“Into town.” He waved a piece of paper at her. “I have order from General Count Nogi.”
“Are you saying I am under arrest?”
“Duncan lock up,” Li-su explained.
“Oh, my God! Why?”
“He shoot two men.” Li-su swelled with pride. “Saving me. I his woman. Always!”
“You come,” the lieutenant repeated. “You ride this horse.” He pointed to the one vacated by Li-su.
This is ridiculous, Anna wanted to shout. I am the Countess Bolugayevska. You cannot just march me off, wearing borrowed clothing, riding astride...but she did not think telling the lieutenant these things was going to have any effect. Besides, by going into town she might be able to find a doctor.
She looked at the doorway, and Grishka. “Miss Patricia is moaning something awful, Your Excellency.”
“You come,” the lieutenant said. “Or son die.”
That made Anna’s decision for her. “You,” she said, “what did you say your name was?”
“Li-su, Duncan’ mother.”
“Well, get in there and help my servant care for my niece. Grishka, I will be back as soon as I can.” Hopefully with Duncan, she thought, as she swung into the saddle. It was only when they were out of the yard and on the road that she realised that neither the lieutenant nor the Chinese girl had mentioned Georgei.
*
Port Arthur was a charnel house. The Japanese had put out most of the fires, and their warships were steaming through the Tiger’s Tail to take possession of their new base, but the streets of the town were actually running blood in places, and unburied corpses, of animals as well as humans, lay in mounds on every corner. Anna’s nostrils wrinkled with distaste, as she was taken up to the governor’s palace. This was somewhat damaged by shellfire, but had escaped the flames, being set in its own grounds some distance from the surrounding houses. And here there were no bodies. And no Chinese, either; the guards all wore the blue and white uniforms of the Japanese army, and above the palace fluttered the Rising Sun ensign of the conquerors.
The guards clicked to attention and presented arms to the Russian countess. Anxious officers were waiting to escort her up a flight of stairs, and she reflected that she had never been accorded this much respect by the governor himself. “You come this way,” invited her escort, gesturing at a flight of stairs.
Anna looked at him. “Your men carried out this massacre?”
“Not my men, Mrs Cromb.” Officers hurried in front of her to open doors for her, and an aide announced her, in English. “Mrs Cromb is here, honourable General.”
General Nogi himself came to the door to welcome her. He was a small man, who had a neat moustache. Apart from the fact that he wore boots instead of gaiters, it was difficult to tell the difference between him and any of his men, for his uniform was the same, and he wore no ribbons or any insignia. However, the aura of command was unmistakable. He gave a stiff, brief bow. “Mrs Cromb! This is a very sad business. Will you sit down?” He indicated a chair in front of his desk, and Anna seated herself. Nogi sat behind the desk. “These are difficult times. I believe I command one of the finest armies in existence. Now its honour is tarnished for all time. This is very serious for me, as its commander. These samurai...” His shoulders heaved. “Perhaps they will now, finally, be brought to heel.” He gave a brief smile. “I am a samurai myself.”
Anna felt considerable sympathy for him, if his troops had really not been responsible for the atrocity. But she was not inclined to show it until she had extricated Duncan from whatever trouble he was in, and located Georgei. “It was not samurai shot the Princess Bolugayevska, General.”
“Ah, yes. A most regrettable mistake.”
“Your men also shot Catherine Bolugayevska, and two of our servants, one of them an Englishwoman, and grievously wounded another. They also shot and killed a priest, our family chaplain. Now I wish to know what has become of Count Georgei Bolugayevski, and my son, Duncan Cromb.”
“I am sorry to have to inform you that Count Bolugayevski was killed this morning, Mrs Cromb.”
“Killed? Another one? Just like that? Are you saying that too was a mistake?”
Nogi inclined his head. “He was frequenting a house of ill repute. I do not know if you have heard of it. It is called the Blue Dragon.”
Anna bit her lip. “And my son?”
“Was also arrested in this place.”
“I wish him released.”
“That is what I wish to speak with you about, Mrs Cromb.”
Anna leaned forward. “Listen to me, General Nogi,” she said. “Your men have just murdered one of the premier princesses in Russia, as well as her son.”
“I have explained, Mrs Cromb, that the Princess’s death, and those of your servants, was an accident. I regret it bitterly, but these things happen in a war.”
“And Count Georgei’s death was also an accident?”
“Count Bolugayevski attacked some of my people, and was cut down. There is some evidence that he was drunk. Again, madam, I regret this most sincerely. But my people did not know who he was.”
“I am sure you can justify your actions, to your own satisfaction, General. However, you will understand that I intend to make a full report of these ‘regrettable accidents’ when I return to Russia. There will most certainly be repercussions.”
“And this would be unfortunate, given the somewhat tense relations between Imperial Russia and the Empire of Japan.”
“As you say, General. I am sorry.”
Nogi regarded her for several seconds. “I asked you to come to see me, Mrs Cromb, to discuss the situation of your son.”
Anna frowned at him. “Is he hurt?”
“Not at all. But he shot and killed two of my people, and grievously wounded three more.”
Anna opened her mouth to say, good for him, and then decided against it, contented herself with remarking, “Another regrettable accident, no doubt, General.”
“You should be aware, Mrs Cromb, that it is recognised international usage, that when a conquering army enters a town or city which has been surrendered, and shots are fired upon the occupying troops, those guilty of such acts are subject to military law, and summary trial and execution.”
Anna’s head came up. “You would not dare! My son is an American citizen.”
“He is still subject to international law, Mrs Cromb.” Anna glared at him, and he smiled. “I should of course, be very reluctant to execute such a promising young man, the son of so remarkable a mother. I should far prefer to come to some arrangement.”
“You mean to barter my son’s life?”
“I wish us both to take a rational and unemotional view of the situation. Your son was also found in this brothel. He was armed. He claims that he used his weapon to defend a young woman to whom he had offered his protection, when she was about to be, if you will permit my frankness, raped by some samurai.”
“Then he shot them in self-defence,” Anna said.
“That would have to be proved, to be sure. But whether in self-defence or not, it remains a capital offence to shoot any member of an occupying force, for any reason at all. Unless, of course, the shots were fired by accident.”
Anna stared at him. “You would try to convince a court that my son fired five times, and hit five men, by accident?”
“If we agreed, Mrs Cromb, that your son fired by accident, then the case will never come to court. I am in supreme command here, and if these samurai were indeed about to rape a young woman in whom your son has an interest, then it will be my pleasure to quash the charges against him.”
“You admit your men were deserving of death.”
“I admit nothing, Mrs Cromb. I am merely outlining the view that I shall take of the case...if you will concede that the deaths of the Princess Bolugayevska, of her son and her niece, and of her servants were also accidents.”
“I cannot conceal the fact that the Princess was shot by Japanese soldiers, Gener
al.”
“I have had a statement prepared, Mrs Cromb...” Nogi indicated some papers lying on his desk. “There are six copies, I am afraid. Two are in Japanese, two are in Russian, and the other two are in English. They all say the same thing. This statement, made by you, tells how, when you encountered a Japanese patrol, in the darkness, on your way back out to the Princess Bolugayevska’s house, and were challenged and commanded to stop, the Princess unwisely ordered her driver to ignore the command and ride through, with the result that my men had no option but to open fire.”
“That is a lie!” Although it was, actually, quite true.
“What do you think of your son’s statement that he was protecting a woman in the brothel? She was undoubtedly a prostitute.”
“Do you suppose anyone in Russia will believe such a tale?”
“Whether they believe it or not, Mrs Cromb, both the Russian and the American Embassies in Tokyo will be provided with copies of the documents you are about to sign, and they will find it very difficult, in those circumstances, to indict the Japanese Government for any crimes against their nationals. You are about to sign, are you not, Mrs Cromb?”
Anna hesitated, then picked up the pen.
*
“Gee, Mom, am I glad to see you,” Duncan said. A pony and trap had been provided, together with a Japanese driver, and a military doctor. General Nogi had not been able to do enough for Anna once she had signed the six papers. The doctor even spoke English. Georgei’s body, in a hastily constructed wooden coffin, was in a separate trap, along with the Chinese embalmers. Anna embraced her son, but she couldn’t really say anything with the doctor at her side, and when Duncan asked if the men who had killed Jennie would be punished, she merely told him that it was in the hands of the authorities.
All she wanted to do was get home. And think. And try to understand what she had done, and what she must do now. She had perjured herself, to save Duncan’s life. Well, she could not regret having done that. Now she must consider the repercussions. Obviously, she had to escort the two girls and Olga back to Russia. Back to Bolugayen! Nogi had promised that he would arrange their repatriation immediately. That would give her a head start, as regards explaining the situation to Peter. But the news would follow her soon enough, and there was no one in Russia going to accept the accidental verdict.
So, maybe she would have to hurry on again, just as rapidly as possible. As no American had actually been killed, she was not likely to be reviled in Boston. But there were so many other things to be considered. Rurik! How she wanted him to live. Then there was Patricia, and Duncan. But then, this Chinese tart, and Duncan...he might have been able to read her thoughts, as she stared grimly ahead of the trap, on the road out to the house. “Did Li-su get out safely?” he asked.
“Is that her name? Li-su?”
“Yeah. She really is a cutie, isn’t she, Mom?”
“I’m sure she is,” Anna acknowledged. “Just what do you intend to do with her?”
“Ah! Well, she could be some kind of maid, I guess.”
“My maid, or yours?”
“Well...a guy can’t really have a maid, can he?”
“It’s not usual. So, you would like me to give this girl employment. But you would reserve the right to sleep with her whenever you felt like it.”
“Well...” Duncan flushed. “I guess you know she’s a...well...”
“She’s a whore, Duncan. In my Russian family we have always called a spade a spade. Have you given any thought to what Patricia might feel about this?”
“Trish? Well...what’s she got to do with it?”
“My dear Duncan, she is at this moment miscarrying your child.” The Japanese doctor turned his head sharply. “Indeed, doctor,” Anna said. “That is one of the reasons your presence is so sorely needed.”
“Ah, so,” the doctor agreed.
“But you mean...my son...” Duncan stammered.
“How single-minded you men are,” Anna remarked. “Your child, whatever sex it was, is now lost. Because of Trisha’s fall from the trap after the Japanese fired upon us. It is history, Duncan. But your relationship with Trisha is not.”
Duncan stood awkwardly, unwilling to intrude upon the women, unhappily aware of the dead bodies, of the Chinese embalmers already at work, but only on Jennie and Georgei. The others were not worth the time. Patricia had been taken upstairs, but there had been virtually nothing Dr Asako could do; the placenta had already been delivered by Grishka, before he got there. He was more interested in Rurik, and had had the injured groom placed on a table, while he probed for the bullet. Rurik had been chloroformed and was unconscious — the tang of the either hung on the air, mingling with the various scents of the embalmers. Anna and Li-su were at the doctor’s side, hands and sleeves stained with blood, as they endeavoured to assist him, while Grishka and Collins hurried to and fro with hot water.
Duncan went up the stairs. Tentatively, he knocked, and when there was no response, opened the door to his mother’s bedroom, where Patricia lay. She gazed at him, her eyes huge. He licked his lips. “How...how are you feeling?”
“Like shit,” she said, her voice surprisingly strong.
“I didn’t know,” he said. “If you had told me...”
“You would have saved him?” Her tone was bitter, because the stillborn foetus had, after all, been a boy.
“I would...” He licked his lips again.
“You mean you would not have been down in the port, fucking that whore?” Her voice was suddenly angry. He didn’t know what to say, could only move towards the bed, seeking a touch of her hand. “You were with a whore,” Patricia said. “While my brother was being killed. Go away. I don’t ever want to see you again.”
PART TWO - THE CONSPIRATORS
“Tis the talk, and not the intrigue, that’s the crime.’
George Granville, Baron Lansdowne
The She Gallants
CHAPTER 5 – BOLUGAYEN
“Aunt Anna!” Prince Peter Bolugayevski was on the quay in Sevastopol to greet her.
“Oh, Peter!” She hugged him, her fingers stroking the black arm band on his tunic, and only then realised that all the flags in the huge harbour were at half-mast.
“The flags are for the Tsar, Aunt Anna,” Peter explained. “He died a few weeks ago. Our new Tsar is named Nicholas. I should not think you ever met him. He was born after you left Russia.”
“Oh,” she said. “No. I never met him.” But Alexander, dead! She was relieved. The Tsar had known too much about her family. A lot might depend on how much he had told his son.
Peter was releasing her to greet his half-sisters. It had been a long slow voyage from Port Arthur. They had had to change ships twice and it had taken them two months. That meant that her plan of regaining Russia before any word of her agreement with General Nogi reached either St Petersburg or Bolugayen had failed. Now she had to anticipate the worst. Yet Peter’s welcome had been genuine enough.
The long voyage had not even enabled the various survivors fully to recover from their ordeal. Sophie remained in a kind of trance, replying when spoken to, but when left to herself staring aimlessly into space. Olga was still liable to burst into tears for the slightest reason. Patricia had withdrawn entirely from the intimacy she had worked so hard to establish with her aunt in Port Arthur. The miscarriage had been a traumatic event, perhaps even more so than the death of her mother. The girl needed someone to blame, and Duncan was the obvious target, and she equally blamed him for Georgei’s death. But obviously the main cause of her anger with him was the continual presence of Li-su. The Chinese girl had shared a cabin with Grishka, but Anna did not need the maid to come tattling to her to know that she was often enough requested to leave so that Duncan could be with his mistress. Patricia was also obviously aware of this, and it was an added insult to her injury. Thus by definition she had carried her feelings to Duncan’s mother.
Thus while Olga drifted from one hysterical bout to the next
, and Sophie closed her mind to the world, and Patricia sulked, and Collins maintained a pot-faced resentment that her mistress should have involved her in such unseemly goings-on, Anna found her best company with Duncan himself, together with Li-su, who was certainly a happy child, whatever her background, and with Rurik. The Japanese doctor had done a most efficient job of extracting the bullet and cleaning up the wound. Now, after eight weeks at sea, the groom was nearly as strong as ever, although of course because of his wound there had been no relations between them — but a great source of comfort.
And yet, only another aspect of all the problems she needed to discuss with Prince Peter. Who was a problem in himself!
Peter had taken an entire carriage on the railway which led north out of the Crimean Peninsula, and thence to Kharkov, from whence they would double back to Poltava — and Bolugayen. It was such a delight just to be back in Russia. Anna was surprised at how little her memory of it had changed, in thirty years. Or perhaps, at how little it had changed, at least here in the south. The railway line was of course new, and there were trams in Sevastopol; these were an innovation, as was the widespread use of electric light. And one could telephone — but only inside the city.
Once across the railway bridge however, time had stood still. There were the same endless fields of black earth, in November lying fallow, the same great lakes and rivers, the same brooding forests. The first snow had already fallen further north, but had not reached the extreme south as yet. “It was snowing on Bolugayen, when I left,” Peter told her.
There were the same scattered, very poor villages, and there were the same very poor villagers, who lined the track to bow and wave to their betters on the train. There was even the same gallows on a hillside, from which dangled two bodies, just identifiable as a man and a woman. “They were members of the Will of the People?” Anna asked.
“Who knows? There are so many secret societies in Russia today it is impossible to tell. All of them are bent on anarchy and terrorism. There is talk that the new Tsar may adopt a more lenient policy than his father. As to whether it will be successful...”
The Masters Page 9