Princes and Peasants

by Catrin Collier

  Sonya nodded, too taken aback by seeing him to speak. At that time in the morning she’d either expected him to be at home or safely out of sight in his office.

  ‘We have brought more fruit from Mrs Ignatova’s hothouses for the patients, Dr Kharber,’ Maria explained.

  ‘It is much appreciated, ladies.’ Nathan touched his hat again and quickened his pace as he headed across the street. As usual, he went to the back door of the brothel. Koshka’s manservant Fritz opened it at his knock.

  ‘Good to see you, sir. Madam is breakfasting. She asked me to invite you to join her if you arrived early. If you give me a moment to announce you I’m sure she’ll be glad to see you.’

  ‘Welcome and good morning, Dr Kharber. Come and sit by the fire while you wait. What can I get you?’ Koshka’s cook asked.

  ‘Just a loan of some of your heat, please.’ Nathan was constantly surprised by the friendly welcome he received at Koshka’s, so unlike the suspicious reception he received in most of the Russian and Cossack homes in Hughesovka. He stood in front of the stove and stretched out his hands to the warmth.

  ‘Madam asks that you join her in her boudoir, sir.’ Fritz held out his hand for Nathan’s bag. ‘Would you like me to place that in the examination room for you, sir?’

  ‘Yes please, Fritz.’

  ‘You know the way, sir.’

  ‘I do, Fritz, thank you.’

  ‘Dr Kharber, how lovely to see you.’ Koshka rose to meet him as her maid, Minna, laid cutlery and an extra plate at the table in her private quarters.

  ‘How is Adele?’ he asked.

  ‘Her bruises have almost faded, just as you said they would – all thanks to your expert care of course. She is so well she has insisted on returning to work, albeit with an extra layer of powder on her face.’

  ‘My apologies for arriving early, madam. I hoped you wouldn’t mind. An emergency was admitted in the early hours and I was restless after being up all night.’ Nathan took her hand and shook it.

  ‘A serious emergency?’

  ‘A child with diphtheria. From one of the hole houses.’

  ‘Those “houses”, for want of a better word, are a disgrace, but what can any of us do when word has got out far and wide that there is paid work to be had in Hughesovka. Starving people will go anywhere that offers the promise of a meal without a thought as to exactly where they will eat the food. Will the child survive?’

  ‘Hopefully, now we have him in the hospital.’

  ‘There is a family?’

  ‘A mother, two sisters, two brothers, and a father who has already found work. As hole houses goes, it isn’t too bad. The mother has done her best to make it comfortable and the father has built a makeshift stove out of the bricks Mr Hughes is distributing. The cold weather actually helps. Of course it will be different once the snow melts and water gets into the holes.’

  Koshka opened a box on a side table, extracted a leather purse, and pressed it into his hand. ‘For the family, or any other family who need a little help, especially the ones with children – but promise me, not a word to them about where it came from.’

  ‘Madam…’

  ‘Koshka, please. It’s only money. You can’t eat it or wear it so it means nothing in itself, but it is all I have to offer and hopefully mothers and children can exchange it for something they do need. Tea, roll, butter?’

  Nathan looked down at the table and realised he was hungry. ‘Yes, please.’ He sat down and helped himself to a bread roll. It was softer than Vasya’s bread, made with more refined flour than the one she used, and the butter was paler, with a rich clean taste.

  ‘My cook’s preserves are excellent.’ Koshka pushed a jar of cherry jam towards him. ‘I ordered Fritz to have the girls ready in half an hour, so please, take your time, enjoy your breakfast. Tell me, am I right in thinking no further progress has been made in finding whoever killed the poor nurse from your hospital?’

  ‘Naomi Rinskaya. You would be, madam,’ Nathan confirmed. ‘Through no fault of the Fire Brigade or Mr Hughes’s men. They made a thorough search at the time and still continue to question people who were out and about in the street that night.’

  ‘I did wonder about the timing, given what happened to Adele.’

  ‘I spoke to Mr Edwards and some of the men from the Fire Brigade, madam. They all agree it would have been impossible for the man who beat Adele to have killed Naomi Rinskaya. Nurse Rinskaya was attacked shortly before Adele, and her attacker would have been covered with her blood. The man who beat Adele had been in your house for about an hour and had no blood on him.’

  ‘So we have two lunatics on the loose in the town. Or we did have until the man who attacked Adele left. I’ve been assured by the friends who brought him here that he won’t be returning to this area.’

  ‘That’s comforting to know. Your ladies …’ Nathan proceeded delicately. ‘They are vulnerable to violent men.’

  ‘Violence from men is one thing I do know about, Dr Kharber. I have taken precautions to help my girls deal with the small percentage of our clients who have – how shall I put this – peculiar tendencies.’

  ‘In other words, they are violent with the girls?’

  ‘They would be if Fritz and the men I employ didn’t stop them. The girls have bell-pulls in their rooms that connect directly to a board which is constantly monitored by one of our men. The slightest sign of trouble, the girls ring for help and it arrives within seconds. It’s a crude system, and reliant on the girls being able to reach the pull, but it has prevented some attacks in the past. Our main asset is Fritz. He has a sixth sense when it comes to troublesome clients. If he didn’t, I have no doubt Adele’s injuries would have been far more serious. Was Naomi Rinskaya beaten?’

  ‘Yes, but not with fists. She’d been battered with something large and heavy, a stone or possibly a stick.’

  ‘She hadn’t been whipped with a leather thong?’

  ‘There were no whip marks on her, only cuts, scrapes, and bruises. You have someone in mind?’

  ‘Fritz escorted a gentleman out last night. He had a whip he’d tried to use on one of my young ladies. Fritz confiscated it before he could wield it but such a man always has a second instrument. It was a standard horsewhip.’

  ‘I suppose it could have been the same man,’ Nathan said slowly. ‘If he didn’t have a whip, he could have resorted to the first thing that came to hand. You have his name?’

  ‘I do, and I will pass it on in confidence to Mr Hughes. Given past experience I am certain that he will refer the man to the Fire Brigade so they can monitor the miscreant. It will be up to them to decide whether the man in question is worth questioning or not.’

  ‘He is a man of influence?’

  ‘Not as much as he thinks. But come, Dr Kharber, this is no topic for breakfast. Let’s talk of more pleasant things. How is your wife?’

  ‘Well, thank you.’

  ‘I see her out shopping at the food stalls occasionally.’

  ‘You do your own marketing, not your cook?’

  ‘My cook would never trust me to buy our provisions,’ Koshka replenished their coffee cups. ‘But I often take a turn in my carriage in the afternoon. I also like to sit in front of my window when I read. This town is full of life, something always seems to be going on. Not all of it tragic.’

  ‘Thankfully not.’ He reached for a second roll.

  ‘I saw Miss Tsetovna enter the hospital this morning before you arrived,’ she tried to sound casual. ‘She isn’t ill, I hope?’

  ‘Not at all.’ He struggled to keep his voice steady. ‘She frequently calls in with gifts of fruit from her aunt’s hothouses for the patients. She may no longer work for us but her thoughts are always with the nurses and patients. She’s a close friend of both Mrs Parry and Miss Parry, and like the rest of us, is concerned that Mrs Parry doesn’t work too hard at the moment.’

  Koshka wasn’t about to allow him to move the conversation on to a discussio
n about Sarah Parry’s finer qualities. ‘I have heard only good things about Miss Tsetovna.’

  ‘She is a kind, generous, and remarkable young woman.’

  ‘You enjoyed working with her in the hospital.’

  ‘Very much. We all miss her and her efficiency.’

  ‘Then the hospital’s loss is Mr Hughes’s and the New Russia Company’s gain. Forgive me my poor manners, Dr Kharber, but I have a few things to attend to. Fritz will give you your fee when you have finished. ‘Please feel free to avail yourself of whatever you wish before you leave. It has been a pleasure to see you as always.’

  ‘Thank you.’ Nathan rose to his feet as Koshka left the room. He was flustered, as he invariably was whenever Sonya’s name came up in conversation. He only hoped Koshka hadn’t seen just how disconcerted he’d been by the mention of her name. He looked at his roll. His appetite was gone. He pocketed the purse Koshka had given him and left his chair.

  Koshka was one of the kindest most generous women he’d ever met. Not for the first time he wondered at the mores of society that made outcasts of women who forged successful careers with nothing more at their disposal than their charms.

  And at the hypocrisy of men, who were happy to use those women within private walls and yet treated them as pariahs whenever they ventured into the wider world.

  Chapter Twenty-three

  Madam Koshka’s salon

  February 1872

  ‘Adele, your turn next. Lucky last,’ Xenia winked as the door closed on Michelle, one of the few authentic French women who worked in the salon. ‘You do realise that if you succeed in inveigling the handsome doctor into bed as a thank you for tending to your bruises, you’ll be the first to seduce him in this house.’

  ‘That’s the challenge.’

  ‘He’s very good-looking, isn’t he?’ Natalya, a young Cossack Koshka had just taken on, declared. ‘I saw him and his wife walking through the town yesterday. She looks like a wrinkled old prune. Do you think he sleeps with her?’

  ‘Presumably, as he married her,’ Xenia said. ‘But whether he does or doesn’t it’s none of your business.’

  ‘She looks years and years older than him. I’d entertain him for free if he asked,’ Natalya continued. ‘He’s so good-looking. All I had last night were greybeards who took for ever, and three two-rouble tips. Is it true madam will give you ten roubles for making the doctor happy?’

  ‘Five roubles,’ Xenia corrected. ‘And aren’t you supposed to be checking that the wine glasses are clean for tonight.’

  Natalya made a face behind Xenia’s back as she flounced off.

  ‘I saw that,’ Xenia called after her.

  Natalya ran and slammed the door behind her.

  ‘How could you possibly have seen that face she made?’ Adele asked Xenia.

  ‘I didn’t, but I’ve seen too many young girls like her come into the salon. Full of themselves, thinking they know it all.’

  ‘I heard your admirer stayed the night again. He’s getting to be quite a regular. A friend of Mr Hughes and a Welshman, lucky you. Is he very rich?’ Adele probed.

  ‘He’s nice, good company, a gentleman, and always leaves me a present. I’m getting quite fond of him, but he’s not in the same class as Prince Roman. Not many of us can aspire to aristocratic clients.’

  ‘The prince is a good friend, but I have no idea how much longer he’ll keep visiting me. You’ve heard he’s engaged?’

  ‘To the heiress niece of Catherine Ignatova. I overheard Mr Hughes and Mr Dmitri talking about it. But since when has an engagement – or marriage come to that – stopped a man from visiting Koshka’s?’ Xenia asked.

  ‘It’ll stop the prince,’ Adele prophesied gloomily. ‘He’s not like most of our clients. He prizes honesty in all aspects of his life – and he likes his women one at a time.’

  ‘Honesty! One at a time! In that case he must be truly unique. Who was it said that all men, like cats, are grey in the dark? They’re cheaters by nature.’

  ‘They’re cheaters until they find the right woman,’ Adele contradicted. ‘Most men only want comfort and a quiet private life, including in the bedroom.’

  ‘In my experience, only after a good few years of excitement.’

  ‘I’m coming,’ Adele called in reply to a knock on the door. She pulled the belt of her robe tighter as she left her chair.

  ‘Good luck with the seduction,’ Xenia called after her.

  The first time Nathan had examined Koshka’s ‘girls’ he’d been more embarrassed than his patients. He’d treated prostitutes in hospitals in Paris and Vienna but he’d never felt at ease in their company, particularly when they’d begun discussing their intimate problems openly without a hint of the modesty that was ingrained into Jewish girls from birth. They’d stripped off in front of him without a qualm, deliberately setting out to arouse and excite him, and laughing in his face when they succeeded.

  Sensing his nervousness, Koshka’s girls had treated him more kindly than their counterparts in France and Austria. After a few months of weekly visits, a friendship of sorts had developed between them, but Nathan never felt he was the one in authority when he was with them. Their profession and way of life was so alien to his own, their frank directness so different to Jewish women’s reticence, he was never quite sure how to treat them.

  ‘Last one, Dr Kharber.’ Adele walked into the room used by Nathan because it had a high raised sofa as well as a double bed. Without waiting for him to ask, she dropped her robe. She lay on the sofa, and watched his face intently as he examined her. He pretended not to notice her staring at him.

  ‘You’re fine.’ He turned his back to her and washed his hands in the basin on the washstand.

  ‘Thanks to the care you bestowed on my face, madam’s precautions, and a plethora of French letters.’

  He was unsure how to respond to the flippant remark, so he didn’t. ‘Any problems with your jaw now?’

  ‘None, thank you.’ She opened her mouth wide to prove it.

  ‘You can get dressed.’ He picked up Adele’s robe from the chair where she’d left it and handed it to her.

  She continued to look into his eyes as she rose to her knees. Instead of taking the robe, she stroked the front of his trousers. His cheeks flushed red.

  ‘Madam has instructed me to entertain you.’

  ‘That isn’t necessary.’

  ‘We should accommodate your every wish, Dr Kharber – on the house. After all, you look after us so well, the least we can do is look after you.’

  ‘I’m … married,’ he stammered.

  ‘So are most of our clients. You also look very tired. I’m not suggesting you should do anything you don’t want to, but this sofa is very comfortable, the bed even more so. If you lay down I’ll give you a massage to help you relax.’

  Nathan had never been so tempted. He glanced at the bed. The sheets gleamed white, freshly laundered and starched. Just like earlier when he’d realised he was hungry, he suddenly felt in desperate need of sleep after working most of the night.

  It was as though Adele sensed his exhaustion. ‘You have no pressing business to attend to, do you?’ She reached up and gently caressed the back of his neck with her fingertips, pushing her naked breasts against him as she did so. ‘Just a few minutes – a small gift in return for all you do for us.’

  Intoxicated by her perfume and proximity, he turned. Adele then did something she reserved for very few clients. She kissed him, full on the mouth. When she finished kissing him, they were both on the bed, and most of his clothes were on top of her robe on the chair.

  Madam Koshka’s salon

  February 1872

  ‘I am so sorry to keep you waiting, Roman, it’s my morning for dealing with tradesmen and placing orders for the coming week. Like all business people every one of them was in a hurry and none were prepared to wait.’ Koshka joined Roman in her boudoir.

  ‘Fritz has been taking good care of me.’ Roman indic
ated the bottle of cognac and glass at his elbow.

  ‘He said you wanted to see Adele?’

  ‘He told me she’s with a client. I was amazed to hear that she’s working again. Is she well enough?’

  ‘It was her decision to return to work, not mine.’

  ‘In which case I’m not surprised that she’s in demand even before ten o’clock in the morning – or is he a leftover from last night you haven’t managed to eject?’ he enquired archly.

  ‘I’m sure she’ll be delighted to see you as soon as she is free,’ Koshka replied diplomatically.

  Roman pulled a leather purse from his pocket and set it on the table. ‘I only wanted to give her this. I’ve been meaning to visit her for weeks but we’ve been busy in the works.’

  ‘I heard – full production of pig iron, no less.’

  ‘Mr Hughes has done exactly what he promised he would, upsetting all his detractors in Moscow and St Petersburg who said he’d set himself an impossible task. But to return to my reason for calling, I thought Adele might need money as she hasn’t been able to entertain clients for a while.’

  Koshka glanced at the purse that was full and looked heavy. She didn’t doubt it contained gold coin. ‘Very thoughtful of you. Will you continue to visit Adele after you marry Sonya?’

  Roman searched for but didn’t find a hint of reproach – or approval – in Koshka’s tone. ‘If I get married.’ He reached for the brandy. ‘Forget I said that.’

  ‘Something’s happened between you and Sonya?’

  ‘No, I …’ he thought better of elaborating. ‘No, really it’s not worth discussing.’

  ‘You saw Sonya enter the hospital early this morning and she appeared upset when she left?’ Koshka suggested.

  ‘Her chaperone mentioned that they’d called into the hospital before she started work. You saw Sonya too?’

  ‘From my window. You do know that Dr Kharber left the building as Sonya arrived?’

  ‘No, I didn’t.’

  ‘It’s Dr Kharber’s morning for checking my girls, but he arrived just after eight o’clock. I believe he wanted to get away from the hospital after spending all night caring for a young diphtheria patient. It must be emotionally draining trying to save the lives of children, and even more devastating to lose them, especially young ones, as he so often does despite all the care he lavishes on them. However, Nathan told me that last night’s patient survived, let’s hope that the boy continues to make a full recovery.’