An Innocent in Russia Read online

  Then, intent only on what she had to say to Lord Charnock, she looked up at him with an expression in her eyes that he could not for the moment interpret.

  “What has happened? What has upset you?” he asked.

  “I-I have been – thinking and there is – something that you must consider before we – leave.”

  “What is that?”

  “You have been so kind, so unbelievably and incredibly kind, in saying that you will take me away from Russia. But you must think of yourself – and your career – and that for me to travel – alone with you to England might – harm you.”

  “You are thinking of me?” Lord Charnock asked with an incredulous note in his voice.

  “Yes, of course,” Zelina replied. “And because you are so – magnificent and everybody – respects you, I just cannot have people saying unkind things that, although they are untrue, would – as you well know – damage your career.”

  “I understand what you are saying to me,” he replied, “and I am very touched. At the same time there is no alternative. Zelina.”

  “I have – thought of one – if you will – agree.”

  “And what is that?”

  “If you will please take me to the first Port that is outside Russia, I could – find my own way home from – there. Then, if you speak to the Captain of the ship, nobody need know I have – been with you.”

  Zelina did not look at Lord Charnock as she spoke, afraid that she might see in his eyes the relief that he would be rid of her.

  There was a moment’s silence.

  Then he said,

  “You are really suggesting to me that to save my good name you are willing to brave the dangers of travelling back to England alone?”

  “It – it does – frighten me,” Zelina admitted, “but now that I know what to – expect – I will stay in my cabin and, if there were any men like – Mr. Adamson aboard, they would not – see me.”

  “Why does it concern you so deeply, Zelina, that people should not gossip about me?” Lord Charnock enquired.

  “Because you are of such vital – importance. I don’t know why you were sent to Russia, but the Czar, Count Nesselrode and naturally Lord Palmerston all appreciate and revere you. It would be wrong – in fact almost – wicked that somebody as insignificant as myself should damage the – great respect you are held in.”

  “And you really that think that my association with you would do so?” Lord Charnock asked.

  “It sounds as if I am being – conceited to – think so,” Zelina said humbly, “but I heard the things the ladies who visited the Princess said about you and I am sure that they are no different from Aunt Kathleen’s friends. They would just talk and – talk and there would be nothing you could do about it.”

  “So to save me from a lot of chattering women,” Lord Charnock answered, “you are prepared to risk being as terrified as you were when I heard you scream in the Writing Room of the ship and again when you were clever enough last night to hide from Prince Alexis.”

  “I-I am thinking of you – only of you.”

  “I am deeply touched by your concern, but I still want to know why,” Lord Charnock persisted.

  Zelina knew that there was a very easy answer, but it was one that she could not give him.

  She could only look away and murmur again,

  “You have been – so kind and considerate – to me.”

  “That is not exactly what I wanted to hear,” Lord Charnock said, “but now let me tell you my suggestion. You have told me what you propose you should do. Now please listen to me.”

  It flashed through Zelina’s mind that he was going to suggest that he should leave her in Copenhagen with Sir Henry Watkin Williams-Winn or perhaps with the British Minister in Kiev.

  There at least she might find somebody to travel with her on the journey home and that would be better than travelling alone.

  “What I have been thinking,” Lord Charnock was saying quietly, “is that even if you come with me on the ship that is waiting in the Harbour, we will still leave behind a lot of speculation amongst the Russians. As you have so rightly discovered, women of every nation are compulsive talkers and they will undoubtedly find an obvious reason for your precipitate departure from Tsarskoye Selo.”

  Zelina clasped her fingers together so tightly that the nails dug into her skin.

  Then she said in a voice that was barely audible,

  “It was – wrong of me to – force myself on you. I should apologise to you.”

  “Do you really think I would allow you to do such a thing?”

  He spoke almost roughly and startled, she raised her eyes to his.

  He was looking at her in a way that held her spellbound.

  And then he insisted,

  “You have not yet heard my suggestion.”

  “W-what – is it?”

  It was difficult for her to speak.

  “The only reasonable explanation for your joining me after I had said ‘goodbye’ to the Czar and the only way that we could travel together without there being any scandal is that you should marry me!”

  For a moment Zelina felt that she could not have heard the last words, but only imagined them.

  “Marry – you?”

  “I have in fact already arranged it,” Lord Charnock said, “and the Chaplain is waiting for us in the Embassy Chapel which adjoins this house.”

  Zelina felt as if she had stepped into a dream and that neither she nor Lord Charnock had any reality but were figments of her imagination.

  “What are you – saying? – You cannot mean – !” she stammered.

  “I mean that I want to look after you, Zelina. To protect you and keep you safe from ever being afraid of anything as you are now and the only way I can do that is for you to become my wife.”

  “B-but – you do not really – want me.”

  He smiled and Zelina felt as if the room was suddenly lit with a thousand blazing candles.

  “I will tell you how much I want you,” he said, “but after we are married. Now the ship is waiting.”

  Zelina drew in her breath.

  Then, as if she felt that she must hold on to him to make sure that what he was saying was real and she was not asleep and dreaming, she put out her hands and he took them in his.

  He raised first one and then the other to his lips and she felt a thrill go through her.

  Then, as he lifted his head to look at her again, the door opened and the Earl of Durham came into the salon.

  “I heard you were back,” he said to Lord Charnock. “Miss Tiverton, it is delightful to see you again.”

  With an effort Zelina remembered to curtsey and the Earl went on,

  “Everything is arranged. My Chaplain is waiting and I do hope, Miss Tiverton, that you will permit me to give you away.”

  “Th-thank you, my ‒ Lord.”

  “It will be correct, Charnock, for you to go on ahead of us,” the Earl said, “and the First Secretary is waiting in the hall, who will, he assures me, be delighted to act as your Best Man.”

  “I appreciate your efficiency, Your Excellency.”

  Lord Charnock smiled at Zelina again and the look in his eyes made her feel as if he was touching her.

  Then he went from the drawing room and she wanted to run after him to make sure that he would not change his mind and that he had really said that they were to be married.

  The Earl held out his arm.

  “Your prospective husband is waiting,” he said. “He has taken us by surprise, but I hope that, because we are all British here, we can cope with any emergency even a Wedding that is taking place in an unprecedented hurry.”

  He did not seem to expect an answer and anyway Zelina was incapable of giving him one.

  It was impossible to think of anything that the Earl was saying in his pompous voice, because her heart was throbbing in a manner that made it difficult to breathe and she felt as if the whole world had turned topsy-turvy and it would
never right itself again.

  It could not be true that she was to be married to the man who she had already given her heart to when she had never suspected that he thought of her in any way except as a rather tiresome and bothersome child.

  ‘I love him!’ she thought as they proceeded down the long corridor. ‘I love him so much – so please – God, make him love me!’

  The Embassy Chapel was small but beautifully constructed and the Altar was decorated with white flowers.

  Even when Zelina saw the Chaplain waiting for them in his white surplice, she still could not believe that she was actually being married. Yet Lord Charnock was standing there and, as if he knew what she was feeling, he put out his hand and took hers.

  The Chaplain started to read out the opening words of the Marriage Service, the British Ambassador gave Zelina away and the First Secretary produced a ring, which Lord Charnock put on her finger.

  It was only when it was actually on that she realised that it was the signet ring that he wore on the smallest finger of his left hand, but even so it was too large for her.

  It symbolised all that she had longed for and all that she had ever imagined in her wildest dreams would ever come true.

  She was married to a man who stood for safety and security and whom she loved with all her heart and soul.

  Lord Charnock said his vows in a deep voice with unmistakable sincerity and the Chaplain blessed them.

  As Zelina took his arm for him to lead her from the small Chapel, she was still praying that as her husband Lord Charnock might love her even a small fraction as much as she loved him.

  They walked back into the small drawing room where they had been before and now there was champagne waiting for them.

  The Earl raised his glass.

  “May you have many years of great happiness!” he intoned.

  “Thank you,” Lord Charnock replied. “We shall always be extremely grateful to Your Excellency for facilitating our Wedding today.”

  “It was certainly a surprise,” the Earl replied, “but I think we rose to the emergency in the way that you would expect, my Lord.”

  Lord Charnock turned to Zelina and raised his glass.

  “To my bride,” he said softly and she blushed.

  “I am going to suggest that while your luggage is being taken aboard, you have a light luncheon,” the Earl said. “I have also instructed my servants to inform the Captain that you will be ready to leave on the afternoon tide.”

  “That is exactly what I would wish,” Lord Charnock agreed.

  *

  Afterwards, Zelina could never remember what she had eaten or what had been said at the luncheon in the impressive dining room where she had dined with a large party three days after she had arrived at the Volkonsky Palace.

  Now just the four of them sat at the small table in the window and she had not known Lord Charnock to be in such good spirits and so witty and amusing.

  Even the Earl forgot to be pompous and tried to cap Lord Charnock’s stories, while the First Secretary could only laugh helplessly and seemed to enjoy himself as if he was a boy being given an unexpected treat by his seniors.

  To Zelina it was all unreal and yet it was so exciting that she felt as if she was a spectator in a theatre and that an unbelievable drama was unfolding itself in front of her eyes.

  When the luncheon was finished, she went upstairs to put on her bonnet, which she had removed before luncheon and then she came down carrying a travelling cloak to put over her gown and found that Lord Charnock was waiting for her in the hall.

  Because he was watching her descending the stairs, she suddenly felt shy and found it impossible to meet his eyes.

  She was going away with him to start a new life and for now she could not speculate what this would be. She knew only that, because she was with him, it would be like starting on a journey to Paradise.

  She had almost reached the foot of the stairs when there was the sound of voices at the front door and, as she saw Lord Charnock and the Ambassador turn their heads, Prince Alexis brushed past the servants to stand in front of them.

  He was wearing riding clothes and Zelina had the impression from the dust on his boots and his general appearance that he had ridden here fast and furiously.

  Walking straight up to Lord Charnock and facing him, he began in a voice of anger that seemed to ring out,

  “How dare you abduct one of the Czar’s guests! His Imperial Majesty has deputed me to bring back Miss Tiverton immediately to Prince and Princess Volkonsky, to whom her aunt entrusted her.”

  The Prince seemed almost to shout the last words at Lord Charnock and Zelina felt with a sudden constriction of her heart that it would be impossible for his request to be refused.

  Then, even before Lord Charnock spoke, she knew that her fears were quite unnecessary.

  He glared at the Prince in a manner that any other man would have found intimidating.

  “I must regret, Your Highness,” he said slowly, “that your journey to St. Petersburg is a waste of time. You should have stayed in the country and enjoyed the spoils of the chase.”

  There was no doubt that Lord Charnock meant to be offensive and there was an innuendo behind his words.

  The Prince, however, retorted furiously,

  “You may well try to bluster your way out of this, Charnock, but, while you are in this country, you will obey the Laws of the land, and the Czar insists on Miss Tiverton’s return.”

  “At your instigation, I presume!” Lord Charnock said.

  “I don’t have to answer your questions,” the Prince parried.

  He turned to the Earl to say,

  “As British Ambassador, Your Excellency is aware that Miss Tiverton may be hiding here on what you consider to be British soil, but, if she sets one foot outside the Embassy, she can be arrested for not complying with what is an Imperial Order!”

  The Earl was taller than the Prince and he drew himself up to his full height and replied in his usual pompous manner, which was somehow more effective than anything that the Prince had said because it was calm and clear,

  “I am, Your Highness, fully familiar with theLaws of Russia and the privilege accorded to Diplomats. You are informing me, I understand, that His Imperial Majesty requires the return to Tsarskoye Selo of Miss Zelina Tiverton under escort by Your Highness.”

  “Exactly,” the Prince snapped. “And now please inform Miss Tiverton that I am here and a carriage should be arriving for her at any moment.”

  “You have your instructions in writing, I presume?” the Earl asked.

  “Then you presume wrong!” the Prince replied. “Equally I cannot believe that you are questioning my word as a Russian gentleman and an Officer of the Imperial Guard.”

  “No, Your Highness, I would not think of doing such a thing,” the Earl replied. “But your request is for Miss Zelina Tiverton.”

  “Good God!” the Prince exclaimed in an exasperated tone. “I don’t have to repeat it, do I? She came here in Charnock’s carriage after he persuaded her to behave in this outrageous manner. But I will see that she does not suffer from his rudeness, which is an insult to her host and hostess.”

  “That is very generous of you,” Lord Charnock said sarcastically.

  Zelina could see that he was growing angrier with the Prince and she was wondering whether she should intervene when the Earl said,

  “I must ask Your Highness to convey to His Imperial Majesty my most sincere apologies for the impetuous manner in which Miss Tiverton left Tsarskoye Selo, but I know her excuse is one that will be readily accepted both by His Imperial Majesty and by the warm-hearted Czarina ‒ ”

  “Miss Tiverton can make her own apologies,” the Prince interrupted him. “Do as I have already asked and inform her that I am here!”

  “That is something I am unfortunately unable to do,” the Earl replied.

  “Why? Where has she gone?” the Prince shouted.

  “Miss Zelina Tiverton no longer e
xists,” the Ambassador said quietly. “She is in fact now Lady Charnock and I know that Your Highness will wish to be the first to congratulate his Lordship and wish them both every happiness.”

  As the Ambassador spoke, he looked towards Zelina where she was standing on the last step of the stairway and holding on to the banisters, her eyes wide and frightened in her pale face.

  Suddenly aware of her presence, the Prince swung round on his heel to face her.

  Then for a moment he was still, before he asked in a voice that was very different from the one that he had been shouting angrily in at the Ambassador,

  “You are married?”

  “Y-yes – ”

  Because she was frightened she wanted to run to Lord Charnock, but she was unable to move and could only stand where she was, holding tightly onto the banisters as if they would prevent her from falling.

  Then Lord Charnock was beside her, holding out his arm.

  “Come,” he said quietly. “We must leave for the ship or we may miss the tide.”

  As she put her arm into his, Zelina was suddenly aware that her fear had left her.

  It was not only because of the expression of frustration on the Prince’s face but because Lord Charnock gave her a feeling of security that was unlike anything she had ever known before.

  She murmured her ‘farewell’ and thanks to the Earl as they walked down the steps and, as they climbed into the carriage, she was thinking only that she was safe.

  Safe from the Prince, safe from Russia, safe from men like Adamson and safe too from anything and everything that might frighten her in the future and safe from being alone and helpless.

  They drove away and Zelina had the impression, although she could not be certain, that the Prince had not moved, but still stood where they had left him, unable to readjust himself to a situation when he had been vanquished and there was nothing that he could do about it.

  It was only when they were some way from the Embassy that Lord Charnock said,

  “I am sorry that this had to happen, but I know you will be sensible enough to forget it and not let it spoil our Wedding Day.”