by Pavel Kornev
"To hell with you!" I exhaled chokingly. I took my Mauser from the table and shook the magazine from the handle just in case. I made sure the bullets were still inside, and thumbed it back in.
After that, I poured a glass of water from a crystal decanter, drank it and returned to the couch, but as soon as I fell asleep, a ghastly iron shuddering came from the alarm clock, which I'd set for four in the morning. It was time to go to the train station.
I arrived at the station half an hour before the train. Vacationers were ambling sleepily through the hall, their summer respite now having come to a close. Their dejected faces brought me no joy, so I headed for the night concessions. I took a seat at a table there and asked them to bring me a glass of cold water and a cup of black coffee. My intoxication had already passed. My head didn't hurt. But getting up this early was long since out of my habit; I looked obviously beside myself.
I shivered, bent into sleep, and felt slightly liverish.
I took a few gulps of the water, then started in on the coffee in no particular hurry. It was much too hot and bitter, but it did give me energy and rid me of my sleepiness. By now, there were no remaining consequences from yesterday's port-wine abuse.
I had even started to think about buying a couple of miniature pastries with egg-white cream, but I didn't have time. I simply felt another's gaze on me and turned.
It was the Marquess Montague, walking in my direction.
He was walking in my direction precisely. I hadn't the slightest doubt.
My heart was skipping beats, but I got myself together and put on a careless smile, abandoning all guesses about the Marquess's intentions and motives. Unpleasant and frightening stuff.
"Lev!" the Marquess exhaled noisily. "I'd already lost all hope of finding you. Fortunately, it occurred to me to come up here."
"Has something happened, George?" I asked, no longer on guard. "Something with Liliana? The story in yesterday's paper made her very upset."
"That's what I wanted to talk to you about," Lily's father said, his cheeks swelling out heavily. He placed a hand on his heart and slouched, then turned to a concessions worker: "A glass of water, please!"
Over the last night, it looked as if the Marquess Montague had aged fifty years. His skin had acquired an unhealthy gray shade. Under his eyes, there were dark blue bags. Wrinkles sliced through his forehead. And even his rakishly thick mustache from yesterday had gone thin.
Taking a greedy drink of water, the Marquess sat down on a chair and gestured for me to join him.
"There's still time," he said, throwing back the lid of his silver onion-shaped pocket watch. "The train will arrive in a quarter hour. You are leaving on the five o'clock, right?"
"That's right."
"Great! So is Liliana."
"Is that so?" I asked, astonished.
"Yeah, she decided to spend a couple of days in the capital to unwind."
I nodded, noting to myself that it all was reminiscent of a panicked flight from a danger I was unaware of.
"You understand, Lev," the Marquess sighed heavily, "she's already a grown woman, but for me, she will always remain a little girl. It is a totally natural fatherly desire – to care for one’s offspring. And young people think it's so easy... the presumptuous rapscallions."
"I'm not sure I understand you, George."
"Liliana is our only child," the Marquess told me. "My wife would never survive if something happened to her. And after yesterday's news, she just doesn't seem the same. She needs time to calm down. Lev, if you're already headed to New Babylon, I'd like you to look after Lily on the road and send us a telegram when she gets to her hotel. Please – you'd be obliging me greatly."
I opened my mouth to refuse and closed it again, gathering my thoughts.
"Why me? Why not send a servant with her?"
"She doesn't want to see anyone. In fact, you're the first friend she's made since we got back from Calcutta."
"She didn't seem like such a hermit to me."
"Hiding from the world inside a building, or inside your self – is the difference so great?"
Either the Marquess seriously thought I was his daughter's secret admirer, or he was slightly playing at something, so I took my time considering his assignment. In the end, I declared straightforwardly:
"George, but you know nothing about me! How can you trust me?"
The Marquess smiled:
"My dear Lev! First of all, I don't need anything extraordinary from you. Second, I'm a good judge of character," he said, setting everything out in an organized fashion. He then added with a smile: "Although, your friendship with the scandalous poet speaks, most likely, not in your favor..."
We laughed at the joke and I clarified:
"So, you just want me to look out for Liliana in the train and send a telegram?"
"Yes."
I nodded and asked:
"George, did I tell you I used to serve in the police?"
Lily's father pulled himself together, and after an unmistakable pause, confirmed:
"You did, Lev, yes. You told me."
"So then, it just seems very suspicious to me that your daughter would flee the city so hurriedly because of some newspaper hoax about Kali Stranglers."
The Marquess sighed heavily:
"Believe me, Lev. There's nothing suspicious in it. Phansigars are a touchy subject for all of us. Remember, I mentioned my poor friend who was strangled together with his whole family? Liliana was engaged to his eldest son. They'd known each other since childhood. Can you imagine what a fearsome blow that was to her?"
That fact surprised me a great deal, because I had heard Liliana dedicate a dance to the goddess Kali in the cabaret with my own ears, but I didn't make any signs that I knew that, and hurried to beg forgiveness.
"Forgive me for opening up an old wound."
"Drop it, Lev! It isn't your fault. It was all the newspapermen. Unprincipled jackals!"
"You don't believe in the stranglers?"
"I’ve spoken with the head of the police. He is convinced it was a suicide."
"That explains a lot," I noted distantly, although I had no faith in that version of events.
"So, do you agree?"
"How could I say no?" I threw up my arms. "But, unfortunately, I will not be able to accompany Liliana in her travels through the city. I have a very full schedule for the next few days."
"Oh, it was bad form on my part to come to you with such a burdensome request. Simply accompany her to the hotel. During the voyage, Liliana will calm down. She's strong. Very strong." The Marquess clapped me on the shoulder and warned: "I hope you can keep our conversation a secret? Liliana has a morbid resentment of her parents' care."
"I'll do everything in my power."
The Marquess then pulled an envelope from his inner jacket pocket and extended it to me:
"Take this!"
"What is that?"
"A first-class ticket. I'll return yours to the cashier."
I went for my wallet.
"Let's see if I can make up the difference..."
"Hogwash! It's the least I could do to compensate you for the trouble."
I did not want to start the journey with no money at all, so I didn't refuse and traded my own ticket in for a first-class one. What’s to hide? I love comfort. Also, how else would I be able to watch Liliana in the train?
"You don't have any baggage?" asked the Marquess.
"I travel light," I smiled, squeezing his hand farewell and heading onto the platform. With a hopeless look, I showed the ticket to the conductor, who was shaken by my appearance and walked into the half-empty Pullman car. The journey ahead was long, so after finding a comfortable seat, I gained a full appreciation of the Marquess's favor. Everything had come together very nicely. Very.
But as for Lily...
Liliana was wearing a heavy traveling dress and a simple hat. She was sitting next to the window, her face pale and sunken. When I sat down opposite her,
she raised her swollen red eyes and exhaled in surprise:
"Leo?! You ride first class?"
I smiled hopelessly.
"Yes, I decided to travel in comfort."
"And why didn't you warn me?"
"How was I supposed to know..." I began and instantly realized that I had started out on the wrong foot but, still, I finished my sentence, "that you also decided to go to New Babylon?"
"But you weren't surprised!" Liliana shot back, having picked up on my game in an instant. "You weren't surprised to see me!"
"Well, sure I wasn't. I met your father on the platform."
"Ah, so there it is!" Lily said significantly, drawing out her words. "Now I understand why the hell he was asking all about you!"
I tensed up inside, but didn't show it and asked carelessly:
"And why the hell might that be?"
"He asked you to look after me, right? He probably also bought you the ticket!"
"Where'd you get that from?"
"I don't need a nanny!" my companion announced for all to hear, attracting intrigued gazes from fellow travelers. "This form of care... is simply degrading! A blatant example of male chauvinism!"
"Allow me to disagree."
"I will do no such thing!" Lily cut me off. "My father still thinks me a thoughtless child incapable of looking after myself!"
I shook my head:
"I'm sure he doesn't think that."
Lily glanced at me unexpectedly sharply and asked point-blank:
"Did he ask you to look after me? Yes or no?"
"Yes. But..."
"No 'buts!'"
"You didn't consider that he may have had a slightly different reason for the request?"
"And what, do you suppose that might have been?" Lily asked with unhidden skepticism.
"To give me the chance to be near you. Didn’t you tell me he suspects I’m your secret admirer?"
Liliana gasped in indignation, but immediately got herself together and smiled charmingly:
"And what about you? Why did you agree to his offer?"
"Is comfort not a good enough reason for you?"
"Leo!"
"What's more, you're here. In second class, I'd be all alone."
"Fine words! But how can I trust you, knowing that you agreed to spy on me? Tell me, how?!"
"Balderdash," I winced. "Spying on you does not enter into my plans. I'll help you with your baggage and we can leave it at that, seeing as how my company is so objectionable to you. I have a very busy schedule."
Liliana picked up her reticule, and made a show of getting up to sit at the opposite end of the train car. I turned to the window in a no less showy display. The distance we didn't speak at made no difference to me. The train had already started. She wouldn't be able to get out.
What was more, there was nothing worse than yawning and nodding off during a conversation with an attractive member of the opposite sex, and the measured bouncing of the train made me drowsy very quickly. My eyes began closing all on their own. I dozed off.
Dozed off? What am I saying? I crashed hard, and slept through the whole trip to New Babylon. All eight hours. Nerves. It was all nerves. Must have been.
I woke up already in the capital at the Western Train Station. Liliana was sitting opposite me again and looking at me with an incomprehensible expression on her face.
"Who is supposed to look after who, now?" she asked with reproach. "You slept through the whole trip!"
I nodded sleepily, rubbed my face with my hands, then trotted out an iron-clad justification:
"Well, I thought you didn't need looking after, right? I'm in complete solidarity with you on that account."
"Did my father really ask you to look after me?" Lily asked, having started to doubt her suspicions.
But I didn't lower myself to flagrant lies.
"He simply wanted to know what hotel you were staying in. Could I really refuse him such a trifle?"
"Outrageous!" Lily hissed like a maddened kitten and turned away to the window. It didn't offend me. The train came into town, and Liliana was much more interested in admiring the views of the Emperor's Park than contemplating my lumpy physiognomy, entirely independent of whether we had made peace or not.
When the train reached the vicinity of Central Station, I got up from the seat for the first time in the whole journey and stretched my legs. The respectable public, tuckered out by the long journey, didn't even glance at me.
A long whistle blasted out. A shroud of smoke covered the car, and the train started slowing its pace. Not even a minute later, we came into a covered pavilion and the train stopped at a platform.
"Where is your baggage?" I asked Liliana.
"I don't need your help." she cut me off. "After all, you're such a busy person!"
"Well, I think I could find time to treat you to the best profiteroles in the city," I said, casting my lure. My companion changed her contempt for sweetness.
"Alright, take me," she agreed, now arm-and-arm with me
It seemed to me that Liliana was simply bewildered by her surroundings. And not for nothing – to the unprepared, the New Babylon Central Train Station could make an unforgettable impression. It was truly a city in a city. The steam engine of the huge transport mechanism that is the Empire. Train lines connected it with the sea port, and dirigible port; the huge hall was filled with arrivals from the world over. I'm sure that some among them were not even people.
The aromas of perfume, unfamiliar food, tobacco and sweat surrounded us on all sides and I hurried to lead Lily away from all the helter-skelter to a calmer locale.
"Where are we going?" my companion asked, looking from side to side in alarm; I seemed to hear her heart pounding fitfully. Liliana was holding me tight by the left arm, as if she was afraid to let go and get lost in the raging sea of people.
In my right hand, I was carrying her traveling suitcase, which was light and low-profile. If I held the sharp corner in front of myself, it would be a very convenient ram to force my way through the crowd.
"Leo!" Lily jerked me by the arm. "Where are you taking me?"
"We're already here," I told her, pointing at the station's café. As a child, I loved to come here. My father and I had never actually traveled out of the city, he just had the habit of meeting people in the train station.
It was no simple matter but, still, I managed to find a free table; I put the suitcase under the chair, told Lily to look after it and headed off to the buffet. I brought a tray with two cups of coffee and a basket of profiteroles. A significant part of the money remaining in my wallet had gone to the purchase of this tasty treat, but I didn't worry about that. My financial hardships were almost at an end.
Unlike my father, I was preparing not to meet some Socialist or Anarcho-Christian at the train station, but my personal attorney. Beyond the new passport, he was supposed to bring me a bit of cash and a new checkbook. At the very least, I was very much counting on that. New Babylon was not very indulgent of a wanderer without money or documents.
The cup of coffee and profiteroles made the most positive effect on Lily. Her pale face grew pink. My companion stopped looking around in panic, calmed down and started looking at the people walking past below with unhidden interest. The cafe was located on the second floor. One could see the whole train station from here, from the ticket offices to the platform gates.
For that very reason, I saw my attorney long before the frail man, a graduate of a none-too-prestigious university, walked over to the winding staircase and started up to the cafe. There was no one following him. At the very least, I didn't see anyone suspicious.
"I'll be back in a second," I warned Liliana and headed to the boy, who was looking around near the buffet to no avail.
"Viscount!" he exclaimed on seeing my approach.
"Quiet!" I demanded, bowing under the glass as I asked: "Is everything ready?"
Instead of an answer, my attorney handed me a rolled-up newspaper:
/> "Yes."
"Has anyone enquired about me?"
My attorney shook his head and faltered, but still said:
"There are stubborn rumors among your creditors about your demise. They're saying I'm hiding it, taking advantage of your lack of relatives. For now, no one is contesting your signatures or anything, but perhaps..."
"No!" I cut him off. "No one will make a fuss as long as those bloodsuckers keep getting their money on time. So then, you didn't meet me and, as before, all instructions came via post. Is that clear?"
The young, honest jurist took the insinuations about his good nature like a sharp knife, but the pay I gave him covered all possible discomfort with interest. At least, so it always seemed to me.
"Don't get any ideas," I warned my attorney just in case. "Got it?"
"Got it," he drooped.
"Anything else?"
"Mr. Chan is muddying the waters as usual. I hope that the sale of the land on Calvary will calm him down."
Until very recently, the curse had been stopping me from selling my family estate, but now there wasn't even a trace of the dark magic left, so the property could easily go for enough to cover the lion's share of my debts. In principle, I could have covered all my obligations from my Swiss shares, but to avoid potential chit-chat, I paid my loans exclusively with the money that came from the Kósice family fund.
"Will you sign the documents now, or have them sent through Zurich?" my attorney clarified.
"Zurich!" I ordered. "And put in bids on the property through shell buyers. Don't raise the price up too high, not more than ten or fifteen percent."
"Will do."
"Good boy." I clapped the lawyer on the shoulder and motioned toward the stairs unassumingly. "That's all, you may go now."
I was adamantly against introducing my attorney to my companion.
When the lawyer started down the stairs, I walked over to the second-story railing and watched him leave. I still didn't notice anything suspicious and returned to Liliana, sticking the newspaper into my inner jacket pocket on the way.
"And?" I smiled. "Just how were you planning to find your way around here on your own?"
Lily looked at me like an idiotic child.