The Seeds of Power Read online

  ‘Yes, Your Highness.’ The schoolmaster prepared himself a pen and an inkwell, and a block of paper.

  A moment later Dagmar came in, followed by her sisters and Jennie. ‘Really, Colin,’ Dagmar said. ‘We are not servants, you know, to be peremptorily summoned from whatever we are doing.’

  ‘This is important,’ Colin said. ‘Sit down. All of you.’

  They seated themselves in front of him, casting curious glances at Yevrentko. ‘I have to inform you that I have just been appointed vice-Governor-General of Poland,’ Colin said. There was a moment of stunned silence. Jennie’s expression did not change. Alexandra seemed to be absorbing the news, and then clapped her hands. Anna looked both thunderstruck and delighted. Dagmar also looked delighted, and clapped her hands, but she had acted a shade quickly. ‘But of course you already knew this, Dagmar,’ Colin said.

  ‘Well...’ she flushed. ‘I did mention you to Her Majesty.’

  ‘I’ve always wanted to visit Warsaw,’ Anna said.

  ‘Unfortunately,’ Colin said, ‘because Poland is virtually in a state of insurrection, I can take none of you with me.’

  ‘What?’ Anna and Alexandra cried together. ‘Except of course, my wife.’

  ‘Me?’ Dagmar cried. ‘I have no intention of going to Warsaw. And you cannot make me.’

  ‘Of course I cannot,’ Colin agreed. ‘Because you have already discussed that matter also with the Tsarina, and I am sure you made it clear to her that you did not wish to go.’

  ‘Well,’ Dagmar said sulkily, ‘according to Alexandra Dolgoruka, Warsaw is a very dangerous place. There have been several assassinations there recently. I do not wish to be assassinated.’

  ‘And you recommended that Colin be sent there?’ Anna bristled.

  ‘Well...somebody has to go and sort out the Poles.’

  ‘I do not think that Dagmar actually hopes that I will be assassinated,’ Colin said. ‘Although I may be wrong. What she desires is that I shall be absent from Bolugayen for an appreciable period. A period in which she hopes to resume her rule over the estate.’

  ‘Why...!’ Dagmar began.

  ‘And everyone on it,’ Colin added. Dagmar snorted, and glanced at Jennie, who flushed. ‘I am therefore making the following arrangements,’ Colin said. ‘Firstly, Jennie will be remaining here in St Petersburg, under the protection of a most august person.’ He glanced from face to face to make sure they all understood his meaning.

  ‘Oooh, Jennie!’ Alexandra squealed. ‘I am so happy for you.’ Dagmar’s face had frozen.

  ‘Secondly,’ Colin went on, ‘I have every intention of completing the Warsaw business within six months. That is to say, I shall be back in Bolugayen next March. And thirdly, I have decided that in my absence, the management and conduct of Bolugayen Estate will be entirely and solely in the hands of the Countess Anna Bolugayevska. This includes the management and upbringing of my three children, Count Peter, Georgei, and Catherine. In the event of my death, the Countess Anna will continue to exercise these prerogatives until Prince Peter is of age.’

  Silence fell again, disturbed only by the scratching of Yevrentko’s pen. Colin gazed at Anna, who gave a little smile. Then Dagmar leapt to her feet.

  ‘You cannot do this!’ she shouted. ‘I am your wife. I am the Princess Bolugayevska!’

  ‘And I am the Prince Bolugayevski, with the sole right to determine who shall manage my estate.’

  ‘You bastard!’ Dagmar shouted. ‘You pig! You...’

  ‘Are you ready, Yevrentko?’ Colin asked. Yevrentko’s hands were trembling as he laid the paper on the desk. Now,’ Colin said. ‘We shall all sign this paper, testifying that we do so of our own free will, and that you all freely agree to my dispositions.’

  ‘I will see you damned,’ Dagmar declared.

  ‘Anna?’ Colin invited. Anna bent over the desk and signed.

  ‘Alexandra?’ Alexandra glanced at her eldest sister, then signed.

  ‘Jennie.’ Jennie’s face remained impassive as she signed.

  ‘Yevrentko. Leave a space above your signature.’ Yevrentko obeyed; his hand was still trembling. ‘And you, Dagmar. Above Yevrentko.’

  ‘Sign that? Never.’

  ‘Very well. Yevrentko, will you sit down and take some more dictation. This is the testimony of Prince Colin Bolugayevski concerning the true facts of the conception and birth of the first son of the Princess Dagmar Bolugayevska.’

  ‘You cannot do that!’ Dagmar screamed.

  ‘I am about to do so,’ Colin pointed out. ‘Anna will lend her testimony to mine.’

  ‘You...bastards! All of you.’ Dagmar panted. ‘Very well. Give me that paper.’

  ‘If you attempt to destroy it, Dagmar, I am going to hit you, very hard, in the face,’ Colin said.

  Dagmar snorted, bent over the desk on which Yevrentko had laid the paper, and scrawled her name. ‘Thank you,’ Colin said. Now, Yevrentko, I would like you to make two exact copies of that paper. When you have done that, we shall all again sign each copy. I will take one of the papers with me, the Countess Anna will take one with her, and the third will be registered and lodged with the Imperial archivist, here in St Petersburg. I trust that will satisfy everyone.’ Dagmar snorted again.

  *

  ‘You are an absolute devil,’ Anna said, as she shared his bed that night. ‘Do you know, when I first saw you, I thought you had very little backbone. That opinion altered of course when you took possession of Bolugayen, and of me. But even so I do not believe I truly understood the strength of your character until today.’

  He kissed her nose. ‘I assume you are paying me a compliment.’

  ‘Of course. Colin, I have changed my mind: I would like to have your son.’

  ‘Just like that?’

  ‘If I cease taking precautions, it will certainly happen.’

  ‘There is the small problem that I am leaving for Warsaw the day after tomorrow.’

  ‘I know. I would come with you, whatever the risks, had you not given me the task of holding Bolugayen.’

  ‘Can you not do it?’

  ‘Oh, I can do it. I shall do it. It is just that I would rather be with you. However, we have those two days...I should very much like you to return to Bolugayen next spring and find me heavy with child.’

  He took her in his arms, and then frowned. ‘You do realise that our son can never replace Peter as heir?’

  ‘Of course I understand that, my darling.’ She nestled against him. ‘My son will be Peter’s sure right arm. I only wish my final fulfilment as a woman.’

  He was seen off by the entire household, as he rode out of the yard towards the railway station. ‘Do you know, this is the first time we have been separated, in seven years?’ Alexandra asked.

  ‘You speak as if you were his wife,’ Dagmar said disparagingly, and went back into the house. ‘Well, Anna, what are your commands?’

  ‘That we return to Bolugayen immediately,’ Anna said. ‘I have already given the servants instructions to pack this place up.’

  ‘But...the season is not yet over,’ Alexandra protested. ‘Colin said nothing about going back to Bolugayen so soon.’

  ‘I am making the arrangements now,’ Anna said. ‘And I would remind you that you are a married woman. Jennie, I don’t know what your plans are...’

  ‘I understand that my new house is awaiting me,’ Jennie said. ‘I shall leave this afternoon.’

  ‘I am going for a walk,’ Alexandra declared, and called for her bonnet and parasol.

  ‘Well, then,’ Anna said. ‘You and I had better pack, Dagmar.’

  ‘I am staying here,’ Dagmar announced. Anna turned to frown at her. ‘At least for a while,’ Dagmar said.

  ‘And if I forbid it?’

  ‘You cannot forbid it. That infamous piece of paper you possess gives you absolute powers on Bolugayen. It gives you no powers over me, personally. And certainly not while we are in St Petersburg. In any event,’ Dagmar said, ‘
I have been requested to remain, by Her Majesty. Not even Colin could make me leave in those circumstances. The Tsarina wishes to see more of me. She has taken a great liking to me.’

  ‘Very well,’ Anna said. With Dagmar in St Petersburg, life on Bolugayen would be that much more simple. As she had warned Colin, she did not doubt that her sister hated as much as ever, but there was nothing she could do against that formidable piece of paper. ‘You do understand, Dagmar, that if you should even attempt to harm Jennie, Colin would very likely break your neck?’

  ‘I am not interested in the affairs of a harlot,’ Dagmar informed her.

  ‘You also understand that I intend to take both Peter and Georgei back with me. They at least are covered by Colin’s instructions both on and off of Bolugayen.’

  ‘I am sure you will carry out my husband’s instructions to the letter,’ Dagmar said, and went upstairs.

  *

  Alexandra walked along the Nevski Prospect, looking at the water and the islands. Never had she felt so out of sorts, so trapped. In a few weeks time she would be twenty-one years old, and she was a married woman...and she was more trapped than ever. All her life she had waited, to be able to leave Bolugayen. Her dream had been St Petersburg. And at last that dream had come true, just as her dream of sexual fulfilment and sexual liberation had come true. She had been the happiest of women. She had no great desire to go to America, which was from everything she had heard a most backward country. She recognised that it would eventually be necessary to do so, supposing Charles ever came back to her. But Charles was a fading memory, already. And in the meantime, there was St Petersburg, acres of handsome young men in magnificent uniforms, like those who had danced with her at the Imperial ball...and she was being whisked back to Bolugayen, after not even a month in this heaven.

  She knew there was no use in begging Anna to let her stay. Anna was glorying in her power, power that ultimately resided in the amount of support she could command. At the moment, both Colin and Anna considered that she was firmly in their camp. Well, she was. She didn’t really like either of her sisters, but she adored Colin, as everyone knew, even if they were all wrong in their reasoning. She loved him for what he stood for, for what he had achieved for Bolugayen and its people. She felt that men like Colin MacLain were the true hope for Russia. But that was something she could not even confide in Colin.

  So Anna would never leave her in St Petersburg under the care of Dagmar, just in case she was suborned. It was home for her, and a period of utterly boring waiting, until either Charles or Colin came home... ‘Your Excellency, what a happy surprise.’

  Alexandra turned, frowning, at the tall, lank young man in the black suit, who was raising his hat and bowing. ‘Good heavens!’ she remarked. ‘David Fine.’

  ‘May I say that you are looking more beautiful than ever, Countess?’

  ‘Why, that is very kind of you, David.’

  ‘I could not believe my eyes, when I saw you.’

  ‘But you knew we were coming to St Petersburg?’

  ‘I did. And I wanted to call at the palace, but...’ he flushed.

  ‘You were scared,’ she chided.

  ‘Well, I didn’t want to intrude. But to see you on the street, all by yourself...’

  ‘Makes a change, doesn’t it? Well, it’s been very nice meeting you, David, but I must get on.’

  ‘Oh! I...’ He bit his lip. ‘I was going to ask you to dine with me.’

  Alexandra raised her eyebrows. ‘You, were going to ask me, to have a meal with you?’

  ‘I suppose you think I’m being presumptuous, Your Excellency.’

  Alexandra opened her mouth to say, yes, and then remembered, firstly, that she couldn’t do that any more, and secondly, that this boy was madly in love with her. And thirdly, that she was going back to Bolugayen tomorrow. ‘I don’t think that is at all presumptuous, David,’ she said. ‘I think that is very sweet of you. When would you like to take me out?’

  ‘It is all right?’ he asked anxiously. ‘You being married, and...everything?’

  ‘My husband will not object,’ Alexandra said.

  ‘Then…!’

  ‘It will have to be tonight,’ Alexandra told him. ‘I am leaving St Petersburg tomorrow.’

  ‘Oh!’ His face fell.

  ‘I feel the same,’ she agreed. ‘Where shall I meet you?’

  ‘Ah...should I not call for you?’

  ‘No,’ she said. ‘I will meet you here. At seven o’clock.’

  *

  ‘Post!’ Anna announced. ‘One for you, Alix. From Charles.’

  ‘Well?’ Anna was far more excited than she was.

  ‘Oh, it’s not going well. The war I mean. There has been a battle at some place called...Bull Run?’ She looked at the date at the top of the page. ‘Good lord! This was written back at the end of July.’

  ‘And it got here in two months? That’s very good,’ Anna said. ‘What about the battle?’

  ‘Well, Charles says they are expecting the rebels to attack Washington at any moment. That’s the capital. Oh, dear.’

  ‘That’s terrible,’ Anna said.

  ‘He thinks the war may well last a long time,’ Alexandra muttered, turning over the sheet. ‘It could be a year or more.’

  ‘Shit!’ Anna remarked. ‘Ah, well. At least we know he’s all right.’

  ‘Ha!’ Alexandra commented. ‘A husband with whom I have spent one night and who is now going to be gone for more than a year? What kind of marriage is that?’

  ‘It is the marriage Colin wanted,’ Anna said severely.

  ‘Ha!’ Alexandra commented again. ‘Well, I am going out.’

  ‘In the evening? By yourself? You have an assignation?’

  ‘As a matter of fact, I have,’ Alexandra said. ‘Who with?’

  ‘I don’t have to tell you that.’

  ‘You do,’ Anna pointed out. ‘Or I shan’t let you go.’

  ‘Oh...’ Alexandra stamped her foot, and then smiled. ‘It is with David Fine. We met, today, on the Prospect, and he invited me to dine with him.’

  ‘David Fine? That mouse?’

  ‘He has changed,’ Alexandra said. ‘I think a few months in St Petersburg has done him good. I think it may be rather amusing.’

  ‘You had better take some money. I shouldn’t think he has any.’

  ‘As I said, I think it may be rather amusing.’

  Anna regarded her sister for several seconds. ‘Very well,’ she said. ‘I don’t suppose it will do any good to tell you to behave yourself. So I shall tell you, at least, to remember who you are, and who he is.’

  Alexandra stuck out her tongue at her.

  *

  She was pleasantly excited. David Fine had indeed filled out in the few months he had been in the city; there was an alertness, a confidence about him he had entirely lacked on Bolugayen. But he remained very aware of his position as regards her. And, as Anna had suggested, he must still be very poor. She wondered where he would take her? He was waiting for her on the Prospect, looking out at the water. ‘Countess!’ He seized her hands. ‘I did not think you would come.’

  ‘Then why are you here? And for tonight, David, I think it would be best for you to address me as Mrs Cromb. That is my name, you know.’

  ‘Mrs Cromb,’ he said. ‘Yes. I had forgotten.’

  She raised her eyebrows. ‘Equally, I should not go to any very popular restaurant, where I might be recognised.’

  ‘I thought you might like to come to a little place my friends and I patronise.’

  ‘That would be ideal,’ she agreed. They delved into the side streets of St Petersburg. Alexandra enjoyed a rising sense of excitement.

  ‘It is down here,’ he explained.

  They went down a smaller alleyway. Now they were in the midst of crowds of people, some of whom jostled her, others who greeted David, and then gave her curious looks. But then she was being shown into a low-ceilinged, smoke-filled room where there were peop
le and tables, with cheap cloth covers, and candles, and bottles.

  ‘The food is very good,’ David assured her. ‘The wine, well, it is not up to Bolugayen standard. But the vodka is the same.’ Alexandra found herself sitting at a table and surrounded by eager young men and women sitting beside her, staring at her, and prattling away in a variety of accents. She was introduced as Mrs Cromb, as she had instructed, but that led to even more questions and explanations, as it was not a Russian name, while the evident quality of her clothes, the spotless health of her hands and complexion indicated that she certainly did not belong in the society of impoverished students.

  But she found it all exciting, a side of life she had never experienced before. The evening passed very quickly, and when she first looked at her lapel watch it was nearly ten. By then she was full of vodka and cheap wine as well as food, but she supposed she should be getting home. ‘We leave tomorrow,’ she murmured to David, sitting beside her. ‘Will you take me home, now?’

  He stood up, and she followed him, to be immediately seized and hugged and kissed by the people around her. Never had she been treated with such easy familiarity—and never had she enjoyed it so much. But then she and David had reached the steps leading up to the street. They were at the door when it was suddenly thrown open, and they found themselves facing a man in uniform.

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN - THE PLOT

  Alexandra gave a little gasp of alarm. David reacted more quickly, spinning round and shouting, ‘Police!’

  There was pandemonium behind them as the lanterns were hastily doused. In front of them there came the blast of several whistles, and Alexandra realised there was a great number of police, all trying to get in the door. She looked for David, but he had jumped over the banisters into the well of the restaurant. Before she could make up her mind to do the same, her arms were grasped. ‘Got one of the bitches,’ a policeman growled.

  ‘Let me go, you bastard,’ Alexandra shouted. His response was to hit her in the stomach. Nothing like that had ever happened to her before, and she found herself kneeling on the step, gasping for breath and vomiting at the same time. Then her arms were seized and dragged behind her back, and she felt the touch of steel followed by a click. ‘You can’t handcuff me!’ she shouted. ‘I am the Countess Alexandra Bolugayevska!’