Daughter of the Raven

by Cherime MacFarlane

  "Leontine, it is "Charles is going into the diplomatic corps". He is planning to enter politics after that, followed by, she will have the "most wonderful wardrobe"...I am sick of the sound of his name!"

  "What is it about him you find so repulsive? He is of good family, an only child, so there will be no need to divide the inheritance when the time comes. His father has made a good living. The man has a reputation as a very good attorney. Why do you and Dmitri dislike him so? I just do not understand."

  Camille wrung her hands together while glancing over at her two younger children. She and Leontine were speaking French so there was no necessity to make sure they were out of earshot.

  "She is obsessed with him! I just do not believe she is in love with him."

  "Come Camille. We both know love is infrequently a part of a good marriage."

  "Leontine, my apologies. I will make them at the beginning of this conversation, as I know I am going to say some things, which will ultimately hurt you. I do know love is most necessary. No human can live without love. Do you now love Samuel? Did you both finally find common ground? Did love spring from it? I know without your sacrifice neither of us would be where we are today. But if Dmitri did not love me, I could not live!"

  Leontine sighed. "We do have a sort of love. I am not sure when it developed or what exactly changed, but we do have a deep affection for each other. I think this pregnancy, late as it may be, actually is a product of that affection."

  "I am so glad to hear it. I have always felt a bit guilty that in order to save us, you had to pay such a steep price."

  "Oh, Camille! Never that! Do not feel guilty. I knew Samuel and I thought alike when I first met him. As the years have gone by we have come to a good place in our lives together."

  Tears welled up in Camille's eyes. "Thank God for that! I have prayed for you to find happiness for many years. I am so blessed with Dmitri, I wished the same for you. That is one reason why I am not happy when I picture Charles and Anya together. I do not believe he really loves Anya as she should be loved. It is like he is a collector looking for a fine piece to add to his possessions."

  "Put that way, I begin to see a bit of what you mean. She is such a volatile, sensitive little thing, perhaps she needs more than I ever did that way."

  "That is it exactly! She needs to be needed, not put on a shelf to be admired. Anya will wither without love."

  "Since we are speaking about love. Perhaps you would like to elaborate on what you almost lost." Leontine looked at Camille questioningly.

  Camille rose from her chair and turned away from her aunt. She would need to explain somewhat. After a moment, she again seated herself opposite Leontine.

  "I was afraid we would return to that. There are some things I am never going to tell you, my dear. Some things are past and need to stay in the past. I see no need to open old wounds.

  But, the nuns almost ruined my marriage. I had no idea how to love my husband. I had not the slightest notion of how to please him, or myself. At times I would unbend, then feel guilty over doing so. When Dmitri would come to me after I had given in to what the nuns called lust, I would feel guilty over having behaved in such an immoral manner and I became untouchable. I nearly drove us both insane."

  Leontine took both Camille's hands in hers.

  "I am so sorry cher! I have to confess to you, I have not had a problem with that aspect of marriage. In fact, I must be honest, Samuel and I did come together prior to marriage. The night before, but we did so. We have always been perfectly content with that portion of our relationship."

  Stunned, Camille could only stare at her Aunt. Camille began to laugh. "Am I the only one in the world who believed all I was told? Surely not."

  "Of course not, cher. If you recall, there were girls becoming nuns all the time. They most certainly believed. Sometimes, it is difficult to separate the reasonable from the unreasonable. Since I am older than you, I saw more of the way the world really was, before the war."

  Leontine was silent for a moment as she looked down at her hands. "I did not tell you, but the nuns took you in as a charity case. They fully expected you would be taking vows and become a nun. I led them toward the idea knowing, I would not let that happen."

  "Camille, I need to ask your pardon. After the first year, when your Momma and Jean died," Leontine took out a handkerchief and dabbed at her brimming eyes. "I was so afraid something would happen to you. You were too small to defend yourself and I did not have the strength to defend both of us. Some of those men thought nothing of assaulting a child."

  Leontine's took a deep breath and reached out to brush Camille's cheek with her fingertips. "I thought if you did not remember, then it did not matter. I was wrong. So I will tell you of one night, in the house in the French Quarter. The one we shared with my friend and her sister, do you recall?"

  Camille shook her head. "There is a great deal I have no memory of."

  Leontine nodded. "Oui and I thought it was for the best. It appears I was mistaken. Drunken men broke in and ...we all had to fight them off with whatever came to hand. But one of them had you and was....he tried....he was the last to go down. He was so drunk we had to hit him in the head repeatedly with a pot to stop him. I took you to the nuns the next day and begged them to keep and protect you."

  Putting her head on her arms, Leontine began to sob. Camille rose. Standing next to Leontine, Camille hugged her aunt. "No, no cher. You did the very best you could. It was a horrid time. You got us out of New Orleans! If not for you I would not have Dmitri. There would be no Dmi, no Lexie. It is over and done with, cher."

  "Oh, but it was so wonderful before the war. The estate, the garden, the horses, our place in New Orleans and all the fun we had. You were too young to really know what was destroyed by the war. I sometimes dream of it as it was then. But, I had to let it go! Ah Camille, we should have cleared this out long ago."

  Camille rubbed her Aunt's back, and murmured soothingly. Now, the last piece of the puzzle lay in place. Dmitri needed to know. Their first year of marriage had nearly destroyed both of them. Now, all the old ghosts could be truly banished.'

  Dmitri and Camille lay in the big bed. Camille stroked one leg gently up and down his. Her fingers idly played with the still golden curls on his chest. Her head lay on his shoulder and she was more than content.

  "Leontine and I had a very long overdue talk today."

  "And?" He asked softly.

  Camille moved her hand to his heart. She felt it beat strongly beneath her fingers. Oh thank you God, thank you that he loves me! "There was much I have wiped from my memory."

  Dmitri tightened his hold on his wife as he kissed the top of her head. "You do not need to talk about it, if you do not wish to."

  "Do you know I love you more than I can ever begin to tell you? I know how we started and to be here now, the way we are. You are my husband, lover and friend. I do not wish to be parted from you for even an hour." Her warm breath drifted across his skin.

  Dmitri sighed as he cuddled her closer. "I long for you when I am away. I understand, love. Nothing, no one, can ever take your place in my life. You are all I want and need. It is why I call you moy sladkiy, my honey, you are the sweetness in my life."

  "So, I can tell you of my conversation with Leontine today. You will now know all. But oddly, I remember almost nothing about those years. I remember being with the sisters....but..."

  Dmitri listened as Camille related the conversation in the garden. He was very quiet for a time. Only by the tension in him did she know he was awake and thinking.

  Then he spoke. "Poor Leontine! I am glad you do not recall that particular horror. I wonder how many women suffered. Women and children, the sick and old, are always the ones who bear the worst burdens in war. You both suffered. I am sorry you had to experience it. But I am glad she found a way to rescue you both, so you can now be here with me."

  Dmitri thought about the difficulties, which had faced the first Russian settl
ers. "When I think about how my own father came to Alaska. Several times he nearly died. Poppa worked hard to carve out a place for us here. It was not easy. The last thing he expected was to inherit. With two brothers before him, it did not occur to him that he might become Count Bressoff."

  "Dmitri that is another matter. I know there was difficulty with the Russian estates before we left the island. Have you settled all?"

  "Here we are again, woman! Business in bed." He grumbled.

  "The perils of marrying a woman with a brain. Now." Camille flipped the bed covers partially over them. Dmitri pulled them the balance of the way across. "What is the present situation?"

  Far in the distance, Dmitri heard a fog horn. San Francisco would be a bit cool tonight.

  "It is late, so I will give you a synopsis. The last manager of the estate was cheating everyone. Those who were working on shares and myself. All my relatives have left. There was no one I could trust to manage the land. I felt the only recourse I had was to simply let the farmers sell their produce on the open market and close the estates. I have deeded the land to the peasants and I am not sorry to be free of it."

  "I doubt your course of action will endear you to either the cousins or the remaining aristocracy." She observed.

  Camille wondered how he was so readily able to let go of what had belonged to the family for hundreds of years.

  "It is all crumbling around them. I fear Russia is to follow France's path. I see nothing, but chaos. From what I was given to understand, my cousins took everything of value. I gather they felt it their due. I could care less, it never was my home. I have never really felt for the land there, what I feel for Alaska. My father made what we have in this land the center of his and my world. The old Russia is dying. But, here, in this United States, we are a young, growing country I am proud to be a part of."

  Camille smiled in the dark. "Well, I do admit to being of two minds as to the Union. I have reservations about having been forced to stay a part of it. But, it is done. The South and that way of life is over. Not that I really knew much of it. Hearing Leontine talk of it today, did affect me more than a little, however."

  "Hummm." Dmitri yawned. "We are here, this is now. I intend to continue to make a life and living for those I am responsible for in this new world."

  He yawned again. "Let me sleep, woman. I need to be up and about early."

  They cuddled beneath the covers in their warm little nest as the gray fog crept up out of the bay.

  Dmitri walked the few blocks to the house he, Camille and the children would be occupying for the balance of their stay in California. The last of the fog was evaporating as the sun came up in a bright blue sky. The head contractor had assured him all was finished and they could move in at any time.

  A meeting with a walk though inspection was scheduled for early this morning. Dmitri decided to walk to the house for the exercise. The walk down hill went quickly, perhaps too quickly. There was much to process. His mind was so beset, it was difficult to concentrate on one matter to the exclusion of the remainder.

  Leontine and Camille, the Russian estates and the situation in the old country as a whole, were bothersome enough. Then, there was the Australian crash, the opening of the cannery near Nushagak, the possibility of oil in Cook Inlet, the Sherman Silver Purchase Act, the need for good timber and the shrinking supply. But, the icing on the cake was the situation with Keetering and Anya.

  Dmitri needed the housing situation resolved immediately. Then he, Camille and Stanislaus and perhaps even Samuel, needed to hold a meeting. This time he wanted input as to the way out of the maze facing him. Samuel would not be privy to all of the business matters, but the ones regarding the timber business, those he needed to be aware of. Dmitri had a bad feeling about the next few years. It all had the same feel as the financial climate of 1873.

  Nothing was infinite, but God. Dmitri possessed first-hand knowledge of the way in which resources could be exhausted. The demise of the fur trade was firmly rooted in his memory. A mad scramble had then ensued as those who had depended exclusively on the fur trade, sought something to take its place.

  His background had firmly imprinted on him the reality of stewardship. Dmitri Bressoff the first, had been a good steward as had been his mother on taking over the reins. Now it was up to him to pass on a thriving business, diversified and healthy to the next generation.

  The house they would be occupying stood tall next to its neighbors. The garden was not as large as he would have liked, but would do for now. This was not going to be more than a stop over. Bressoff Island was home. They would eventually resume their lives on the island. How many of them would do so? That was a question of immediate concern to him.

  Dmitri and the contractor walked through the house. He was not entirely pleased with the layout of it, the children on the floor above the suite he and Camille shared, did not serve.

  The idea that children should be seen and not heard was offensive. Dmitri wanted to see them, touch them and play with them. They were vastly entertaining and he loved each one. The house was a jumble of small rooms for this and that, most unlike his island home. This place was an interim measure for a very short time.

  Leaving a list of items which needed to be addressed before the family moved in on the following day, Dmitri started up the steep hill to Leontine and Samuel's home.

  Of all the other matters striving to claim first worry status in his brain, Anya won. Camille had perhaps come closest to verbalizing his uneasiness. Keetering had sufficient resources of his own that Dmitri did not believe he was a simple fortune hunter. Although God knew, Keetering would probably expect a goodly sum to be settled on Anya. It was the idea of Anya being an addition to a collection, which concerned him.

  Moy doch'. This is not what I had hoped for you! The Count thought as he walked up the hill. Dmitri was glad of the exercise. He needed physical action, a thing of which there was little to be had in the city.

  Moving day saw a return of the fog, which refused to be defeated by a weak sun. As rain did not appear imminent, the planned move went forward. It was all accomplished quickly and efficiently by a couple of seamen from one of Samuel's ships and Dmitri.

  The men were a bit taken aback when the master of the new house appeared dressed as a working man, a man who accomplished his share of the task. Samuel never having seen this side of Dmitri was not sure what to think. Camille, knowing the state of mind her husband was in, simply smiled.

  She knew as soon as all their goods and there was not that much for the moment, was in the house, she would take control. As she made sure everything was properly stowed, Dmitri would be left with little to do but worry. The physical labor was good for him.

  A delivery of furniture was expected later in the day. Camille was careful to buy only what was immediately necessary. A table to eat on, chairs to sit on and beds to sleep in were necessary items.

  Anya was the only family member with more than one trunk. In fact, Dmi and Lexie shared a trunk. As new things were needed, they would be acquired. Camille had located sources of supply and would deal with matters as they arose. There was a need for pots, pans and odd household items.

  Neither Camille nor Dmitri had any inclination to join in the rounds of dinners, balls and parties. Leontine would handle the social details until she was considered to be indisposed.

  A wedding was something Camille did not wish to consider. It was possible she might be hiding under a rock when it came to her step-daughter, but so be it. When the time came they would manage.

  Once the furniture was installed and arranged to her liking, Camille retired to the kitchen. She was engaging a cook and a housekeeper for the short term. Ilyia would help care for the children.

  Camille had no intention of hiring a full staff. The housekeeper would serve as a butler. That was as far as Camille was prepared to take the matter of staffing the house.

  With Dmitri, she longed for the quiet pleasures of her island home. The la
rge sitting room, the quiet study with its view of the harbor, the warm and cozy kitchen and large upstairs bedrooms. The forest and its ever changing moods, the green of spring, flowers of summer and the berries of the fall, all called to her. San Francisco was too noisy, too bustling and contained entirely too many people.

  Dmitri and Samuel sat in the newly furbished study. It smelled of fresh paint, but the view left something to be desired.

  The other man, however, was a comfortable companion. It occurred to Dmitri he was actually fond of Samuel now that he had finally spent enough time with Devins to gain some knowledge of him.

  "Dmitri, since Camille is in the process of hiring a cook, you all really should dine with us tonight."

  "I will ask, but I know she is ready to nest a bit." Dmitri smiled at Devins, as he played idly with one of his ever present cigars. "I believe Camille mentioned something about your cook having made up a nice basket for tonight and tomorrow morning."

  "Nesting?" Samuel repeated the word with a short nod. "I think Leontine is heading in that direction. Yesterday she and Camille were deciding which room to turn into a nursery. Leontine told me she absolutely wants the nursery on the same floor as our bedroom. I think she is a bit overly protective already."

  Having more involvement with mothers, the Count laughed at the frown on Devins' face. "You may as well give up on that one. In the business of child rearing, you have to pick your battles. Think carefully before waging war. From experience, I can tell you grizzly bears are easier to deal with than irate mothers."

  Samuel laughed a bit ruefully with Dmitri. "I will keep your advice in mind. I caught a glimpse of momma bear yesterday."

  Shifting in his chair, Bressoff reached for a match in order to light his cigar. "On an entirely different front, I do wish to schedule a meeting regarding the present state of the economy and what effect it may have on our business. I thought perhaps, early next week."

  Samuel leaned forward to reach for Dmitri's cigar in order to light his own. "May I?"