. ‘He sure has a peculiar set-up here. Doesn’t that bother you?’

  ‘You don’t understand their circumstances.’

  ‘I would very much like to. Everyone hints at some deep, dark secret which puts them beyond the social pale...’ He hesitated. ‘But you know of it.’

  ‘Certainly I do. But it is not my place to tell you. Anyway, I believe it will soon be ended. The family’s ostracism, I mean. Mr MacLain intends to take us all to St Petersburg this summer, and I believe we are to be invited to a reception by the Tsar and Tsarina. Mr MacLain went to St Petersburg himself, four years ago, at the Tsar’s invitation, to discuss the freeing of the serfs. The Tsar liked Mr MacLain, and told him that, in a few years time, he would be able to receive us socially. That time has now come.’

  ‘And that is important to you.’

  ‘It is important to the family, Charles.’

  ‘I can see that the idea of coming to America with me can hardly compare with the prospect of attending the Tsar’s reception,’ he observed, not sure whether he intended the remark to be sarcastic or not.

  In any event, Jennie did not take offence. ‘Why do you not come with us? Surely, having come this far, you can stay another few months.’

  ‘And do you think I would be invited to this reception as well?’

  ‘Of course. The invitation will be extended to the entire family, and you will be one of the family. You are my cousin.’

  It was an enormously attractive prospect. Not merely to attend a tsar’s reception, but the idea of spending the entire summer here in this idyllic spot. Jennie squeezed his hand again. ‘At least consider it,’ she suggested.

  *

  Charles had been resident on Bolugayen for just over a week when the Prince invited him to ride with him. ‘May I come too?’ Alexandra asked.

  ‘No, you may not,’ the Prince told her. She pouted, but did not argue. The two men, followed at a respectful distance by two grooms, walked their horses out of the mansion yard and along the road to the town, before turning off on to one of the bridle paths which led through the cotton fields to the stretches of open pasture beyond.

  The Prince gestured at the somewhat bare-looking fields. ‘Isn’t it one of the wonders of nature that under all of that earth there is a whole generative process under way.’

  ‘What are your feelings when you look out at this, and consider that it is all yours?’

  ‘Why, satisfaction, you might say, Cromb.’

  ‘And never a backwards glance?’

  ‘One should only ever look forward.’ He touched his horse with his spurs, and broke into a canter. Charles followed, and they galloped for a couple of minutes, before the Prince drew rein in a cloud of steam. ‘Jennie tells me she has invited you to remain here until July, and then come to Moscow with us.’

  ‘She did.
I hope she was not being presumptuous?’

  ‘Jennie? She can never be presumptuous on Bolugayen. I would be delighted. So would the girls.’

  ‘And the Princess?’

  ‘The Princess will raise no objections.’

  They walked their horses over the springy turf, the mansion and the town now in the valley behind them. ‘You mean you would take your wife to St Petersburg, to meet the Tsar? When you know she hates you? That is what Alix told me, anyway.’

  ‘Oh, Dagmar hates me, certainly. But it has long been her dream to be presented at court. Better late than never, eh?’ He looked at the American. ‘Do you like Alix?’

  ‘I think she is very charming.’

  ‘This is an odd family, Cromb. I imagine you have discovered something of it.’

  ‘Something.’

  ‘I suppose you could best describe the girls as predatory, when it comes to men. I suppose it is because of their peculiar background.’

  ‘Which I gather you hope to expiate this summer.’

  ‘Why, yes. But they are inclined to fix their gaze upon a man, and say to themselves, and each other, I want him...and have him.’

  ‘We have women like that even in Boston, Prince. But they are somewhat more subtle about their methods. However, Alix has shown no signs of grabbing me.’

  ‘Unlike Anna, you mean.’ Indicating that the Prince was more observant than he appeared; or did Anna have the habit of teasing him as well? It was, in any event, the first suggestion that the Prince did know what had happened in Poltava.

  ‘I’m sorry. I have done nothing to encourage her. At least, since...I understood her situation.’

  ‘Nor should I, if I were you. I would not be happy about that.’ He paused to let the import of his words sink in. ‘However, if you were to ask me for Alexandra’s hand, I would be very happy about that.’

  Charles drew rein. ‘Well, now, Prince, it seems to me that you have adopted a great many of the characteristics of this family. I’m not blaming you for that, as you’re now the head of it. But as I’m a stranger, you are going to have to explain a few things to me.’

  The Prince had also halted. ‘Explain what?’

  ‘Well, sir, I came to your estate looking for my cousin Jennie. I may say that I am both delighted and relieved to find her so well and so contented. That being so, I have abandoned my original idea of taking her back to the States with me, even if I still feel it would be the best thing for her. However, the point I am making is that neither you nor any of your sisters-in-law had any idea I was coming. In fact, as Jennie didn’t know I existed until I appeared, there was no possibility of you knowing that either, right?’

  ‘Right,’ agreed the Prince, with a faint grin.

  ‘So I turn up at your town house, and am made to feel as welcome as a long lost brother by your...sister-in-law. Okay, you tell me this is their way. She flirted with me, and maybe I took her too seriously at the time. But, having checked me before I went overboard—I guess she’s told you all of this—she then suggests that I make a play for her sister. This on a two-day acquaintance, her sister not yet having met me. Now, sir, I have been here just on a week, and you are making the same suggestion. I know you have just told me that these young women size a man up and say, I’ll have that one, and go out and get him, but the fact is that Alix has never shown the slightest interest in me, save as a stranger who can tell her about strange places. So...what gives?’

  The Prince resumed walking his horse, and Charles again fell into place at his side.

  ‘What gives, Cromb, is that I am the head of this family, and that therefore it is my business to secure the most advantageous marriage for my sister-in-law as much as for my children, when they reach an appropriate age. Alix is now past the stage when she should have been married. Circumstances have made it impossible for me thus far to find her a husband.’

  ‘But, according to Jennie, circumstances are about to change, Prince. Aren’t you taking the whole shebang to St Petersburg this summer? To be presented at court, as you put it? You have to be able to find Alix a husband then.’

  ‘No doubt I could. But I would prefer not to.’

  ‘You mean because of the ancient scandal, whatever it was?’

  ‘No. It has nothing to do with the scandal. I wish my sister-in-law to marry outside of Russia.’

  ‘I don’t get it. You seriously want to send her off with someone she has only known a week...’

  ‘My dear Cromb, at least she has known you a week and has revealed no distaste for you. Do you suppose she would even have met a suitable husband here in Russia? He would not use his belt on her ass every night?’

  ‘I take your point. But still, you would at least know something of these gentlemen, of their background and financial situation. You would be certain that you would not be condemning your sister to a lifetime of poverty.’

  ‘You own a shipping line.’

  ‘I have told you this, Prince. You do not know that it is true.’

  ‘As you are Jennie’s cousin, I suspect it is true. Besides, I would make a settlement on you that would relieve you, and Alix, of any financial worries for the rest of your life.’

  ‘So there just remains the question of why you are so desperate to have Alix out of Russia.’

  The Prince rode in silence for some minutes, then he said, ‘What I have to say to you, Cromb, is in the most utter confidence. It must not even be repeated to Alix. And on no account can it ever be revealed to Jennie.’ Colin frowned. ‘My father-in-law was, as you know, killed by an organisation known as the Will of the People. This group has apparently managed to infiltrate almost every aspect of Russian life. It certainly infiltrated Bolugayen.’

  ‘But I don’t see how this affects the Countess Alexandra. You can’t mean that she is a member of this Will of the People conspiracy?’

  ‘I believe she is. Or certainly was. Call it a flirtation, if you like. A young girl, sensitive enough to be aware of the enormous injustices she could see about her, injustices inflicted by or in the name of her father, free to wander about Poltava as she chose, to listen to what she chose...’

  ‘You ever asked her about it?’

  ‘Not in so many words. But she has virtually confessed it to me. As has Jennie. The plot was not only to kill Bolugayevski, you know. It was to kill Dagmar, Anna and myself, at the same time, and leave Alexandra as Princess Bolugayevska.’

  ‘Holy shit! You say Jennie planned to kill you as well?’

  ‘I think she now realises that would have been a sad mistake,’ the Prince said, quite seriously. ‘The point it, that we have Vorontsov in Poltava, and probably quite a few police chiefs in other provincial capitals, just waiting for Alix to make a mistake. At the present time they have no evidence that I could not refute. But times change, and people; and circumstances.’

  ‘Yes, but surely, now the serfs have been emancipated, these Will of the People no longer have any reason to assassinate anybody?’

  ‘Unfortunately, they think they do. They regard the emancipation as a gigantic hoax.’

  ‘You want Alix out, with me playing the knight in shining armour? The trouble is, Prince, in America we have a quaint little custom. It’s called being in love with your wife.’

  ‘Would you find it so difficult to be in love with Alix?’

  ‘I think I might find it rather easy, in the course of time. But there are a few little hurdles to jump. The first is that I am not at the moment in love with her.’

  ‘I know. You are in love with Anna.’

  ‘There’s no law against being in love with another man’s mistress, Prince, so long as you don’t try to do anything about it.’

  ‘Oh, quite. Alix is very like her sister.’

  ‘She can’t be very, Prince, seeing that she’s a member of this Will of the People organisation and Anna is not.’

  ‘I would have said that difference should make her more attractive to you. It proves that she is a liberal rather tha
n a ultra-conservative. Anna is certainly an ultra-conservative.’

  ‘It also proves that she has a streak of anarchy in her. I’m not sure that would go down well with the ladies of Boston who are likely to ask my wife to tea. But there’s a more important point than that. I am a wealthy man, but that’s by American standards, not Russian. I don’t live in a palace, and while I have help around the house, I don’t have servants standing at my elbow every moment of the day and night...’—he glanced at the patient grooms, who had remained out of earshot throughout the ride—‘just in case I stub my toe. And I have no intention of accepting charity from you or any other man.’

  ‘I am sure Alix would be able to adapt, Charles.’ The Prince reached across and clasped his gloved hand. ‘I should be really pleased were you to agree to consider my proposition.’

  *

  Charles looked down the sweep of the dinner table, past the acres of jewel-bedecked neckline which competed in splendour with the acres of silver cutlery and crystal glassware. He looked across the table at Alix as she chatted with the Smyslovs.

  ‘Have you made up your mind?’ Anna asked.

  His head jerked. ‘Do you and the Prince have no secrets from each other?’

  ‘None at all. Oh, I know you would rather carry me off, Mr Cromb. But as that is impossible, you could do a lot worse than Alix.’

  ‘You’ll understand that I find the whole thing rather sudden.’

  ‘You are the answer to a prayer. These things are always sudden. Colin was the answer to a prayer.’

  ‘Not everyone’s prayer, surely, Countess.’

  She smiled. ‘In your case, there will be no dissenters. Save for Dagmar, to be sure. But she dissents from everything, and her opinion no longer matters.’

  ‘Do you, then, hate her?’

  ‘I have no cause to hate anyone, Mr Cromb. May I call you brother?’

  ‘If there is no possibility of your ever calling me anything better, I guess you may.’