The Prince and the Nun

by Jacqueline George

“Yes, they passed on that any patrols on this side of the mountains that stay on the forest tracks will not be ambushed or mined. I don’t think they want to fight, General. They wanted Drazevich because of the trouble he’s been making down in the village and they know he was responsible for getting the young man shot. Apart from that, I understand they just want to keep out of your way.”

  “Keep out of my way, eh? That might be possible. Just between you and me, understand? No agreements, no writing or anything, and I’m not going to give up the search for that sniper. Well, not before the week-end, anyway.”

  Therese went to Timko’s office. She wanted to call Mrs. Orlova to come up, and perhaps bring Jana with her.

  She did not get an answer to the message Mikhail carried, but on Friday afternoon Major Lamoreaux’s patrol returned without their officer.

  Chapter 30

  “But how did it happen, Mefist?”

  They were in the refectory, having a late breakfast. “Well, it’s stupid and that’s why no one has told you yet. He’d eaten something that had upset his stomach and he was having to stop every now and then to take to the bushes. Well, they were about as far away as they had planned to go when he went off to the bushes again, but this time he didn’t come back. The patrol waited and waited—they didn’t want to disturb him at his business of course—but eventually they went to look and found he’d been taken, skis and all. The next man in the patrol was a corporal with the heart of a pussycat. He decided it was coming on to snow and getting dark, and he couldn’t justify splitting up the patrol and sending some back, or risk having the whole lot of them blundering around in the forest at night. I suppose he was right; they were a very long way out, but it was downhill all the way back, so they could get back to the castle before nightfall. They apparently talked for a bit and then came home without the Major. What do you think they’ll do with him?”

  “I’m sure the first thing they’ll do is put him on a diet. I should imagine food is rationed out there, but I don’t think they’ll hurt him. Just keep him prisoner, I suppose. I expect we’ll hear something soon.”

  Mefist looked depressed. “I don’t know what’s happening. We’re doing everything we can do to keep the peace, and every day brings something else destructive. I know just what the General’s going to do now. Reconnaissance in force; whole area sweeps, and we’ll just keep on until we find Lamoreaux or someone to kill. It’s so stupid! The Coalition seems to be pushing us back in the south. We’ve got serious problems; the war’s not going well for the Grand Alliance, and in Krasna Dolina we’re going to be running around the forests wearing ourselves out chasing a few boy scouts. Damn it all! I’d better go. The General’s holding a briefing, and then we’ll be on our way. It’s going to be a hard day—snow shoes through the forests because we won’t be able to use skis in the trees.”

  An air of impending misfortune hung over the castle all day. The club was very quiet in the evening with the girls in their rooms, or reading and chattering by the fire. For the first time there were no customers. Mefist dropped by to say good evening. He looked tired and, pleading an early start in the morning, he went off to bed after only a few minutes.

  Again Therese was woken early by knocking at her door. Expecting more bad news, she wrapped her dressing gown around her and opened the door. Agata and Dorota were there. “Maria’s gone, Mistress! She hasn’t slept in her bed!”

  The girls had all dressed and were waiting for her. She hurried to Maria’s room. It was clean and neat. The bedclothes were tucked in with almost military smartness and gave no sign of anyone having used the room recently. She opened the cupboard. Again, very tidy. The drawers held Maria’s lingerie and stockings. The bottom drawer had some neatly folded new linen and the chocolate, perfume and stockings she had received from Lieutenant Nielsen, all unopened.

  “Who saw her last?” Therese asked, remembering that Maria had not been behind the bar in the evening. After a while, they decided she must have gone missing sometime in the afternoon.

  Therese dressed and went to Timko. It did not take long before he found that Maria had been seen leaving the castle with her skis. She had said she was going for some private practice in the meadow by the wagon park. Therese hurried to the General.

  “General, I’m sorry to trouble you at a time like this, but Maria’s gone missing. She went out yesterday to practice with her skis by the wagon park, and she didn’t come back. I’d like to take the girls and some foresters out to search for her around the castle grounds. With your permission of course.”

  “Maria? Oh, what terrible luck. You’d better hurry. She may be lying out there with a broken leg. God knows if she’d survive the night. I can’t give you any men. They’re all out looking for Lamoreaux. Therese, do not allow anyone to go into the forest. Do you hear me? No one into the forest, or we may have an unpleasant accident and find my men shooting at your people. Off you go, and keep me informed.”

  They met in the inner courtyard, the girls fully dressed and carrying their skis, the foresters and castle servants in thick clothes with the earflaps of their winter caps flapping loosely. She set the men to search the gardens and the slopes that ran down from the castle towards the village. She and the girls would cover the meadowland around and above the castle.

  They carried their skis down to the edge of the wagon park and looked out over the meadows. The snow lay thick and heavy, unmarked since fresh falls had blanketed their practicing a few days earlier. Their best course was to search for Maria’s trail. Leaving their skis standing in a snow bank, they circled the wagon park, looking for a single ski trail that might show that a small lady had come there to practice her shaky skiing. They found nothing. The only ski marks leaving the wagon park ran up to the edge of the forest to join the trail along the top of the meadows. The search patrols had gone out this way, and the snow was compacted and heavily marked.

  They put their skis on. Therese insisted on searching once again around the wagon park, then spaced the girls out in a long line up and down the slope. They moved slowly off across the meadow, searching for ski trails. They reached the forest edge, moved uphill, and swept back. Nothing. Therese looked back at the ground they had covered. Something was wrong. The meadowland had yielded nothing, but this was the only area Maria would have gone to practice; nowhere else made any sense at all.

  The girls had gathered around her, waiting for guidance. “This is stupid,” she said aloud. “Maria would have come here to practice. Unless she decided not to practice but just go for a trip. Do you think she was confident enough to go for a walk by herself?”

  The girls did not think so. Maria was far from being a good student and although Grossner had declared his satisfaction at her performance, they all knew that was more for encouragement than anything else.

  “Look, if she didn’t ski on the meadow here—and I’m sure we would have seen something if she had—then she must have gone on up the ski trail. Right; we’re going on up.” They looked up the long cleared ride that ran up into the heart of the forested hills above. “I’m going to take the trail with two girls. The morning patrols will have destroyed any marks she made, but we’ll be trying to spot any trails leaving the main path. The rest of you form up in a line and sweep up there to the top of the ride. Remember, don’t go into the forest or our men might shoot you. We’ll see you up there.”

  Slowly Therese worked up the trail with Meike and Suzanna beside her. They climbed easily and were delayed only by checking every deviation off the main track, hoping each time that it was not just a soldier relieving himself but a trace of their lost friend. On the rough ground to their left, the girls were struggling with snow hummocks that continually collapsed and dropped them into brambles or grass tussocks. At the top of the clearing the trail continued into the forest, disappearing under dark, arching trees. They stopped to gather thoughts.

  “She wasn’t here,” said Therese with a sigh. “Unless she stayed on the trail the whole time, an
d why would she want to do that? We’ve already come much further than you’d want to do at the end of the afternoon.”

  “I think she really loved Lamoreaux,” said Helena.

  That was the answer. It had been obvious all along. Maria had taken her skis, and she probably had a bag or just filled her pockets, and set off to find Lamoreaux. She had gone in the afternoon because with luck she would be able to hide from the returning patrols and keep skiing into the night. The silly, brave girl. Therese’s heart wrung as she thought of the little figure fighting her lonely way along the forest trails in the cold winter night, searching and hoping. Now Therese knew that the men searching around the castle would find nothing. They slid rapidly back down to the castle.

  Even the General was shocked at her news. “Therese, there’s nothing we can do. If we’re lucky, we’ll pick her up in one of the sweeps. If not, maybe she’s with the men in the forest. Along with Lamoreaux, I hope. The men are already doing all they can. If she’s still alone, I really don’t have much hope for her. I’m sorry.”

  It was a black night for them all, and Therese came to breakfast wasted with worry and short of sleep. She sat alone out of choice and picked at her food. Mikhail came and stood at her table with his cap off. “Servus, Ma’am, I’ve got news.”

  “Why are you here, Mikhail?”

  “I’m just saying thank you for my days off, Ma’am, and telling you my wife’s feeling better, and I’ve got a message from the Major.”

  “So quickly? What does he say?”

  “Ma’am, he says he and Maria are safe—”

  “What! Maria’s safe?”

  “Yes, Ma’am, didn’t you know she was going to see the Major?”

  “What else did he say, Mikhail?”

  “He says they’re both safe, that’s one thing. She brought him some medicine and his stomach’s much better, that’s the second thing. The third thing is that Maria’s very tired and can’t travel today, so he’d like to ask the General for two days leave before they come home. That was all, Ma’am.”

  “Mikhail, you’re a saint! Thank you so much. I’ve been crying all night. And now everything’s fine again. Thank Christ and all His Saints. I’m going to the General.”

  A wave of relief crossed the General’s face, and he immediately blustered off to get coffee. Therese smiled at the way the old man tried to conceal his emotion. “Leave!” he snorted when he returned. “I’ll give him leave, alright. He’s going to have a hot welcome when he’s standing in front of my desk. If he hadn’t gone and got himself taken, we wouldn’t have had all this fuss.” Then the coffee came and he could relax.

  “Therese, my dear, I’ve decided I need a secretary. Someone with some brains to keep my orderlies working hard. Can you call that girl Rebecca for me? Ask her to come for a chat?”

  “General,” she teased him. “Are you sure you’re not just looking for someone to sit on your lap to take dictation?”

  “Certainly not! I’m surprised at you, Therese. When I want someone to sit on my lap, I’ll ask one of your girls. They’d be much better at that sort of thing. Of course, Rebecca’s much pleasanter to look at than the orderlies, but that’s not the point. I need my paperwork to be organized. I want my letters typed correctly the first time. If I have an intelligent young lady working away there, the orderlies will have to fall into line, because they can always be returned to active duties if they upset me.”

  As Therese left, the General called after her. “As soon as that girl sets foot in the castle again, I want her in here, understand? No changing clothes, no excuses. Straight to my office!”

  Rebecca appeared in the club that afternoon, happy and talkative. The General had sent a car for her, shown her around the office and explained her new job. She would continue to live at home, and starting next week a car would pick her up every morning, and take her back at night. She did not stay; the car was waiting for her.

  The club was busier that night than it had been for some time. Everyone felt the good times had returned again, and they wanted to make up for lost time. Tomorrow only normal patrols would go out, keeping to the forest paths. It was an evening to drink, to sing and to enjoy the ladies.

  Mefist came. He helped her behind the bar, offering smiles and quick retorts for all the girls as they fetched drinks. He was enjoying himself, winking at the girls and writing his brother officers’ names in the book with a flourish.

  He did not take Therese to her office. During a quiet moment, she asked him, “Mefist, why didn’t you make love to me the other night? I wouldn’t have minded.”

  “I know, my love, but I don’t make love to crazy women. Only to ladies who make it quite clear in advance that they want to be loved—and I certainly don’t make love to ladies who ‘wouldn’t have minded.’ Goodness me, what sort of an invitation is that?”

  “That’s not what I meant! I mean I might have enjoyed it.”

  “I’m quite certain you would have enjoyed it. You are demonstrating a lot of talent in that direction, but I don’t think you’re quite ready to sell your soul to the Devil, are you?”

  “But it wouldn’t be like that—”

  “Of course it would, and I’m not going to make up your mind for you. Remember why you’re here and then say straight out, ‘Mefist, take off my clothes and push it into me.’ Then I might listen to you, but I’m not going to take advantage of you when you’ve just come so many times that your brain’s scrambled and you can’t remember what you’ve been saying.”

  Therese was silent. She knew she wanted Mefist. She dreamed of sleeping beside him and waking up together, but she just could not invite him. Not in cold blood. She knew that when she got excited enough, she would do anything—anything he asked. The trouble was, he refused to take that step for her, and her conscience would not let her take it alone.

  Chapter 31

  Grossner had them all sliding down the meadow and struggling back up again. It was hard work keeping up with his demands, and Therese began to understand why sergeants are usually unloved. He stood in the centre of the field shouting directions—lean forward, drop your shoulder, reach out, stand up—and all the time the girls did the work while he just watched.

  Until he suddenly said, “Oh-ho! We’ve got company. Look!” Following his pointed ski stick they looked into the distance, up the trail to the edge of the forest. Two tiny black figures were on the trail far above, sliding down towards them.

  “Come on,” said Grossner. “Let’s go up and meet them. Try and catch me!” He swung into long, loping strides diagonally up across the meadow to join the trail. The girls hurried to join him, falling into his tracks to make the going easier. But they were still left far behind.

  He waited for them five minutes up the track, smiling as they struggled up to him. “Dear me, dear me, and you’re such young things. You should leave an old man like me a long way behind you. Here they come now.”

  The stocky figure of the Major came around the corner, followed by Maria, a little black barrel in her warm clothes. She still looked uncomfortable on her skis. The girls had taken their mittens off and clapped and cheered as Maria drew up. The Sergeant stood at attention and saluted.

  The Major returned the salute. “Afternoon, Therese, ladies, Sergeant. It’s good to see you again.”

  “Nice to have you back, Your Honour.” The girls crowded as close to Maria as their skis would allow, to try and get her news.

  “Interesting visit, Major?” asked Therese.

  “Er, yes. Very interesting. We must have a chat after I’ve reported to the General.”

  “Did you meet Rado?”

  “Do you know him? Yes, he’s quite an interesting young man. Certainly keeps his men in hand. He’d have made a good soldier.”

  “That sounds like Rado. I think the General wants to see you as soon as you get in, and Maria as well.” She poled herself clumsily over to Maria.

  “Well, my girl, what have you got to say for yourself?”<
br />
  “I’m sorry, Mistress,” she said in a small voice.

  “And so you should be, you little baggage! You had me crying all night, thinking you were lost in the forest. I bet you were lying with your lover next to the fire.”

  Maria said nothing, so she carried on. “You’re in deep trouble, of course. The General wants to see you straight away. He says that you’re not to change or go to your room. You’re to go straight to his office. If he’s not there, you’d better wait. We’ll see you for dinner and you can tell us all about it.”

  The Major and Maria slid gently off and the girls prepared to follow, but Grossner would not think of it. “Where are you going? I haven’t finished with you yet. We’re carrying on up so we can have a good long slide back down again. Come on, show me you’ve got some muscles under all that fat!”

  They crowded around Maria in the refectory to hear her story. “It was terrible, Mistress. Much worse than I thought it was going to be. I went up and up and up. It was a long way but I just kept going slowly. I heard the patrols coming and I hid in the bushes until they’d passed and then just kept going on and on. Then it started to get dark. I was frightened, Mistress, I kept thinking about wolves and bears, and then telling myself not to be stupid. I know there’s no wolves around here and all the bears are asleep, but I was still frightened.”

  “But how did you see in the dark?”

  “Oh, it wasn’t too bad. The snow catches the moonlight and I could see quite well, but it started to get very cold. I just kept moving so I wouldn’t freeze. I felt so lost and stupid. I didn’t know where I was going or what to look for, so I starting shouting for Rado every now and then. It’s difficult shouting and going uphill at the same time. So I’d stop and shout for a bit, and then I’d ski for a while until my legs were tired, and I’d stop and shout again. I wanted to sit down but I didn’t dare because I was afraid I’d never get up again. I don’t know how long I went on for. Hours and hours. I was ready to stop and sit down and there’d be an end to it when I heard a voice behind me. They’d followed me for a bit to see who I was and if anyone was following me. Two young men with rifles; I was so glad to see them, I could have kissed them both. I was really, really tired. I could hardly stand up so they towed me. They tied two straps together to make them long enough, I held on and one of them pulled me up the hills. When he got tired, the other one would do it for a while. Then we stopped and took off our skis. They carried me. Really, they put me on their backs and carried me up through the trees. One carried all the skis and the rifles, and the other carried me. They were really strong. Then we got to the camp and Rado was there, and everything was all right.”