by Terri Dixon
Part XIX
The worst guilt is to accept an unearned guilt.
-Ayn Rand
We all followed Peter’s grandma, Tish, to the kitchen through an elegant living room that was a cross between the Vanderbilt gilded age mansions and a hunting lodge. It was wood décor with rustic accents, but elegant with fine crystal lamps and an enormous decorated fireplace. The kitchen was the largest kitchen I had ever seen, and all of the appliances were stainless steel and the whole room looked like the kitchen of a restaurant; a really big restaurant. The only thing that didn’t directly remind me of a restaurant was the small breakfast nook off to the side in what appeared to be the back of the house. Grandma Elizabeth, or whatever I was supposed to call her, went to the table and directed us to sit down as well.
“Girls, I don’t wish to give you the impression that I am a cruel old woman, but I am going to be blunt in order to get the information that I need to begin to feel more comfortable with this situation,” Tish said. “I hope you don’t think me an angry old woman.”
“We don’t know you, so we shouldn’t judge,” Tania replied.
“True,” I agreed.
Tish looked at us for a moment and then turned to the men in the group. “Why are they not at a consulate?”
“The one in Moscow has been closed,” Dr. Zemecki answered.
“Am I to understand that Kostov is trying to create a situation?” Tish asked.
“I would presume so, yes,” Dr. Zemecki said. “He came to the university to meet Stacey, and we barely got away from him then.”
“He would not know where to find her, and he would not bother with her unless he knew who she is,” Tish observed. “Would you have any reason to believe that the President knew who you were at the time you arrived in Russia?”
I looked at my feet and didn’t want to answer. This woman was not happy about the situation that had landed in her house. If I told her what we had surmised about my family and the odd deaths in recent years, she might hurt me. I didn’t want that. I could not get over being scared of this woman.
“I will take your reaction as a yes,” Tish said to me. “What has happened in recent times that would lead you to believe that Yuri Kostov thinks you are a Tsar?”
Tania jumped in. “Her father, brother, and grandmother all died in odd accidents in the last couple of years. Her dad and brother died in a freak boiler explosion at work in the factory where they worked together. Her grandmother died of a series of a heart attack that was caused by a car running into her house.”
“I understand the apprehension about the explosion that killed the men, but the car accident seems to be an accident. Kostov would not try to kill the grandmother.” Tish turned to me. “Not if you would survive. She would not be a target.”
“The car ran into the room where I normally slept when I visited her,” I explained. “I was supposed to be there the night of the accident. It was a regular visit day. I went to her house every other weekend, and I should have been there.”
Tish stared at me for a moment. She was making me uncomfortable.
“That does seem suspicious,” she finally replied. “And you say that he was coming to the university to see you?”
“When we got back from our first day of class, the RA at our dorm came to our room and told me not to go anywhere, because the President was coming and he wanted to meet me,” I said. “Not anyone else, just me.”
“And then the consulate closed?” Tish asked.
“The consulate closed mysteriously for renovations yesterday when the girls arrived from America,” Dr. Zemecki replied.
“I understand why you believe that he is up to something,” Tish said. “That man is a slug. I cannot believe that anyone would make him President, and then leave him in office all these many years.” She looked at me. “You did not know about any of this?”
“My grandma told me a lot about Soviets, but not much about Tsars. I came here to learn about them. I’m getting quite an education,” I replied.
“You certainly are,” Tish said. She turned to Dr. Zemecki. “I hold you responsible for this.”
“What did I do?” Dr. Zemecki asked.
“You got my Peter involved in this. You know how I feel about the subject,” Tish scolded him.
“I never believed in any of the old legends,” Dr. Zemecki objected. “I could not believe my eyes when I saw that ring on her finger. I presumed she was just another blonde from the states.” He looked at me. “No offense.”
“None taken,” I replied. “I never even heard about such crazy stories until I got here. I thought my grandma was just crazy about Russia. I didn’t know that it had anything to do with anything like this. I wish she would have told me. I would never have come.”
“I’m with you,” Tania said. “This is nuts. I feel like I just stepped into a Dan Brown novel. I thought that things like this were just stories. It’s surreal.”
“Am I correct in thinking that you have no interest in pursuing your obvious birthright?” Tish asked.
“I need time to absorb all of this before I know what I wish to do,” I snapped. “Imagine how you would feel if you were me. I’m shocked and scared and not able to assess the situation at the moment.”
“I understand,” Tish assured me. “How old are you?”
“Eighteen.”
“Am I to understand that the nearest consulate is in St. Petersburg?” Tish asked.
“To the best of our knowledge,” Peter replied.
“And your goal is purely to get these girls to the consulate?” she asked.
“Yes,” Peter replied.
Tish watched him for a moment. Unfortunately for me, Peter winked at me in that moment.
“That had better be your only goal,” she snapped at Peter. “This young girl is not for you. You are a programming engineer who is going to inherit a great company. You can have any woman you want. This one is dangerous, young, and needs to go back to the country she came from.” She looked at me. “No offense.”
“None taken,” I replied. I wasn’t quite sure what to think of the woman. I realized that she was trying to protect her grandson.
Tish rose from the table and began to gather some things around the kitchen. It eventually became obvious that she was making tea. She had an enormous and fabulous samovar. We sat silently, watching Tish’s every move as she got all the ingredients and turned on the samovar and made the tea. She eventually came back to us with a tray full of the most beautiful tea glass holders and tea glasses that I’d ever seen. She served us as though she was a waitress.
“Thank you,” I said.
“You are welcome,” she replied. “Let us have some tea and then I will show you all to your rooms. We will get you on your way to St. Petersburg in the morning. Just make certain that you do not forget your passports.”
“Their passports did not make the trip,” Dr. Zemecki said. “We had to leave them at the university.”
“Dear God, Stephen,” Tish exclaimed. “I guess I will be making some calls in the morning. Drink your tea. I will be saying prayers for you girls tonight.”
The Ring of the Queen