An Innocent in Russia Read online

  It was not that she was not adventurous.

  She and her father had often talked of how, if they could afford it, they would explore France, visit the Greek Islands and perhaps, if it was at all possible, see a little of Africa.

  But to go to Russia alone and to be cut off from everything that had been part of her life up to now made Zelina, although she was ashamed of it, feel afraid.

  She had never been particularly interested in Russia as a country, although her mother had been very fond of her Godmother.

  Whenever people met Zelina, they always exclaimed at the strangeness of her name and she often wished she had been christened differently.

  Perhaps, she thought now, it had been a perception of what might happen in the future that had made her feel that Russia was a place that she had no wish to know about and what she did know was not very reassuring.

  She had read a great deal about Catherine the Great and her long succession of lovers and the incredible cruelties of her son Czar Paul.

  She had no wish to learn any more about such people who apparently, while living in the height of luxury and amazing extravagance, allowed the ordinary people of the country to suffer incredible privations.

  “Russia!”

  She felt a little shiver run through her at the thought that she must go away and be so far from the England that she loved and which had filled her whole life until now.

  She and her father had had so many friends where they had lived in Gloucestershire, not only amongst the County families, who had shown them so many kindnesses, but also among the ordinary people in the village.

  There had been farm labourers on their estate, the old people in the alms houses, whom her mother had visited regularly and the pensioners, who had known her father since he was a little boy and his father before him.

  It had been hard to leave them all when she came to London. At the same time she had hoped to make new friends and meet girls of her own age who would perhaps share some of her interests.

  And, of course, gentlemen whom she would talk to as she had talked to her father and with whom she had several common interests if they had been in the Army and were keen on horseflesh, shooting or hunting,

  ‘But Russia!’

  The words seemed to vibrate round her and grow louder and louder until she felt as if she was already encountering the strong icy winds of Siberia that were terrifying her with their violence.

  She took her hands from her face and rose to her feet.

  “I will not go!” she shouted out aloud. “I will run away!”

  Then she knew that her aunt was determined to be rid of her and it would be extremely ignominious to be brought back if her escape bid should fail.

  The Countess was not as empty-headed as her father had thought and Zelina, having lived with her for nearly three weeks, was aware that she always had her own way.

  The Earl might be of importance in the House of Lords, but in his house in Grosvenor Square he did whatever his wife wished.

  It might well be because he had no desire for any kind of scene, but he was also, Zelina thought, genuinely proud of his wife’s beauty and her place as one of the indisputable leaders of London Society.

  ‘To him she is like a decoration that he can pin on his coat to know that other people are envying him the possession of it,’ Zelina mused shrewdly.

  She was therefore quite certain that, if she appealed to the Earl for help, he would merely tell her to obey her aunt and for the moment she could think of nobody else to approach with her great problem.

  The only comfort was that in the Bank she had what seemed to her a quite considerable sum of money from the sale of her father’s house, estate and furniture.

  ‘At least I shall be able to come home if I want to,’ she told herself reassuringly.

  She decided to make quite certain that she had enough money with her to pay for her return fare.

  *

  Having got her own way, as was inevitable, the Countess was quite pleasant for the next few days, but still she made no effort to take Zelina anywhere or to even invite her to dine downstairs when there was a dinner party.

  Next she took her to tea alone with the Russian Ambassadress, which meant, Zelina knew, that she was being more or less interviewed for the position that she was to occupy in the Princess’s house.

  The Ambassadress had shrewd eyes and a sharp mind, which told Zelina that she missed nothing.

  She gossiped with the Countess, but it was obvious that she was looking over her niece and calculating what sort of impression she would make in St. Petersburg.

  When it was time to leave she said to Zelina,

  “Enjoy yourself, my dear. The Russian character is difficult to understand, but its very complexity makes its people some of the most interesting as well as the most unpredictable in the world.”

  Zelina smiled. It was not what she had expected to hear.

  Then, as the Countess moved towards the door, the Ambassadress added,

  “Keep a diary. You will find it interesting to look back and read it to your grandchildren when you have some.”

  What she said seemed to Zelina to lighten her fear of the future a little.

  Nevertheless, when the day of her departure arrived, she felt as if she was being sent into exile and would never see her homeland again.

  The Countess with great condescension escorted her to Tilbury to take her on board the English ship that was to carry her as far as Stockholm.

  Zelina was well aware that she would not have done this if the Russian Ambassador had not said that he was sending one of his officials from the Embassy to see to all the travelling arrangements.

  “This is really very inconvenient for me,” the Countess complained to Zelina.

  “I am sorry, Aunt Kathleen, but you will not be seeing me again for a very long time.”

  She thought that, at this remark, there was an expression of pleasure on the Countess’s face, but she merely said,

  “The Ambassador has given instructions to somebody on the ship to see you aboard the Russian vessel that you will transfer to at Stockholm.”

  As the Countess disliked travelling, they talked very little until they reached Tilbury, where Zelina saw that she was to travel by Steamship.

  In the last few years Steamships had been used for crossing the North Sea, the Straits of Dover and the Irish Sea, after previously being used only as passenger carriers along the South coast to holiday resorts.

  The ship that was to take Zelina to Stockholm had auxiliary sails and side paddle-wheels, which would accelerate its speed.

  When they boarded the ship, the Countess asked to see the passenger list and read it with the expression of one who does not expect to find any acquaintance amongst a collection of nonentities.

  Then she gave a little cry like that of someone who has found treasure where she least expected it and, without saying anything to Zelina, who merely followed her, she went to the Pursers Office.

  “Has Lord Charnock come aboard yet?” she enquired.

  “No, my Lady,” the Purser answered her, “but his Lordship will doubtless arrive at any moment.”

  The Countess stood with a faint smile on her face as she waited watching the gangway.

  Sure enough, just two or three minutes later a tall distinguished-looking man wearing a black travelling cape lined with fur and followed by an attendant carrying several important-looking despatch-cases bearing the Royal Coat of Arms, came aboard.

  The Countess moved towards him with the smile on her lips that she reserved for those she wished to ingratiate herself with.

  “My Lord,” she exclaimed. “This is an unexpected pleasure.”

  Watching him, Zelina had the impression that for Lord Charnock it was something very different.

  She thought that he was one of the most handsome men she had ever seen, but also one of the most aloof or perhaps the right word was inhuman.

  There was something cold and distant
about him, almost, she thought, as if there was no blood running in his veins and he was made of stone rather than flesh.

  She did not know why she had this impression, but she was used to summing people up as soon as she saw them and her father would often laugh at what he called the ‘pen-and-ink’ sketches she would give of someone who she had just been introduced to or had met casually in the hunting field.

  ‘Lord Charnock,’ she thought to herself now, ‘is an intimidating man who is very sure of his own consequence.’

  “Are you travelling on this ship?” she heard him ask her aunt drily.

  “No, indeed,” the Countess replied, “I am merely seeing off my niece, who is on her way to St. Petersburg. As she is travelling alone, it would be extremely kind of your Lordship if you would keep an eye on her.”

  Zelina knew by the expression on Lord Charnock’s face that this was something that he had no wish to do and he had no intention of accepting such a responsibility.

  “I am afraid ‒ ” he began.

  But in the Countess he had met his match.

  “That is very kind of you,” she interrupted, “and I am extremely grateful.”

  He started to say something, but, before he could do so, she turned to Zelina.

  “And now I must leave you, dear child. Take care of yourself. Enjoy your visit and I am sure that you will find it very rewarding.”

  Before Zelina could reply, her aunt had kissed her on the cheek and then, with a rustle of silk and the large feathers on her bonnet blowing in the wind, she was moving quickly down the gangplank.

  By the time that her aunt had reached the quay, Zelina realised that Lord Charnock had disappeared and she thought with a little smile that she did not blame him.

  It was typical of her aunt, she thought, to try to involve him because he was the only important person she knew on the passenger list.

  She did not know that her aunt was paying off an old score against a man she disliked.

  In his cabin, which was one of the most comfortable on the ship, Lord Charnock decided that the Countess of Rothbury’s niece could, as far as he was concerned, look after herself.

  He was well aware that Kathleen Rothbury had two years ago set out to capture his attention and, if possible, his heart, because it would have been a considerable feather in her cap.

  As the greatest beauty in London Society, she considered it an insult if any man whom she met at all frequently was not enslaved by her looks and ready to cast himself at her feet.

  It had been an unusual experience that had startled her when Lord Charnock had made it unmistakably clear that he did not find her attractive and, what was more, actively disliked her.

  To the Countess this was completely incomprehensible and, although she had searched for an explanation, she could not find one.

  What she did not know was that Lord Charnock considered that she had behaved most cruelly to a young man in the Foreign Office whom she had taken up for several months and then dropped him because somebody more interesting had then occupied her attention.

  The man in question was little more than a boy and, believing his heart to be broken, he had asked to be sent overseas, although in Lord Charnock’s opinion he was more useful in London and in particular to him personally.

  He had disliked Kathleen Rothbury from that moment and he had always despised all the beautiful but empty-headed women whose only occupation was playing with fire or rather with hearts with often disastrous consequences for those who were burnt.

  The mere fact that Lord Charnock had been unresponsive to the invitation in her eyes and had appeared to deliberately avoid her made Kathleen Rothbury all the keener.

  Only when she was forced to admit defeat did she tell herself that sooner or later she would get even with Lord Charnock and teach him the lesson he so obviously deserved.

  From her point of view she could think of nothing more annoying than to be saddled with a young girl on a long voyage and, as she returned to London, she hoped that he would find it quite an inconvenience, but at the same time feel that he must not neglect what was an obvious duty.

  Lord Charnock, however, had no intention of considering anything but his own comfort. He had a great deal of work to do and was, as it happened, annoyed at having to visit Russia at this particular moment.

  It was only because the Foreign Secretary had pleaded at length with him to undertake a very difficult mission that he had reluctantly agreed to go to St. Petersburg.

  “There is nobody but you whom I could trust with this,” Lord Palmerston had said. “You know as well as I do what the Russians are like. Their spies are everywhere and anything you say or even think will be reported at once to the Chief of Police. What is more I am told that the Czar’s Secret Police are now in absolute control, besides the fact that the Czar himself is becoming more and more irrational.”

  “I have heard this too,” Lord Charnock said, “and God only knows what will eventually happen in that country.”

  The Foreign Secretary sighed.

  “As it is the Czar is loathed by the Army. And he flies into fanatical rages at the least provocation and is severe, vindictive and mean.”

  Lord Charnock nodded.

  “I have heard the reports, but I am hoping that it was exaggerated.”

  “I am afraid not,” Lord Palmerton replied. “He has now turned his vast Empire into a Barracks and to him Sovereignty is merely an extension of Army discipline.”

  Lord Charnock sighed.

  “I was told that he wrote in a report, ‘I cannot permit one single person to dare to defy my wishes the moment he has been made aware of them’.”

  Lord Palmerston nodded.

  “That is true. But his wishes unfortunately are most eccentric to say the least of it. He has imposed the wearing of uniforms on professors, students, engineers and members of the Civil Service.”

  “It seems incredible!” Lord Charnock exclaimed.

  “Only the Army has the right to wear moustaches,” Lord Palmerston carried on with a smile, “but all moustaches have to be black and, if necessary, dyed!”

  Both men laughed.

  Then Lord Charnock said,

  “The Czar is undoubtedly the most alarming Sovereign in Europe and, as I have already told you, my Lord, I have no wish to go to St. Petersburg.”

  “There is nobody else I can possibly trust who would not be bamboozled, hoodwinked or hypnotised by him.”

  Lord Charnock sighed again.

  “Very well, my Lord, but I shall make my visit as brief as possible.”

  “As long as it is successful, you can come back tomorrow.”

  “Thank you,” Lord Charnock said sarcastically, realising the enormity of the task ahead of him.

  He gave orders now for his despatch boxes, and there were quite a number of them, to be placed where he could keep his eye on them.

  Everything they contained was written in code. At the same time he was fully aware that the Russians were known as past masters at breaking codes and at inspecting anything a visitor possessed even when he claimed Diplomatic Immunity.

  As an experienced traveller, he made sure that those who travelled with him knew how to ensure his comfort.

  His valet, who had been with him for more than fifteen years, gave the Stewards orders so that almost like magic everything was done in a manner that would have been the envy of other less competent passengers.

  Now, as the ship began to move, Lord Charnock opened one of his despatch boxes and started to work on what it contained.

  He had not given one more thought to the responsibility that the Countess of Rothbury had thrust upon him in the shape of her niece.

  Chapter two

  Zelina was feeling very shy when it was time to go down to dinner.

  However, when she entered the Dining Saloon and gave a Steward her name, she found that he escorted her not to the large table in the centre of the room, which was already nearly full, but to one of the single t
ables that were positioned round the walls.

  She realised that this had been arranged for her by the Russian Embassy and was grateful that she did not have to talk to strangers, some of whom looked rather rough and became more and noisier as the meal proceeded.

  She had been eating for only a short while when she saw Lord Charnock come into the Saloon, looking, she thought, very tall and disdainful of everybody and the surroundings that he found himself in.

  He was escorted to a table at the far end of the Dining Saloon that was in a small alcove and therefore in a way he was isolated from contact with the other passengers.

  Zelina could see him ordering his meal with some care and she noticed that a bottle of champagne in an ice bucket was placed beside him.

  He then opened a book that he had brought with him and started to read.

  Immediately Zelina felt that this was a wise thing to do and wished that she had thought of it herself.

  Because she was alone it was difficult not to stare at other people and she knew that Lord Charnock had given her an idea as to how to occupy herself at other meals when she would be sitting at a table alone.

  There were long pauses between courses as there appeared to be not enough Stewards to cater for all the demands of those having dinner.

  Those at the centre table were continually asking for more wine and Zelina was sincerely grateful that she did not have to sit amongst them.

  There was one man with a moustache who was facing her from the other side of the table and, as the dinner progressed, she was aware that he was looking at her in what she felt was an impertinent manner.

  She wished that she could hurry away, but she thought it would only draw attention to herself if she left before the end of the meal.

  She was then quite thankful when the last course was put in front of her and the Steward asked her when she was finished if she required anything more.

  “No, thank you,” Zelina replied.

  She then rose from the table and, walking gracefully but carefully because there was now a decided roll, she went up the stairway and back to her own cabin.