The Firebird

She took it, in full disbelief that he’d said what he’d said, and allowed him to hand her down into the boat while Charles went from stunned silence to full-throated laughter.

‘Now this one,’ he told Anna, ‘this one, I like.’

CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE

All Saturday the storms had raged, with wind that tore at all the rooftops and flung rain in clawing sheets against the houses, keeping everyone indoors, and on the next day Captain Deane had come into St Petersburg.

He’d come at noon, and overland, complaining rather loudly that he’d been detained for several days at Cronstadt. When she’d heard that, Anna had felt satisfaction, because then she’d known that Gordon had succeeded in his purpose. He had sailed to Cronstadt on the morning after that disastrous dinner at the home of General Lacy, and had stayed away all week, and when he’d next come to the general’s house, the very evening of the Sunday Deane arrived in town, he’d looked as men must look when they had been to battle.

Anna had been playing a duet with Mrs Lacy, very poorly, on the harpsichord, and was no doubt not meant to hear the men’s exchange, but she had heard it notwithstanding.

‘Do we have Apraxin?’ General Lacy had asked Gordon.

‘Aye,’ the other had replied, ‘we have him firmly on our side. He got us this.’ He’d held a piece of paper up, subsiding wearily into a chair as General Lacy took the paper from his hand.

‘What’s this?’

The vice admiral had closed his eyes and, leaning back, had told him, ‘Read it.’

‘“I, whose name is underwritten, do declare” …’ The general had glanced up at Gordon. ‘Surely you’re not serious.’

‘Go on.’

‘“ … do declare to His Excellency the General Admiral Count Apraxin, that on the 9th of May last past, the Right Honourable the Lord Viscount Townshend, did give me permission when a favourable opportunity should present … ”’ The paper had been lowered as the general had asked, even more incredulous, ‘Deane wrote this? He admitted that he came here on a private mission from the English court, by the spymaster’s direction?’

‘And we have the written proof of it, all signed in his own hand. When he did first arrive in Cronstadt, and Apraxin asked him why he’d come, he answered he’d brought goods here to dispose of, with a mind perhaps to settle here in trade.’

‘What did Apraxin do?’

‘He told Deane that he lied, and made it plain that if he did not tell the truth of why he’d come, he’d never make it into Petersburg. I’m told Apraxin yelled at Deane a goodly time. I have doubts I myself could stand against the Lord High Admiral, if he came at me full volume. Have you heard him?’

‘I have not.’

‘’Tis fair impressive. Even so, it took him fully until Friday to convince Deane to write that.’

‘Well, God bless and keep the Lord High Admiral,’ General Lacy had remarked. ‘It is a damning document. And who has seen it?’

‘Tolstoy. He was not much pleased, as you can well imagine. I have made a second copy for Sir Harry, to be circulated well among the members of the Factory, for you know how warmly they view any interference out of London. And I thought,’ he’d said at last, ‘to give a copy to Golovkin, for both he and Tolstoy, sitting in the College of Foreign Affairs, do take an equal view of foreign meddling. It seemed hardly fitting to show this to one of them and not the other.’

‘No,’ the general had agreed, and smiled. ‘It would indeed be most discourteous. I should imagine both of them will have some questions for our Captain Deane, before they grant him leave to stay here.’

Gordon had asked, ‘And where is Deane now, have you heard?’

‘I have. Apparently he wrote to Nye, the shipbuilder, and asked him to find lodgings for him somewhere in the town, so he is now lodged with a captain of the Guards, and will no doubt begin his prying at the break of morn.’

‘No doubt. When he discovers William Hay has now returned here, and from Rome, Deane will be sniffing like a dog that’s lost its bone to learn his business, mark my words.’

‘Oh, I believe you.’ General Lacy had leant back himself, the paper in his hand, and said, ‘I’m sure that is exactly what he’ll do.’

And so it proved.

The next few days were busy ones, and Anna was as often sent on business for the general now as for his wife. It was, she knew, because she could pass by without attracting much attention, and if anyone outside their own community of Jacobites had wondered why she ventured quite so frequently to where Sir Harry Stirling lodged, a nudge and word from Mrs Hewitt soon reminded them that Mr Taylor had now more or less become Sir Harry’s private secretary.

Mr Taylor took great pleasure in escorting her whenever he was able, though it was more often Edmund who was strolling at her side.

He was at her side this morning, Thursday morning, as she made her way across the broad expanse of the great square on Vasilievsky Island, heading to the Colleges. ‘So then you liked him,’ Anna said.

‘You’d twist my words. I did not say I liked the man, I only said that, had I met Deane as I did, at Trescott’s tavern, without being warned about his character, I would have liked him well enough, that’s all I said.’

‘I think you do feel sorry for him.’

‘Why would I do that?’