The Property of a Lady - Elizabeth Adler [75]
“‘It is not a love that will bring you happiness,’ she said, and then she stopped. Then she said quickly, ‘You are too young, you should return to your homeland, you must not remain here.’ She took her eyes away from mine and stared back into the crystal and I followed her gaze, wondering what she could see in there. ‘There is love and despair in your life, and happiness will not lie in the direction you think. Love will always rule your life, and because of it you will undertake a great responsibility.’ She looked at me strangely and then added, ‘A responsibility that could change the world.’
“Of course I was intrigued, I wanted to hear more, but she suddenly pushed the crystal away from her and walked to the door, holding back the curtain for me. I took some money from my purse and offered it to her, but she put her hands behind her back and shook her head. ‘God protect you, malenkaya, little one’ was all she said.
“It wasn’t long before her prophecy began to come true. Things were going from bad to worse in Russia. The war was a shambles, partly because the tsar was insisting on conducting it himself, and there were strikes and riots in the cities. Events happened quickly and the Bolsheviks gradually began to gain control. Many people were leaving Russia while they could, but others, like Misha, wanted to stay and protect their interests.
“He trusted his people, and why shouldn’t he? He had looked after them better than their own fathers. His trust was sadly misplaced; they had fallen for the Bolsheviks’ promises of riches and land for every man, and now, when we rode through the village, the children were whisked indoors by their sullen-faced mothers and the men avoided our eyes.
“One by one the servants disappeared. There was danger in the air and Misha tried to persuade me to leave, but I could not. It was my eighteenth birthday; Anouska was depressed and spent the day in bed. Sofia and Misha and I were dining with the old aunts and cousins. They had just toasted me in champagne, when suddenly there was a great hammering on the door.
“It was a friend, a doctor from the neighboring town, thirty kilometers away; he had come to warn Misha that the mobs were growing, that they were violent and that we should flee while we could. The house was thrown into chaos as we prepared to leave. The old people refused to go and so did Misha. He promised to join us in the Crimea within a few days. As we were leaving he said, ‘Take care of my children for me, Missie.’ I looked into his eyes and saw what was written there. And then he said ‘I love you,’ and he kissed me.”
There was a long silence and Leyla held her breath, waiting for what Missie wanted to say next.
“I never saw him again.” Missie’s voice shook as she added, “You know the rest. Anouska was killed in the forest as we fled, and Alexei too. With Tariq Kazahn’s help, Sofia and I escaped to America with Xenia.”
The moon was high now, flooding the terrace with a strange white light as Leyla stared at Missie and Anna. Anna pressed Missie’s hand to her cheek and she could see she was crying.
“Misha and I were never lovers,” Missie said quietly. “I was young and innocent, and Misha was a gentleman.”
“Oh, Missie,” Anna whispered, “I’m so sorry, I should not have asked you. But I’m glad I know. Now I understand so much better.”
“I’m glad, dushka,” Missie said. “But it’s all a long time ago, and your great-grandmother and I made a decision then to put it all behind us and look only to the future. And now that’s what you must do too.”
“I promise,” Anna said. But even then, Leyla had wondered how she could ever keep such a promise.
Yet it seemed that Anna had. For years she had barely mentioned it, and then all of a sudden she had come to Leyla and told her she needed money. Urgently.