One afternoon I had again been commanded to private audience at the Palace, and in uniform, had spent nearly two hours with the Emperor, listening to certain confidential instructions which he had given me instructions for the fulfilment of a somewhat difficult task.
Twice during our chat I had referred to the case of my friends Madame and Mademoiselle de Rosen, hoping that he would extend to them the Imperial clemency, and by a stroke of that well-worn quill upon the big writing-table recall them from that long and weary journey upon which they had been sent.
But His Majesty, who was wearing the undress uniform of a general with a single cross at his throat, uttered an expression of regret that I had been friendly with them.
In Russia, in these days, a foreigner should exercise the greatest caution in choosing his friends, he said. Only the day before yesterday Markoff reported it was to those two women that the attempt in the Nevski was entirely due. The others, thirty or so, were merely tools of those clever women.
Forgive me, Your Majesty, when I say that General Markoff lies, I replied boldly.
Enough! Our opinions differ, Trewinnard, he snapped, with a shrug of his broad shoulders.
It was on the tip of my tongue to make a direct charge against his favourite official, but what was the use when I held no actual proof. Twice recently I had seen Natalia, but she refused to allow me sight of the letters, telling me that she intended herself to show up the General in her own way and at her own time.
So the subject had dropped, for I saw that mention of it only aroused the Emperors displeasure. And surely the other matter which we were discussing with closed doors was weighty enough.
At last His Majesty tossed his cigarette-end away, and, his jewelled cross glittering at his throat, rose with outstretched hand, as sign that my audience was at an end.
That eternal military band was playing in the grey courtyard below, and the Emperor had slammed-to the window impatiently to keep out the sound. He was in no mood for musical comedy that afternoon. Indeed, I knew that the military music often irritated him, but Court etiquette those iron-bound, unwritten laws which even an Emperor cannot break demanded it. Those same laws decreed that no Emperor of Russia may travel incognito, as do all other European sovereigns; that at dinner at the Winter Palace there must always be eight guests; and that the service of gold plate of Catherine the Great must always be used. At the Russian Court there are a thousand such laws, the breach of a single one being an unpardonable offence, even in the case of the autocratic ruler himself.
Then you understand my wishes eh, Trewinnard? His Majesty said at last in English, gripping my hand warmly.
Perfectly, Sire.
I need not impress upon you the need for absolute and entire discretion. I trust you implicitly.
I hope Your Majestys trust will never be betrayed, I answered fervently, bowing over the strong outstretched hand.
And then, backing out of the door, I bowed and withdrew.
Through the long corridor with its soft red carpet I went, passing Calitzine, a short, dark man in funereal black, the Emperors private secretary, to whom I passed the time of day.
Then, reaching the grand staircase with its wonderful marble and gold balustrades and great chandeliers of crystal, I descended to the huge hall, where the echoes were constantly aroused by hurrying footsteps of ministers, officials, chamberlains, courtiers and servants all of them sycophants.
The two gigantic sentries at the foot of the stairs held their rifles at the salute as I passed between them, when of a sudden I caught sight of the Grand Duchess Natalia in a pretty summer gown of pale-blue, standing with a tall, full-bearded elderly man in the brilliant uniform of the 15th Regiment of Grenadiers of Tiflis, of which he was chief, and wearing many decorations. It was her father, the Grand Duke Nicholas.
Why, heres old Uncle Colin! cried my incorrigible little friend in pleased surprise. Have you been up with the Emperor?
I replied in the affirmative, and, bowing, greeted His Imperial Highness, her father, with whom I had long been on friendly terms.
Where are you going? asked the vivacious young lady quickly as she rebuttoned her long white glove, for they had, it seemed, been on a visit to the Empress.
I have to go to the opening of the new wing of the Naval Hospital, I said. And I havent much time to spare.
We are going there, too. I have to perform the opening ceremony in place of the Emperor, replied the Grand Duke. So drive with us.
Thats it, Uncle Colin! exclaimed his daughter. Come out for an airing. Its a beautiful afternoon.
So we went forth into the great courtyard, where one of the Imperial state carriages, an open one, was in waiting, drawn by four fine, long-tailed Caucasian horses.
Behind it was a troop of mounted Cossacks to act as escort.
We entered, and the instant the bare-headed flunkeys had closed the door the horses started off, and we swung out of the handsome gateway into the wide Place, in the centre of which stood the grey column of Peter the Great.
Turning to the left we went past the Alexander Gardens, now parched and dusty with summer heat, and skirted the long façade of the War Office.
I wonder what tales youve been telling the Emperor about me, Uncle Colin? asked the impudent little lady, laughing as we drove along, I being seated opposite the Grand Duke and his daughter.
About you? I echoed with a smile. Oh, nothing, I assure you or, at least, nothing that was not nice.
Youre a dear, I know, declared the girl, her father laughing amusedly the while. But you are so dreadfully proper. Youre worse about etiquette than father is and hes simply horrid. He wont ever let me go out shopping alone, and Im surely old enough to do that!
Youre quite old enough to get into mischief, Tattie, replied her father, speaking in French.
I love mischief. Thats the worst of it, and she pouted prettily.
Yes, quite true the worst of it, for me, declared His Imperial Highness. I thought that when you went to school in England they would teach you manners.
Ordinary manners are not Court manners, the girl argued, trying to rebutton one of her gloves which had come unfastened.
Let me do it, I suggested, and quickly fastened it.
Thank you, she laughed with mock dignity. How charming it is to have such a polished diplomat as Mr Colin Trewinnard to do nice things for one. Now, isnt that a pretty speech? I suppose I ought to study smart things to say, and practise them on the dog as father does sometimes.
Really, Tattie, you forget yourself, my dear, exclaimed her father, with distinct disapproval.
Well, thats nothing, declared my charming little companion. Dont parsons practise preaching their sermons, and lawyers and statesmen practise their clever untruths? You cant expect a womans mouth to be full of sugar-plums of speech, can you?
My eyes met those of the Grand Duke, and we both burst out laughing at the girls quaint philosophy.
Why, even the Emperor has his speeches composed and written for him by silly old Calitzine, she went on. And at Astrakhan the other day I composed a most telling and patriotic speech for His Majesty, which he delivered when addressing the officers of the Army of the Volga. I sat on my horse and listened. The old generals and colonels, and all the rest of them, applauded vociferously, and the men threw their caps in the air. I wonder if they would have done this had they known that I had written those well-turned patriotic sentences, I a mere chit of a girl, as father sometimes tells me!
And the terror of the Imperial family, I ventured to add.
Thank you for your compliment. Uncle Colin, she laughed. I know father endorses your sentiments. I see it in his face.
Oh, do try and be serious, Tattie, he urged. See all those people! Salute them, and dont laugh so vulgarly. And he raised his white-gloved hand to his shining helmet in recognition of the shouts of welcome rising from those assembled along our route.
Whereat she bowed gracefully again with that slight and rather frigid smile which she had been taught to assume on public occasions.
If I put up my sunshade they wont see me, and it will avoid such a lot of trouble, she exclaimed suddenly, and she put up her pretty parasol, which matched her gown and softened the light upon her pretty face.
Oh, no, Uncle Colin! she exclaimed suddenly, as we turned the corner into the Yosnesenskaya, a long, straight street where the throng, becoming greater, was kept back by lines of police in their grey coats, peaked caps and revolvers. I know what you are thinking. But it isnt so. Im not in the least afraid of spoiling my complexion.
Then perhaps it is a pity you are not, I replied. Complexions, like all shining things, tarnish quickly.
Just like reputations, I suppose, she remarked, whereupon her father could not restrain another laugh.
Then again, at word in an undertone from the Grand Duke, both he and his daughter saluted the crowd, our horses galloping, as they always do in Russia, and our Cossack-escort clattering behind.
There were a good many people just at this point, for it was believed that the Emperor would pass on his way to perform the opening ceremony, and his loyal subjects were waiting to cheer him.
On every hand, the people, recognising the popular Grand Duke and his daughter, set up hurrahs, and while His Imperial Highness saluted, his pretty daughter, the most admired girl in Russia, bowed, and I, in accordance with etiquette, made no sign of acknowledgment.
As we came to the narrow bridge which spans the canal, the road was flanked on the left by the Alexander Market, and here was another huge crowd.
Loud shouts of welcome in Russian broke forth from those assembled, for the Grand Duke and his daughter were everywhere greeted most warmly.
But as we passed the market, the police keeping back the crowd, I saw a thin, middle-aged man in dark clothes lift his hand high above his head. Something came in our direction, yet before I had time to realise his action a blood-red flash blinded me, my ears were deafened by a terrific report, a hot, scorching breath swept across my face, and I felt myself hurled far into space amid the mass of falling débris.
It all occurred in a single instant, and I knew no more. I had a distinct feeling that some terrific explosion had knocked the breath clean out of my body. I recollect seeing the carriage rent into a thousand fragments just at the same instant that black unconsciousness fell upon me.
Chapter Seven.
Tells Tragic Truths
When, with extreme difficulty, I slowly struggled back to a knowledge of things about me, I found myself, to my great surprise, in a narrow hospital-bed, with a holy ikon upon the whitewashed wall before me, and a Red Cross sister bending tenderly over me.
Beside her stood two Russian doctors regarding me very gravely, and at their side was Saunderson, our Councillor of Embassy.
Well, how are you feeling now, Colin, old man? the latter whispered cheerfully.
I I dont know. Where am I? I asked. Whats happened?
My dear fellow, you can thank your lucky stirs that youve escaped from the bomb, he said.
The bomb! I gasped, and then in a flash all the horrors of that sudden explosion crowded upon me. What happened? I inquired, trying to raise myself, and finding my head entirely enveloped in surgical bandages. What happened to the others?
The Grand Duke was, alas! killed, but his daughter fortunately escaped only with a scratch on her arm, was his reply. The carriage was blown to atoms, the two horses and their driver and footman were killed, while three Cossacks of the escort were also killed and two injured.
Then then she she is alive! I managed to gasp, dazed at the tragic truth he had related to me.
Yes it was a desperate attempt. Fifteen arrests have been made up to the present.
And while he was speaking, Captain Stoyanovitch advanced to my bedside, and leaning over, asked in a low voice:
How are you, Trewinnard? The Emperor has sent me to inquire.
Tell His Majesty that I I thank him. Im getting round I I hope Ill soon be well. I I
Thats right. Take great care of yourself, mon cher, he urged.
And then the doctors ordered my visitors away, and I sank among my pillows into a state of semi-consciousness.
How long I lay thus I do not know. I remember seeing soldiers come and go, and at length discovered that I was in the hospital attached to the artillery barracks on the road to Warsaw Station. Beside me always sat a grave-eyed nursing sister, silent and watchful, while ever and anon one or other of the doctors would approach, bend over me, and inquire of her my condition.
Saunderson came again some hours later. It was then night. And from him, now that I was completely conscious, I learnt how, after the explosion, the police had in the confusion shot down two men, afterwards proved to be innocent spectators, and made wholesale indiscriminate arrests. It was believed, however, that the man I had seen, the perpetrator of the dastardly act, had escaped scot-free.
Dozens of windows in the market-hall opposite where the outrage was committed had been smashed, and many people besides the killed and injured had been thrown down by the terrific force of the explosion.
The poor Grand Duke Nicholas has, alas! been shattered out of recognition, he told me. His body was taken at once to his palace, where it now lies, while you were brought here together with the Grand Duchess Natalia. But her wound being quite a slight one, was dressed, and she was driven at once to the Winter Palace, at the order of the Emperor. Poor child! I hear that she is utterly prostrated by the fearful sight which her father presented to her eyes.
I drew a long breath.
I suppose I was struck on the head by some of the débris and knocked insensible eh? I asked.
Yes, probably, he replied. But the doctors say the wound is only a superficial one, and in a weeks time youll be quite right again. So cheer up, old chap. Youll get the long leave which you put in for the other day, and a bit more added to it, no doubt.
But this state of things is terrible, I declared, shifting myself upon my side so that I could better look into his face. Surely the revolutionists could have had no antagonism towards the Grand Duke Nicholas! He was most popular everywhere.
My dear fellow, who can gauge the state of the Russian mind at this moment? Plots seem to be of daily occurrence.
If you believe the reports of the Secret Police. But I, for one, dont, I declared frankly.
No, no, he said reprovingly. Dont excite yourself. Be thankful that youve escaped. You might have shared the same fate as those poor Cossacks.
I know, I said. I thank God that I was spared. But it will be in the London papers, no doubt. Reuters man will send it; therefore, will you wire to my mother at once. You know her address Hayford Manor, near Newquay, Cornwall. Wire in my name, and tell her that the affair is greatly exaggerated, and that Im all right, will you?