A Hundred Sweet Promises

by Sepehr Haddad

  Finally, when the ball finished circling the wheel, it fell into where the frets separate the numbers, jumping wildly from one number to the next, as if unsure where it was supposed to go. The ball fell into his number seven with some momentum as Nasrosoltan, who displayed a tranquil countenance, was but a nervous wreck within.

  He silently prayed to Lady Luck that the ball would just give up and remain there. However, it was not meant to be, for it was as if the ball used the little life it had left to fling itself across the fret separating the number seven from number twenty-eight on the wheel, and it finally rested there in a quiet calm.

  The wheel itself continued to spin in perpetual motion, with the ball sitting comfortably on number twenty-eight, just a few millimeters away from what could have been a totally different night for Nasrosoltan.

  The croupier called out the winning number, “Dvadtsat vosem,” and began to pay the winning wagers. A collective sigh from the onlookers would have let Nasrosoltan know the disastrous outcome even if he had not been looking. But of course, his eyes had been fastened on the ball, following every movement of its wicked dance.

  He got up from the table, took the last ten-ruble note he had left in his pocket to pay the carriage driver to go back home, but instead gave it as a gratuity to the croupier. With no outward show of emotion, he said goodnight and wandered outside to begin his long walk home.

  Chapter 15

  Two Answered Prayers

  It was quite a distance from the gaming house to his apartment, and Nasrosoltan finally made it back home just as people in the city began to emerge to start their morning. He was cold, fatigued, and in terrible spirits, for during the lengthy walk, he wondered how he would manage his finances, but he found no answer.

  He had lost everything except for a small amount he kept at his bank for an emergency, and this month’s rent was due to Madame Lazar the day after next. Luckily, his conservatory tuition had been paid, but the modest sum that remained would only suffice for food and sundries, and that was only until his father wired more money to him in a couple of months.

  Under no circumstance was he going to ask his father to send the funds sooner. By doing so, he would have to divulge the shameful reason for the request, and he did not want the reputation of being a wastrel son.

  In the same vein, even if Rustam was not away on business, Nasrosoltan’s pride would not have allowed him to borrow from his well-to-do friend. In fact, he decided he did not want to reveal to anyone what had transpired.

  He hoped to avoid seeing Madame Lazar until he could figure some way of paying his rent in the next week. Nasrosoltan was not a religious man, yet he prayed to God that he may find a way out of his predicament. Unbeknownst to him, Madame Lazar was also praying for an answer to her problem in finding an acceptable replacement to tutor the princess.

  As Nasrosoltan turned the key and entered the building, he noticed Madame Lazar on the other side of the door. She was searching for her cat, which had a habit of wandering the hallway in the early hours of the morning. From Nasrosoltan’s appearance, she noticed he had not slept and asked, “Monsieur Minbashian, have you been studying for your examinations all night?”

  Feeling relieved that she had suggested a better reason for his coming home so early in the morning than what had really occurred, he nodded his head and mentioned that he was exhausted.

  In a gesture of politeness, he asked, “Madame, how are you today?”

  This was apparently the wrong question, for almost immediately, she became emotional and began to weep uncontrollably, so Nasrosoltan asked her why she was distraught. Madame Lazar could not speak as she continued to sob.

  Nasrosoltan suggested, “Why don’t we go and sit down someplace. We don’t want to disturb the other tenants so early in the morning.”

  She agreed and offered that they go back to her apartment. They went in and settled on her couch as Nasrosoltan tried to console her.

  Precisely what he hoped would not happen did happen. Nasrosoltan aimed to have a plan to cover his expenses, but he did not even have a moment to himself before he came face-to-face with Madame Lazar. Seeing her in this condition worsened his own dilemma of what to do.

  He thought to himself that there was no way he would now add to the Madame’s burden by telling her about a delay in his rent payment. He decided to just listen to see what was troubling her, even though he had a suspicion it was related to tutoring the princess.

  She calmed herself a bit and addressed him. “Monsieur Minbashian, I am beside myself. No matter how I have tried, I cannot find a suitable replacement to tutor the tsar’s niece. The family will return the day after tomorrow, and my first lesson is planned for next Monday. I could not sleep all night and spent the whole evening praying to our Lord to answer my prayers. When I came looking for my cat, and the first person I saw was you so early in the morning, I knew our Lord had answered my prayers. What are the chances of meeting this way if it was not meant to be?”

  She continued, as she wiped away her tears, “I feel obliged to ask you one last time, for I will be remiss if I remain silent. I beg of you, please help me, for I have nowhere else to turn!”

  And then, with the few broken Persian words she remembered from her childhood, Madame Lazar pleaded, saying the same in his native tongue—“Jenab Minbashian, tamana meekonam, khahesh meekonam!”— in a final attempt of appealing to his heart, to win his cooperation.

  Then Madame Lazar reverted to speaking Russian and mentioned something that drew his attention. “I am quite aware that you have no need, but the tutoring also commands generous compensation.”

  It may have been that he was exhausted and wanted a quick end to the conversation, so he did not think carefully before he blurted out, “Madame, do not despair. It pains me to see you so disillusioned this morning. Do not worry any longer; I will do what you ask!”

  Undoubtedly, the mention of generous compensation at such a time of financial woe had much to do with his change of heart. Upon hearing himself say those words and witnessing the sudden look of surprise on Madame Lazar’s face, he paused briefly, thinking about what he had just done.

  Realizing that he could not call back the words from her eager ears, Nasrosoltan thought to perhaps light two candles with one flame by helping himself through helping her.

  Before Madame Lazar could say anything, he quickly added, “But there is one condition!”

  Madame Lazar, who was not expecting him to relent so quickly, was in awe at how soon her fortunes had changed. Where just a few minutes before, she had been so lost, now she had optimism and hope for the future.

  She enthusiastically exclaimed, “Monsieur Minbashian, yes, yes, please tell me, what is the condition, for I will do anything you ask!”

  Feeling a twinge of guilt at the sign of Madame Lazar’s unbridled excitement, Nasrosoltan replied, “Madame, I do not wish to be involved in any financial transactions between the family of the princess and myself. I just want to go to the palace at the specified time to tutor her and leave, and I would like for you to still collect whatever compensation yourself. You can instead consider my once-a-week tutoring for the next few months my payment of rent. In this way, I also will feel much better about the situation.”

  Without hesitation, she agreed, understanding his request to be in line with the kind of man he was. Madame Lazar knew he did not want to be considered as hired help, even if it was to one of the longest reigning royal families of Europe. Believing that her prayers were now answered, Madame Lazar had no idea she, too, was the answer to Nasrosoltan’s prayers this same day.

  At this point, Nasrosoltan was so spent that he told her he had to go and rest. They agreed that the Madame would seek an audience with Grand Duchess Xenia, mother of Princess Irina, for a meeting on Monday, an hour before she was to be tutored. She suggested that they travel together by carriage to the palace on the Moyka River Embankment. Madame Lazar planned at that time to introduce Nasrosoltan to the family and h
opefully agree upon the temporary arrangement she had in mind.

  The following Monday, Nasrosoltan met Madame Lazar outside the building at the appointed time and joined her in the troika carriage she had hired for their short trip to the palace.

  Whenever visiting the royal family, the Madame always paid for expensive transport with a hefty charioteer. She was a woman who liked to make an entrance. As appearance was everything in St. Petersburg society, the station and wealth of the master or mistress were reflected in the grandeur of the carriage and driver.

  It was the middle of winter, so the carriage drivers looked even more stupendous with their splendid furs. Madame Lazar did not mind spending the extra money on the weekly spectacle, for she wished to separate her station from the other help and tutors at the palace. She made a point to let everyone know she tutored for the love of music and not for compensation.

  Nasrosoltan had dressed immaculately for this afternoon’s audience since, after all, he was visiting the palace. He was to meet Russian royalty, even though meeting royalty was not something new to him, for his family had been close to the Persian royal family. However, under the circumstances, he wanted to make an excellent first impression. Madame Lazar herself always dressed up for the occasion, and all the neighbors knew just by seeing her in such formal attire that she was on her way to visit the palace.

  The Madame used the short carriage ride to impart as much information about the princess and her family to Nasrosoltan as she had time for. He could not get a word in edgewise, for the Madame spoke without pause, so he just decided to enjoy the view and listen to every detail she offered.

  Madame Lazar mentioned that the grand duke and duchess were second cousins and had seven children: six boys and one girl, Princess Irina, their eldest child.

  Madame Lazar added this tidbit about the princess: “Her parents use the anglicized form of her name at home, and instead of Irina, they call her Irene. Irina is more fluent in English and French than in Russian, as most royal children are.”

  As she was about to ramble on, she stopped for a moment and turned to Nasrosoltan, urgently asking, “Do you, by chance, speak any English or French?”

  Nasrosoltan was startled by the sudden question and responded, “Yes, I speak a bit of English, but I am much more fluent in French—” But before he could go on any further, Madame Lazar cut him off mid-sentence, once she had heard what was needed, and proceeded with her own chatter.

  The fascinating thing Nasrosoltan had noticed in his prior teatime conversations with Madame Lazar was in her description of people. She always noted if she thought they were attractive, as was the case in her portrayal of the grand duke’s family.

  She continued without taking a breath, “Princess Irina is beautiful, with piercing blue eyes, and is shy and timid but sensitive and intelligent. The grand duchess is quite involved in the children’s education and sees that they are well tutored in languages, music, and the arts. That is why it is so important to gain her approval for you to sit in as the princess’s temporary piano tutor.

  “The Grand Duke Alexander Mikhailovich himself is a kind and handsome man, a naval officer, and an acquaintance of my late husband. He personally offered me condolences upon my husband’s untimely death in the Russo-Japanese War!”

  Hinting that she was closer to the royal family than she really was, she added, “By his close friends and family, the grand duke is called by the nickname Sandro instead of his given name, Alexander.”

  The Madame continued her narrative of the inner workings of the palace, even in the absence of any encouragement from Nasrosoltan. “The household staff consists of three nurses, an English and French tutor, five maids, four butlers, the grand duchess’s lady-in-waiting, and the grand duke’s aide-de-camp, in addition to three cooks.” Displaying a tinge of envy, she added, “The family always takes all the help on their summer trips to France.”

  Then she moved in closer to him, lowering her voice to a whisper, as though she were divulging a state secret, and added, “The grand duchess and the tsar are quite close, and he visits his sister for dinner on the last Friday of every month.”

  As she went on and on, Nasrosoltan thought, How long must I endure this inconvenience and pay for the mistake I made one evening at the gaming house so that I now have to tutor this girl?

  His lack of judgment had cost him not only the money he lost but, most of all, the precious time he needed to study. But now, he had an obligation to spend at least some time in this fashion, and he was troubled for putting himself in this unfortunate position.

  As they approached the palace grounds, Nasrosoltan took advantage of Madame Lazar’s need for breath and interjected a query before she could continue on, “Madame, how do you know so many intimate details of this family’s inner life?”

  He quickly regretted asking this question because she immediately responded with her incurable verbosity, “Well, even though I have tutored Princess Irina from the age of ten and have been involved in their household for many years, I garner most of these details from my late husband’s sister, who is the princess’s governess, Nadezhda Nazarov.

  “My husband’s family were upper class but impoverished, what one would call ‘landless nobles.’ He and Nadezhda were orphaned at a young age, and their uncle took care of them for a while, but he ended up mismanaging and losing the properties they owned. My husband, God rest his soul, provided for his sister throughout his life. He sent Nadezhda to France for her primary education, and upon her return, enrolled her in the Bestuzhev Courses, where she earned her degree in nursing.

  “Before the war with the Japanese, the royal family had contracted a British governess solely for Irina’s upbringing. However, before she could arrive, the war began, and the British took the Japanese side. That is when her appointment was terminated, and she was asked not to come.”

  Madame Lazar continued offering Nasrosoltan information he found irrelevant. “You know, Monsieur, sadly, Nadezhda did not inherit the same good looks of my husband, which may have something to do with her being a spinster. But what she did inherit was a delightful demeanor and a pleasant character, well suited to working with children.”

  Nasrosoltan pitied himself now, even more, having to listen to the life story of a governess that he had no interest in hearing about.

  But Madame Lazar, who was enjoying talking with her captive audience of one, hurriedly continued, “Unfortunately, when my husband died, Nadezhda had nowhere to turn, so I mentioned her situation to the grand duchess. After careful consideration, the royal family graciously employed her as Irina’s governess. The family love my sweet sister-in-law and is happy how things turned out, that the British governess was asked not to come.

  “Between you and me, they should be grateful. Nadezhda speaks several languages, and as I mentioned, she is a nurse, and above all, is from noble birth, so she had nothing less than that Englishwoman.”

  Madame Lazar continued her story energetically while a thoroughly subdued Nasrosoltan quietly listened. “After my husband’s death, Nadezhda had a need to belong, and the royal family has shown her their utmost kindness. They appreciate that she is fiercely loyal to them, especially to Irina. I can attest that she is genuinely like a family member now!”

  And then, with a sense of pride, the Madame exclaimed, “I believe I have a unique talent in making appropriate introductions, so let us pray that today is no different for you.”

  Nasrosoltan’s thoughts had wandered off by this time, but he appreciated the few moments she ceased talking. However, Madame Lazar was not done yet.

  After a few moments of quiet, she continued with new details. “When Nadezhda first started working at the palace many years ago, the youngest of the children could not pronounce her name correctly, so he started calling her Nana, and the name has stuck so that now all call her by that name. At first, it was in jest, but she does not mind and considers it quite endearing. However, the one thing I must warn you about Nana is th
at she has a rather loose tongue and will divulge the most private information in detail!”

  Nasrosoltan found it amusing that a lady who had just recited the grand duke’s whole household’s life portrayed another as having a loose tongue. Hearing Madame Lazar saying such a thing made him recall a Persian saying: Seer be piaz meege boo meedee. (“The garlic tells the onion, it is you that smells.”)

  When they arrived at the palace entrance and disembarked, they were met by one of the butlers and Princess Irina’s governess, Nana, who had come to see Madame Lazar. But truthfully, Nana wanted to give a quick and subtle look at the potential piano tutor Madame Lazar had told her about.

  The staff promptly escorted Madame Lazar and Nasrosoltan to the elegantly decorated sitting room and offered them tea until the grand duchess made her entrance. Nasrosoltan especially admired this room’s décor, which was adorned with Persian carpets, reminding him of his own family home in Tehran.

  After what seemed to be a much longer wait than the thirty minutes they spent sipping their tea, Grand Duchess Xenia entered the room, and they both rose to formally greet her.

  She apologized for having kept them waiting and turned to address Madame Lazar. “Nana already told me about the injury to your hand. I hope you feel better soon. I appreciate that you care so dearly for the princess’s pursuit of her music studies that you went to the trouble of thinking of a replacement.” The grand duchess appeared unenthusiastic about the situation. She even seemed a bit anxious as if she were unsure how to proceed with the new arrangement thrust upon her.

  Madame Lazar quickly thanked the grand duchess and added with an elegant flair, “Your Imperial Highness, it is my pleasure to introduce to you Monsieur Nasrosoltan Minbashian, a graduate of the conservatory. Monsieur Minbashian’s father also studied here and was one of the students of Professor Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov.

  “I can attest that he is an outstanding pianist who has graciously agreed to tutor Princess Irina if Your Highness so decides. If approval is given for this new arrangement, I have also consented to accompany the Monsieur, at least for the first few sessions, to afford the princess a smooth transition in her course of study.” Madame Lazar offered up the information in a rapid-fire and confident manner as if to ward off any doubt about Nasrosoltan’s suitability as a tutor.