by Sandra Heath
Palatial mansions with balustraded roofs faced northward over a wide paved avenue toward the river and Vassily Island directly opposite. There were symmetrical windows, tall porticoes, grand pilasters, and walled gardens where the sheltered trees were already in leaf. More trees graced the embankment above the water, and were interspersed with elegant three-branch streetlamps which at night shone on both street and river. English Quay was a very fashionable place to be seen, and on summer evenings the cream of society, including the imperial family, were to be found strolling its length. Fine carriages drove past the mansions, all drawn by no fewer than four horses because distances were so vast in St Petersburg that two horses would soon have tired. Ladies and gentlemen as stylish as their counterparts in Paris or London were taking the air along the pavements, and many small boats and several elegant private barges were moored at jetties from which wide flights of stone steps led up to the street above.
Nikolai stood watching from the deck of the Irina as Alison and Francis were rowed toward the steps that were nearest Thomas Clearwell’s residence. His dark eyes were half-closed and his lips a set line. After unwittingly telling the truth by correcting herself over whether the Duchess of Albemarle was to have had passengers or a single passenger for the last part of her voyage, she had then deliberately lied again. She had insisted that she and Lord Buckingham were both to have sailed to St Petersburg on the Duchess of Albemarle, and yet, he Nikolai Ivanovich Naryshky, knew that Lord Buckingham had booked passage on the Pavlovsk. And then there was her unusual knowledge of the shallow waters of the gulf. In spite of her ready explanation, there was something disquieting about the incident. It all confirmed his suspicion that there was more to the two English lovebirds than met the eye, and it made him all the more determined to get to the bottom of it all. He couldn’t afford to let them outwit him, and now that they were here in St Petersburg, where his power and tentacles reached into every corner, it wouldn’t be long before the whole business had been satisfactorily settled.
A thin smile played on his lips as he thought of Alison. Yes, soon everything would be settled to his complete satisfaction.
9
The rowing boat was still some way from the steps leading up to English Quay, and Alison shivered as she sat in the stern next to Francis. She glanced back toward the Irina, which gleamed very white out on the dark-blue water of the Neva, and she could quite clearly see Nikolai standing on the deck watching.
She looked uneasily at Francis. ‘I’ve made a bungle of it, haven’t I?’ she asked frankly, keeping her voice in a whisper for fear that the man rowing the boat might understand English.
‘It can’t be helped,’ replied Francis with equal frankness.
‘But what exactly did I say that was so wrong? I know I was foolish when I mentioned the shallow navigation in the gulf, but there was something else, wasn’t there?’
He nodded. ‘It was when he prompted you about us both sailing from Stockholm on the Duchess of Albemarle. I fear he has already checked and knows full well that I was never booked to sail on any vessel other than the Pavlovsk.
She stared at him. ‘Then that must mean that he now truly suspects we’re being less than honest with him?’
‘I would if I were he.’
She was appalled to think that she’d given them both away. ‘I’m so sorry,’ she said in a small voice.
He put an arm quickly around her shoulders. ‘I think the damage was done long before now, Alison. Since he asked you so pointedly about our sailing arrangements, I’ve been considering everything that happened from the moment you arrived at the Dog and Flute. If he was curious enough about us to inquire concerning the passage we’d booked, maybe he was also curious enough to ask certain questions at the inn itself.’ He met her eyes. ‘There was a flaw in our story, Alison, and I wish I’d seen it before now, because I think that that flaw is the reason for his great interest in us. You told him that I had asked to be placed in the room next to yours, but I didn’t ask any such thing; indeed, it would have been quite obvious to anyone making inquiries that pure chance was the only reason I was in the adjacent room.’
Tears suddenly filled her eyes. ‘And that was my fault as well, wasn’t it? If I hadn’t said—’
‘You had to say it once you had embarked on your story. I don’t blame you for any of this, please believe me. Circumstances dictated what happened, and you said what you had to get away from him. It didn’t work, and so I had to intervene.’
‘But it’s still because of me that the prince is so intent upon what we do. You have to see the czar, but the prince can put a stop to that in a moment if the whim takes him, which it might do easily now that he’s found us out in mistakes of my doing, and now that he’s here in St Petersburg—’
‘He can still be fobbed off,’ Francis interrupted quietly. ‘There is one obvious way to get ourselves out of this scrape, and I’ve known we must take it ever since I saw the Irina at Kronstadt.’
‘Obvious way? I don’t understand.’
He smiled a little, putting his gloved hand to her cheek. ‘I know you don’t, Alison, but I said that I’d do the right thing by you, and I meant it.’
She flushed slightly, remembering the moment he had said those words to her. He had also called her the sweetest of innocents, and he had kissed her. ‘I still don’t understand,’ she whispered.
‘I wasn’t jesting when I told Naryshky we would be married as soon as the necessary special license could be obtained. I intend to make you my bride as soon as possible.’
She stared at him and then drew back sharply. ‘What are you saying?’ she breathed incredulously.
‘Simply that I must do the logical as well as the honorable thing.’
‘Have you taken leave of your senses?’ she cried, and then realized she had allowed her voice to rise sufficiently for the sailor to look curiously at her. She lowered her tone again. ‘Francis, I know that your mission here is vital, but to go to such inordinate lengths—’
‘I don’t mean to do this simply because of the reason I’m here,’ he interrupted, putting his hand to her cheek again, ‘although I admit that it must be my most immediate consideration. So let us take that point first. Our government has been forced to use me in order to place vital information in Alexander’s hands. He has to receive those documents if Bonaparte is to be thwarted and peace is to continue. Naryshky and his sister admire Bonaparte, and do all they can to promote his cause, which naturally means preventing any possible approach from Britain. Naryshky now has reason to doubt that I’m simply a devotee of the turf, and he’s obviously wondering if we’re also more than just the ardent and besotted lovers we’ve pretended to be. We’ve made some slipups, but they’re not insuperable, especially if we do indeed go through with the marriage.’
She stared at him. ‘You make it sound so simple.’
‘No, Alison, it isn’t simple, I’m just saying that I think Naryshky’s suspicions could be allayed if we go through with the marriage, expecially if he’s there to witness the ceremony.’
‘But you love Pamela, Francis,’ she said. ‘You love her very much, far too much to want to have me as your wife.’
He met her eyes. ‘I did say that delivery of the documents isn’t my only reason for wishing to do this. Another reason is that I’ve compromised you, a fact that is bound to get out now that Naryshky is also here in St Petersburg. As far as he is concerned, we’ve been behaving like man and wife, for we’ve spent nights alone together. We don’t yet know how well acquainted he is with your uncle and step-aunt, which means that there is a very real possibility that he will tell them about us. What do you imagine will happen then?’
‘I don’t know, I haven’t thought about it.’
‘Then think about it now. If we say nothing, can you imagine their reaction on hearing what he has to say? And if we take the precaution of acquainting them with all the details, they’ll undoubtedly back us up, but they will also see that your reput
ation and virtue have been grossly jeopardized. Your uncle will find himself responsible for a niece who has yet to be launched into London society, but whose chances of a good match have been ruined by her involvement with a man who could quite easily do the right by her if he so chose. Under those circumstances, he is bound to insist that I marry you, and he would be justified.’
‘My reputation may be ruined here in St Petersburg, I can see that, but no one in London is going to know about it.’
‘No? Alison, St Petersburg is a city of some two hundred and thirty thousand inhabitants, of which nearly one thousand are British. Those British citizens have family in England and have friends and relations who visit them here. Look at your uncle’s house. Do you see that carriage and four drawn up outside?’
She looked toward the imposing mansion. It had a colonnaded porch and finely proportioned windows, and on one side of it there was a walled garden that extended to the boundary of the neighboring property. The garden wall was pierced by an elegant wrought-iron gateway through which could be seen leafy paths, fountains, and statues. The double front door was painted dark blue, and a maid was busy polishing the lions-head brass knocker. The carriage and four of which Francis had spoken was waiting at the curb outside.
‘Yes, I can see the carriage,’ she said, ‘What about it?’
‘I saw it arrive a moment or so ago, and I saw the lady who emerged and called at the house, which can only mean that she is acquainted with your uncle and step-aunt. Her presence has put an effective end to my prospects of ever marrying Pamela.’
Alison’s lips parted in astonishment. ‘But who is she?’
‘Her name is Mrs Arabella Fairfax-Gunn; she’s the most notorious and dangerous gossipmonger in England, and she also happens to be a confidante of Pamela’s mother, the Duchess of Marchington. She’ll go around with a bell the moment she sniffs anything out, and she will sniff it out, you can be sure of that. Her instinct is unerring where possible scandals are concerned, and at the very least she will discover that you and I met in Stockholm and then traveled here together, without so much as a maid to make things proper. She mixes very thoroughly in high society and never turns down an invitation, which means that sooner or later she is bound to come into contact with the prince, whose knowledge of our activities is titillating, I think you’ll admit. One way or another, whether we marry or not, news of what we’ve been doing is going to travel back to England, and the moment the Duke and Duchess of Marchington get wind of it, they’ll put a stop to the betrothal. And if you were Pamela, Alison, would you believe my protestations of innocence? Here I am, on the loose in Europe and surrounded by all manner of tittle-tattle concerning goings-on with her best friend.’
‘But if she loves you—’
‘You’re very beautiful, Alison, very beautiful indeed, and even Pamela will think there is no smoke without a certain amount of fire. By the time Mrs Fairfax-Gunn has finished embroidering the tale with all manner of lascivious detail, you may be certain that the whole of London will believe you and I to have indulged in a very passionate and torrid affair.’
‘What if you’re mistaken and it wasn’t Mrs Fairfax-Gunn?’
‘Alison, no one else on earth could possibly look like that. She’s just under five feet tall and almost as wide, and she always wears the brightest shade of vermilion because her late husband once foolishly told her that it made her look youthful. There’s no mistake, the person who just entered your uncle’s house was Mrs Arabella Fairfax-Gunn.’ He took her hands. ‘We’re almost at the steps now, Alison, and so we must decide right now what story we intend to tell when we enter the house. For all the reasons I’ve just given, I want you to marry me, Alison, and I want the ceremony to take place as quickly as possible. I must protect my mission here and I must protect your good name; I cannot hope now to marry Pamela, as I think you must realize.’
‘But you don’t want me,’ she whispered, tears filling her eyes.
‘If you imagine I’m indifferent to you, I think you underestimate yourself,’ he said softly. ‘I find you very attractive indeed, Alison Clearwell, sometimes far too attractive for my peace of mind.’
‘But you don’t love me.’
He didn’t say anything.
‘Francis—’
‘If the reasons I’ve already given don’t persuade you, perhaps you should consider your father. When he returns from Jamaica, he hopes to use the fortune he’s made to launch you into society with every possible advantage. If you refuse to marry me now, you’ll be at the center of a scandal that will cause your father a great deal of unnecessary distress. He’ll return to find his daughter’s name ruined and her chances of ever making a good match spoiled beyond redemption. Is that what you want for him?’
‘That isn’t fair, Francis.’
‘I don’t mean to be fair, I mean to make you see sense. Marry me, Alison, and spare everyone an endless number of difficulties.’
‘But, what of Pamela? She’s my closest friend.’
‘Pamela will never be my wife now, make no mistake about that. Please, Alison, for all our sakes.’
‘I don’t know what to do …’ Confusion swirled through her.
‘It’s very simple, Alison, just say yes.’
‘Francis, we’ll be marrying for all the wrong reasons.’
‘Many marriages have succeeded on far less than we have.’
She looked into his eyes. ‘Is this what you really want?’ she asked softly.
‘Yes, Alison, it’s what I really want.’
Her lips trembled. Briefly she saw Pamela’s accusing face, and her conscience cut through her.
‘Just say yes,’ he whispered, his fingers closing persuasively over hers.
She found herself nodding. ‘Yes,’ she breathed. ‘Yes, I’ll marry you.’
He exhaled slowly with relief. ‘You won’t regret it, I swear it, Alison.’ The boat nudged the foot of the steps, and he glanced up toward the top of the embankment far above. ‘When we go into the house, we’ll tell your uncle and everyone else exactly what we’ve told the prince. And since your uncle is bound to agree in order to protect your good name, I think we can consider the matter settled. I’ll also tell the same story at the British embassy when I report there. No one need ever know that we aren’t a love match.’ He stepped ashore and then turned to hand her out of the boat.
She hesitated for a moment, for she felt as if she was being swept helplessly along. ‘I wish there was another way.’
He drew her closer, tilting her face toward his. ‘Alison, do you find the thought of marrying me totally abhorrent?’
‘No, no of course not,’ she said quickly. Abhorrent? She was halfway to loving him, but she didn’t want to win him this way.
‘I don’t intend to make you my wife and then discard you. I mean to do the right and proper thing by you in every way, but first I must attend to the reason I’m now here in St Petersburg. That must come before all else, you do understand, don’t you?’
She nodded. ‘I promised in Stockholm that I would do what was required of me, and I still stand by that.’
He smiled a little wryly. ‘But I’ll warrant you didn’t think so much would be expected of you,’ he murmured.
‘That will teach me to make promises to strange gentlemen,’ she replied, attempting to disguise her true turmoil by making light of it.
‘And it will teach me to take on the mantle of St George,’ he said, smiling, but then he became more serious. ‘I’m truly sorry to have forced all this upon you, Alison. In Stockholm you wanted to flee safely home to England, and if I’d allowed you to, then none of this would be happening now.’
‘And maybe your subsequent decision to press on to St Petersburg on your own would indeed have incurred much more suspicion from the prince.’
His eyes were very blue. ‘Who knows indeed?’ he said softly, then he turned to indicate the steps. ‘Let us enter the fray.’
He offered her his arm and they
proceeded up toward the tree-lined waterfront above. Behind them the Irina still shone on the wide Neva, her crimson sails furled and her beautiful figurehead gazing toward the crowded pontoon bridge.
They crossed the wide paved street toward the Clearwell residence, and a light breeze blew in from the sea, stirring through the trees. Alison’s heart began to beat more swiftly as they passed the waiting carriage and beneath the colonnaded portico to the door, where the maid had now gone in after polishing the lion’s-head knocker until it sparkled. As they waited for the door to open in response to Francis’s authoritative knock, Alison glanced back down at Mrs Fairfax-Gunn’s carriage and four.
Suddenly the door opened, and they were confronted by a stern-faced butler in a dark-brown velvet coat and beige knee breeches. His complexion was sallow and his eyes were set together above an aquiline nose, and on his head there reposed a powdered wig. He didn’t look Russian, as indeed he wasn’t, for he spoke with a Scottish accent and his name was Mackay.
On hearing who they were he immediately admitted them, murmuring a welcome to St Petersburg and saying that they hadn’t been expected to arrive together. They stepped into an entrance hall of great splendor, with a shining parquet floor, walls hung with exquisite green silk, and a lofty ceiling from which hung no fewer than eight crystal chandeliers. A marble staircase swept up between Corinthian columns toward the floor above and the main reception rooms. Then it continued on up to the next floor and the bedrooms. Paneled mirrors on the walls gave a cunning illusion of endless vistas, and the only item of furniture was a golden couch placed before the huge fire burning in the wide marble hearth to their right. Two portraits hung on either side of the chimney breast, one of Catherine the Great and the other of King George III. There were a number of foliage plants standing in polished brass bowls, some of them climbing up the columns and others over treillages. The Russian winters were long and harsh, and so summer was recreated indoors. The scent of hyacinths was everywhere, for vases of the heady spring blooms stood all around; it was a perfume that ever afterward would remind Alison of the moment she entered her uncle’s house in St Petersburg.