Page 7 of The Unseen (Echoes from the Past #5)

FIVE

Petrograd, Russia

The sun shone brightly, making the ice glimmer and adding a playful sparkle to the mounds of snow lining the riverbank.

Whoops of laughter and gasps of delight followed Valentina as she carefully walked off the ice and made her way to the nearest bench.

She removed her fur muff and began to unbuckle the skates attached to her boots.

She loved skating, but next week might be the last time she took to the ice this winter.

Despite the bitter cold, spring was on its way, and in a few weeks, the Neva wouldn’t be safe to skate on anymore.

The thaw would set in and the thick crust would begin to thin and crack, leaving great chunks of ice floating on the surface of the river and crashing into each other with surprising force, groaning and creaking like living things.

Still, no one could be sad about the approach of spring, not even dedicated skaters.

Valentina gave a jaunty wave to her sister and brother, who were still skating.

Tanya navigated the rink with confidence and finesse, but Kolya was too timid to go faster than a crawl or try a spin or a pirouette.

At seven, he still longed for someone to hold his hand and catch him should he fall, and called out to Tanya every time he wobbled on the ice.

“You’ll catch your death out here, Valentina Ivanovna,” Nyanushka grumbled as she sat down next to Valentina on the bench.

She was bundled up as if she were on her way to Siberia, wearing a knee-length sheepskin coat and matching hat.

A finely woven down shawl peeked from beneath the hat.

The ends were wrapped around her neck and tied at the back to keep them in place.

Nyanushka had been the nanny in the Kalinin household since Valentina was born, but she still called all the children by their formal names as a sign of respect.

Her parents and friends called Valentina “Valya,” the diminutive form of her name.

Formality was reserved for staff, strangers, and social functions.

“They’re almost done, Nyanushka,” Valentina replied. “Just give them a few more minutes. They’re having such fun.”

“In my day, no one was concerned with having fun,” she grumbled, rubbing her mitten-clad hands together to warm them. “We had more important things to think about.”

“And it shows. It’s all right to enjoy yourself from time to time.”

“Don’t be impertinent, young lady.”

“Why don’t you go get a cup of tea? We’ll meet you there in a few minutes.”

During the winter months, a table was set up on the riverbank, complete with a pot-bellied samovar and platters of poppy seed rolls, raisin loaves, and spiced gingerbread pryaniki.

The tea was hot and sweet. Valentina liked hers with a slice of lemon that gave it a slightly tangy flavor.

At home, they drank tea from tall crystal glasses set in silver-plated holders, but here on the riverbank it was served in tin mugs.

She always brought enough money to buy everyone a treat after their exertions.

Nyanushka got a treat just for being such a trouper and chaperoning them every week despite the cold and boredom she had to endure while they skated.

Their parents would never permit them to come alone, even though Valentina was nearly eighteen and old enough to look after her siblings.

It wasn’t proper for persons of their station.

Valentina walked toward the ice and gave Kolya a hand as he shuffled toward her. “Come, let’s get your skates off. Where are your mittens?”

“I dropped them on the ice,” Kolya whined as he sat down on the bench and stuck his feet out, ready to be assisted. “I want tea. I’m cold. ”

“We’ll all have tea as soon as Tanya graces us with her presence. Who’s that she’s skating with?”

“I don’t know,” the boy replied. He wasn’t interested in socializing, only skating.

Tanya finally said goodbye to her companion and left the ice, joining her brother and sister on the bench. “You dropped these, Kolya,” she chided as she handed him his red mittens. They were covered with ice shavings, but Kolya still pulled them on to warm his reddening hands.

“Who was that you were skating with?” Valentina asked as she stowed Kolya’s skates in a leather satchel that already contained her own skates.

“Sergei Mironov. He’s a friend of Alexei. We met him last summer, remember?”

“Vaguely. Come, get your skates off. Nyanushka is fuming.”

“What’s there to fume about? She has as much fun as we do, gossiping with all the other nannies and drinking liters of tea.”

“Perhaps that’s the problem,” Valentina said with a smile. “She’s probably ready to burst.”

“I’m not ready to go. I want my tea and cake,” Kolya complained.

“You’ll get your tea, you crybaby. Here, take twenty kopeks and go get yourself tea and a seed roll. We’re right behind you.”

“I want a pryanik.”

“So, get a pryanik.”

The boy took the coins and happily ran off toward the tea table .

“Children are so annoying,” Tanya said as she removed her skates, tied them together, and dropped them into the open satchel. “Always complaining.”

“He’s not so bad. Come on. I’m cold now that I’m not skating.

” Valentina stuck her hands into her fox muff to keep them warm until she could wrap them around a hot mug of tea.

Their mother didn’t like them having tea in public, proclaiming the mugs to be unsanitary, but tea and cake after skating was tradition, and Valentina wasn’t about to give it up.

Besides, it was a long time till supper, and she needed sustenance.

After their treat, they walked the seven blocks home, followed by a disgruntled Nyanushka. She was getting on in years and couldn’t walk as quickly as her charges. “I miss the days when you took naps after lunch,” she complained. “I got to rest after you ran me off my feet.”

“You can still rest. We’re not babies anymore. We don’t need to be minded round the clock,” Tanya snapped.

“You’re young ladies. You need to be minded more than ever. Your reputations are your only protection against evil tongues and unsavory suitors.”

“I don’t have a suitor, and Valentina is nearly engaged. Alexei would never believe any mean-spirited talk about Valya.”

“Nearly engaged is not the same as married, my girl,” the nanny replied. “She’s my responsibility till then.”

“Tanya, stop aggravating the poor woman,” Valentina admonished her sister. “She’s doing her best for us. Always has.”

“I know. I just don’t like being treated like a child. I’m fourteen—nearly a grown woman.”

“You’re hardly a grown woman. You still have several years in the schoolroom before you are presented to society. Be patient. ”

“Easy for you to say. You’re on the verge of something wonderful, while I have to molder in that schoolroom with that fusty governess. God, she bores me to tears.”

“She’s only doing what she’s paid to do.”

“Don’t I know it,” Tanya complained. “She should focus on Kolya. He needs all the help he can get.”

“Father will get him a different tutor this year. Kolya’s education will be quite different from ours, him being a boy.”

“You mean he won’t have to spend countless hours playing excruciatingly dull minuets on the pianoforte and memorizing poetry?

She won’t even let me play a waltz, that miserable cow.

Boys get to have all the fun,” Tanya grumbled as they reached their door and knocked, eager to be admitted into the warmth of the house.

“Oh, I don’t know about that. I have plenty of fun,” Valentina replied. She enjoyed teasing her sister.

“That’s because you have Alexei.”

Valentina handed her fur-trimmed coat, muff, and fur hat to a footman before heading into the parlor where her mother was reclining on a chaise, reading.

She was a great fan of Alexander Pushkin and knew many of his poems by heart, but at the moment she was enjoying a volume by Mikhail Lermontov, her second favorite.

“Did you have a nice time, Valya?”

“It was splendid, Mama. How was your afternoon?”

“Lazy,” her mother replied, smiling guiltily.

She was still beautiful at thirty-eight, with blond ringlets that framed her heart-shaped face and large blue eyes, just like Valentina’s, fringed with thick lashes.

“Your father tried to entice me with a sleigh ride, but I was so comfortable here by the fire with my book.”

“You need fresh air, Mama. ”

“And I’ll get some tomorrow. You know how I dislike the cold. And the bright sun reflecting on the snow makes me squint, and you know what that means.”

“That you’ll get wrinkles around the eyes. A definite no-no.” Valentina gave her mother a peck on the cheek and settled in the chair closest to the fire.

“Don’t get too comfortable, Valya. Go and make yourself presentable.

Countess Petrova sent word that Alexei will be stopping by.

He wishes to speak to you.” Elena Kalinina looked like a cat that had got at the cream, her eyes sparkling with mischief and her mouth twitching as she tried to suppress a smile.

“Really?” Valentina gasped.

“Really.”

“What should I wear?”

“Why don’t you put on that light blue frock I like so much? It brings out your eyes.”

“All right.”

Valentina exploded out of the chair in a most unladylike way and hurried to her room. If this was “The Talk,” she meant to be ready for it.

“You’re so lucky,” Tanya grumbled as Valentina dashed past her. “I wish it was my turn.”

“It soon will be.”

Valentina stripped off her warm woolen gown and put on the blue silk her mother had recommended.

The dress was feminine and frilly, adorned with Belgian lace and tiny cloth-covered buttons.

It was lovely. She ran a brush through her thick blond hair, tied it with a matching blue ribbon, and examined her reflection in the mirror.

She looked happy and excited, a girl on the cusp of womanhood, and if her mother was right, on the threshold of marriage .

Valentina had known Alexei all her life.

Their fathers had become great friends during their time in the Imperial Army when they were young Hussars.

The two families were close, and it had always been assumed that Valentina would marry Alexei, Count Petrov’s oldest son.

Valentina couldn’t think of anything more wonderful than marrying Alexei.

He was handsome, charming, and fun, and always made her feel like she was the most beautiful girl in the world.

It was agreed that their relationship wouldn’t be formalized until Valentina turned eighteen, but she would be eighteen the following week, and a supper party was planned to celebrate her birthday.

Her parents assumed there’d be an announcement to make. And now Alexei was on his way.

“Count Petrov is here,” a footman announced after knocking on Valentina’s door. “He’s waiting in the music room.”

“I’ll be down presently.”

Valentina threw one last look at herself in the mirror. Everything would be different by the time she returned to her room. Her adult life was about to begin.