The Russian Tapestry

by Banafsheh Serov

  The nurse looked at the men through the small window. ‘There are not enough beds, Excellency.’ She dropped her gaze as if ashamed by the admission. ‘There will be another hospital train arriving in a few days to take them to Moscow.’

  ‘You need not worry, sir,’ the orderly assured Alexei. ‘We’ll be taking you to the officers’ hospital where you will be well looked after.’

  Grigory and the orderly helped Alexei off the train to where a wheelchair waited on the platform. Soldiers and lower ranking officers shuffled out of the way to allow him to pass. Alexei caught the hatred in the eyes of a soldier, his face badly injured, when he was told to step aside. Ahead of them a corporal flung the end of his cigarette on the ground. Two soldiers immediately pounced on the discarded stub and began fighting for it. The orderlies standing nearby pulled them apart roughly.

  ‘I’m sorry you had to see that, Excellency,’ the orderly apologised. ‘The war seems to make animals out of some men.’

  Alexei said nothing. He motioned Grigory over and whispered in his ear. Grigory nodded and, reaching into a satchel, pulled out Alexei’s cigarette case. Walking over to one of the nurses, he handed her the cigarettes.

  ‘Please ensure these are distributed among the men.’ He cast a long look across the mass of bodies. ‘I’m afraid it won’t be enough for all of them, but it might bring comfort to some.’

  Taking over from the orderly, Grigory pushed Alexei’s wheelchair to the end of the platform, where Emily and the girls waited in two open-topped cars. As soon as the girls saw their father, they jumped out and ran towards him, their golden hair fanning behind them.

  ‘Papa!’ they called. Irena was first to reach him and she threw her arms around him.

  Alexei winced as the force of her embrace jarred his shoulder.

  ‘Careful, ladies, remember your papa has been injured,’ Grigory cautioned.

  ‘Papa, are you badly hurt?’ Irena asked. ‘Mama said you were shot twice.’

  ‘I was.’ Alexei laughed and gestured to the two younger girls to come forward. He cupped their faces, kissing each one three times. ‘And till I’m well enough to move about with a cane, it’s your job to wheel me everywhere.’

  ‘As the eldest,’ Irena declared, ‘I shall be the first.’ She walked behind the wheelchair and Grigory, with an amused smile, stepped away, bowing respectfully.

  ‘With Mademoiselle’s permission, I shall see to the trunks.’

  Irena began to push the wheelchair towards the waiting cars. Her younger sisters, forgetting their shyness, walked on either side of Alexei with the youngest, Tonya, clinging tightly to her father’s hand.

  ‘Did the Russian men fight gallantly?’ she asked.

  ‘That is a stupid question, Tonya,’ Irena retorted from behind Alexei. ‘Have you not been listening to the governess each morning when she reads from the paper?’

  Alexei squeezed his daughter’s hand. ‘Yes, we fought gallantly, my little Tonya, but at times the Germans’ guns were far superior to ours.’

  Tonya took a tentative look at the platform full of men behind her. ‘Are these all the men whose names are printed in the paper?’

  ‘Some of them.’ Alexei sighed. ‘Others were not so lucky.’

  ‘What was battle like, Papa?’ Vera looked down at him with serious eyes.

  Alexei was not sure how to answer his daughter and was almost glad when they reached the cars so he didn’t have to respond. The driver opened the passenger door and Emily, dressed in an elegant wool suit, stepped out to greet him.

  The girls helped their father to his feet. Pulling himself to his full height, Alexei took Emily’s gloved hand and pressed it to his lips.

  ‘You look radiant, Madame.’

  Emily gave a relieved smile. ‘We were so worried about you, Alyosha.’ Her smile slipped and her lips started to quiver. Fumbling in her handbag for her handkerchief, she pressed it to her nose, turning her face away as a sob escaped her.

  ‘Madame, please …’ Alexei took a step towards her but a sharp pain stopped him in mid stride.

  ‘We’d better get you to the car,’ Grigory said, stepping quickly to Alexei’s side. ‘It is still too soon to put any weight on your leg.’

  Alexei, too overcome with pain to speak, allowed Grigory to help him into the car. Emily sat beside him and Grigory slipped into the front with the driver. The girls climbed into the second car and together they drove through the streets to the hospital.

  By order of the Empress, several of the city’s palaces had been converted into makeshift hospital wards. Orderlies pushed Alexei’s wheelchair through a hall with high ceilings, gold-embossed pillars and three-tiered chandeliers. Men lay between sheets of crisp white linen in rows of beds. Alexei’s bed was in a curtained-off area at the far end of the hall, which was recently converted to cope with the influx of wounded men. Several icons sat on a small writing table next to a porcelain washing basin and water jug.

  The Empress and her two eldest daughters, dressed in nursing habits, visited him on his first day. The grand duchesses, training to become qualified nurses, cleaned and sterilised his wounds while their mother looked on. Although Alexei had met the Empress before, it was always on official occasions, where she had often appeared stern and unsmiling. Standing beside her daughters now, her face showed none of its usual rigidity. She made light conversation, enquiring after his family and health. As Tatiana finished reapplying his bandages, the Empress looked approvingly at her work. She gave her daughter a light pat on the arm that made the grand duchess beam with pride.

  ‘Thank you, Your Highness.’ Alexei bowed his head. It was an uncomfortable experience to disrobe and have his wound attended to by the grand duchesses. He felt further embarrassed that he could not move out of his bed to show them the respect the royal family deserved.

  The next day, Alexei was relieved when, instead of the Empress and her daughters, he was tended to by a young physician. Pressing a stethoscope to Alexei’s back, the doctor asked him to take deep breaths.

  ‘Your lungs are clear.’ The doctor straightened. ‘There is still a slight infection around the wound on your leg. Once that’s healed you are free to spend the rest of your recuperation at home.’

  A nurse walked around the curtain, then, seeing a high-ranking officer in a state of undress, stepped back hurriedly, murmuring an apology.

  ‘Come back, nurse,’ the doctor called after her as Alexei dressed. ‘We have finished.’

  ‘I’m sorry to disturb you.’ The nurse’s grey eyes slipped from the doctor to Alexei. ‘I was sent to take the patient’s temperature.’

  ‘Come in, my examination is done.’ Nodding to Alexei, the doctor took his leave. ‘I’ll be in again tomorrow, Excellency.’

  ‘Thank you, doctor,’ Alexei replied absently, his gaze fixed on the nurse. Her eyes were a most unusual colour, he thought, and her heart-shaped, Slavic face was soft and appealing.

  Her manner, he noted, was measured and assured, her movements full of grace and confidence. She was from a high rank, he deduced.

  ‘Keep this steady between your tongue and jaw, please,’ she instructed, placing a thermometer under his tongue.

  She took his pulse, frowning slightly as she counted the beats. He thought the creases between her finely shaped brows extremely charming. He found himself longing to learn her name and was impatient to be rid of the thermometer.

  ‘Not long now.’ She looked up from her watch and smiled as if she’d read his thoughts. ‘Your pulse is normal.’ Taking the thermometer, she checked the reading. ‘You have a slight temperature, but nothing to worry about.’

  ‘You are very thorough with your examination,’ Alexei complimented her. ‘Have you been volunteering for long?’

  She inclined her head graciously. ‘You are too kind. I’ve only been a volunteer at the hospital for a few weeks and still have a lot to learn.’

  ‘Is Mademoiselle betrothed?’

  ‘Yes.’ An uneasy look
entered the grey eyes, turning them a shade darker. ‘We plan to marry after the war.’ She looked away, busying herself with packing her instruments. His eyes lingered on her, following her movements from under his brows.

  ‘Is your fiancé fighting in the war?’

  ‘Yes,’ she said in a hoarse voice. ‘I think my job is done here,’ she said abruptly. ‘Is there anything else I can do for Your Excellency before I leave?’

  ‘Would you mind handing me my cane? I wish to take some air.’

  The nurse found the cane leaning at the end of the bed and held it out for him. ‘If you wouldn’t mind helping?’ Alexei said. Holding on to her shoulder, he lifted himself out of bed. When he took his cane, his fingers brushed over her hand. She pulled it away, her face colouring.

  ‘Will there be anything else?’

  ‘Would you care to accompany me for a short stroll?’

  ‘I’m needed elsewhere. Perhaps some other time.’

  ‘In that case I shall not detain you any longer.’ The nurse was about to leave when he added, ‘Except …’

  She looked at him expectantly.

  ‘May I enquire as to your name, Mademoiselle?’

  ‘Kulbas.’ A small smile curved her lips. ‘Marie.’

  ‘A befittingly beautiful name.’ He bowed his head before her. ‘It was a pleasure meeting you, Mademoiselle. Your fiancé is a lucky man to have you waiting for him.’

  ‘Thank you.’ Ducking her head, she hurried away.

  Alexei woke up in the middle of the night, panting. He looked around in confusion in the dark, unsure as to where he was, until his eyes adjusted and he realised he recognised his hospital surroundings. He must have called out in his dream because a nurse carrying a candle pulled back the curtain to check on him. Alexei shook his head when she asked if he needed something and she nodded, closing the curtain behind her.

  Getting out of bed, he limped to the small table. Pouring water into the basin, he splashed it over his face.

  His dream came back to him; Bogoleev knelt beside him, his hands streaked with mud and blood, working feverishly to rip strips from his shirt and wrap them around Alexei’s wounds.

  Becoming aware of a glow, Alexei lifted his head and saw a light at the end of the hall and heard the soft padding of footsteps. Through a slight opening in the curtain, he saw the flame move closer, hover briefly at the foot of beds, then move again. As the footsteps drew nearer, he saw it was the young nurse, Marie. Her face, only partially visible, glowed golden in the candlelight and her movements seemed as light as air, giving the impression that she was floating over the parquet floors.

  As if sensing his gaze, she turned to him.

  ‘Your Excellency, why are you out of bed?’ She moved towards him, her eyes shining brightly, reflecting the flame. ‘Do you need anything? I have finished my shift but will be happy to get you whatever you need before I go.’

  ‘No need to trouble yourself. I noticed the light and … I’m afraid I was caught spying to see who it belonged to.’ He laughed, cringing inwardly at the nervousness in his voice.

  She pressed a finger to her lips ‘We’d best move away from the other beds. We might wake the patients.’

  ‘You seem to be carrying a few books with you,’ he remarked, noticing she was balancing several volumes in the crook of one arm.

  ‘Oh, these are my textbooks. Sometimes I come here straight after classes. I’m studying at the Smolny Institute.’

  ‘How will you get home at this hour?’

  ‘My uncle sends a carriage for me.’ She checked her watch. ‘It should be here by now.’

  ‘May I?’ he asked, reaching for the books.

  She let him study the titles.

  ‘You study law?’

  ‘I’m in my first year.’

  ‘And how are you finding it?’ He handed back the books.

  ‘Very interesting. I hope to join the district attorney’s office in Tallinn when I finish.’

  Tilting his head, Alexei regarded the young nurse with renewed interest. There was something unique about her. The women he knew from society or those he had met at court rarely appeared interested in the world beyond their salons and dressmakers.

  ‘A civil servant is an unusual choice of career for a woman,’ he said. ‘What prompted you to choose this field?’

  ‘I want to help people, to help our society,’ she replied simply.

  ‘Really?’

  She gave a shrug that seemed a little self-conscious. ‘In Sweden, Finland and Britain, women already participate actively in the running of society. I don’t see a reason why we can’t have the same in Russia.’

  Alexei smiled. It was refreshing to meet a woman who not only held strong opinions, but was not afraid to voice them. ‘You are obviously very passionate about this topic.’ He was about to add something else when he was cut short by a throbbing in his leg. Wincing, he tried to shift his weight to alleviate it.

  ‘How thoughtless of me to keep you standing for so long.’ Placing her books on the floor, Marie took Alexei’s arm. ‘Let me help you back to your bed.’

  ‘I enjoyed our brief talk,’ he said as he slipped between the sheets. ‘I hope we will have a chance to continue our conversation.’

  She smiled. ‘I would like that, but right now, you must rest. Goodnight, Excellency.’ She drew the curtain behind her.

  Listening to the fading sound of her footsteps, Alexei thought about their conversation. Despite her youth, she spoke with confidence and passion. His thoughts then turned to Natalya, who showed no interest in any talk outside society gossip. The young nurse may not have Natalya’s celebrated beauty, but she possessed a certain grace and intelligence that outweighed that of other women he had met. Closing his eyes, Alexei soon fell to sleep, a small smile creeping across his lips.

  Driving in the carriage, Marie rested her head against the plush padding. She thought back over her day and the intriguing new patient she had met. She was sure he was much older than her but she could not guess by how much. His olive skin and pale hair made him appear youthful but his rank and the confidence with which he engaged her spoke of a maturity that was only gained with age. He had surprised her when she had come across him in the dark. His manner earlier in the day had been flirtatious, but in their nighttime encounter he had seemed genuinely interested in her studies and her ideas …

  Marie yawned, weariness pressing against her eyelids. The last thing she recalled before she fell asleep was the smiling face of the commander as she wished him goodnight.

  10

  Petrograd, September 1914

  All day Alexei had been in a state of inward turmoil. He had called for a nurse several times in the hope that Marie would come and was disappointed when each time a different nurse appeared.

  He was still preoccupied with thoughts of how he might arrange a meeting with her when Grigory announced that Countess Natalya had arrived to visit him.

  ‘Darling!’ Natalya leant over to plant a kiss on Alexei’s temple. ‘So glad to hear the infection on your leg wound has cleared.’

  Grigory offered her a chair, then excused himself.

  ‘When will you be going home?’ Natalya peeled off her lace gloves.

  ‘I’m being released tomorrow to the care of Emily and her physician.’

  ‘I’m sure between the two of them they will take good care of you.’ Her voice was leaden with sarcasm.

  ‘Emily’s physician is an irritating fool,’ Alexei groaned. ‘To your good health!’ he said, mimicking the physician’s favourite phrase.

  Undoing the clasp of her fox stole, Natalya folded it neatly on her lap. ‘I’m surprised Emily has not organised for a priest to visit as well.’

  ‘I am not dead.’

  ‘Priests are not merely for the dead.’ Natalya raised an eyebrow. ‘When was the last time you took communion?’

  ‘We had a priest in our regiment who said Mass every morning.’

  Natalya leant forward. He
smelt her perfume, floral and expensive. ‘And are you forgiven all your sins?’ She laughed, pleased with herself. ‘Why, Your Excellency, I do believe you are blushing.’

  Sitting back, she asked, ‘Have the Empress and her daughters come to visit you since your arrival?’

  ‘Only the one time. They tend to spend most of their time at Tsarskoe Selo.’

  ‘If you ask me, the Empress’s behaviour is undignified. I have it on good authority that she and the two eldest daughters have been assisting in medical operations and amputations.’ She pursed her lips in distaste.

  ‘Perhaps they wish to make a contribution to the war effort,’ Alexei said mildly. He became aware of a movement by the curtain and looked up to see Marie.

  ‘Good morning, Excellency. I’m here to change your bandages.’ Marie ducked her head in greeting. ‘But I can come back later if you wish.’

  ‘No,’ Alexei said, a little too hurriedly. ‘Now is a perfect time.’ He was aware of the countess giving him a quizzical look. He returned her look with a smile. ‘You don’t mind, do you?’

  ‘Not at all,’ she replied stiffly. ‘I shall wait on the other side of the partition.’ She stood, throwing Marie a measuring glance before stepping behind the curtain.

  ‘I was beginning to think you had forgotten your promise to visit me,’ he whispered when Marie was at his side.

  Marie kept her eyes downcast, but he noticed a smile tugging at her lips. ‘I’ve been very busy.’

  Encouraged by her smile, he turned his head towards her as she peeled back the bandage on his shoulder.

  ‘I’m going home tomorrow,’ he murmured. Impulsively, he touched her hand.

  Startled, Marie stepped back, knocking the bedside table and spilling a bottle of iodine.

  ‘Let me help you.’ He took out his handkerchief, but she shied away.

  ‘I can manage,’ she said in a trembling voice.

  Glancing up Alexei saw that Natalya had been watching the exchange with narrowed eyes.

  ‘It’s good to see you are so well looked after,’ she said waspishly.