Chapter Thirty-Three
Chapter Thirty-Three
‘Bayu-bayushki-bayu
Sleep my darling one
Tucked within your bed so tight
Or the old grey wolf will come…’
A nna was awake, dreaming of the lullaby her nanya used to sing to her. They usually spent the month of Easter in the country. Would her parents go to the dacha this year or remain in St. Petersburg? Spring was still buried under the snow but the thought of winter ending cheered her spirits.
In April, the ice on the Neva would begin to melt and lose its pristine whiteness. As the river became tinged pale lilac, a fast-flowing stream, like a dark ribbon, would appear in the middle, widening each day until the ice cracked with a sound of thunder. Large ice floes were carried by the churning current on their journey to the sea. They travelled at speed, rising high and crashing down, sending showers of splinters into the air, destroying every obstacle and carrying all with them. It was said the Neva swallowed her enemies in springtime and no one ventured on the river for fear of being swept away.
A white goshawk swooped past the sleigh, dropping down, then soaring high into the sky. All being well, they should get to Davinka by this evening. How long would they stay? Anna wondered. Nicholas wanted to reach the capital before the thaw and they had made good progress. The further west, the better the quality of horses and swifter the pace. Covering thirty miles a day, the troika skimmed over frozen lakes and rivers, passing villages and woods at a gallop. When they stopped, they rested for only a few hours and then drove on. At the last post house, Nicholas had hired three grey Orlovs. With their long stride and stamina, they were the finest carriage horses in Russia.
The journey had been hard and fast. If the days were bad, the nights were worse. The hostelries were full of men shouting, the door banging continually as people went in and out. Anna longed to rest in a proper bed, to wash and change her clothes. Now, Nicholas and Stepan were sitting up ahead, the breeze lifting the horses’ manes. She was so tired that she was almost asleep when she was startled by a sudden crack of gunfire.
Her first thought was that one of the rifles had discharged by accident but, when she looked back, she saw a posse of horsemen on their tail. They were riding small ponies at the gallop and carrying muskets. What happened next happened so quickly there was no time to think. A bullet whistled over her head and, as she ducked, she saw Stepan slump forwards against the driving board. With a swift movement, Nicholas grabbed the reins. His muskets were in a box beside him, but beyond his reach, and he lifted the whip and laid it across the horses’ backs. He was pulling their heads round so they were galloping uphill towards a wood. As they reached the shelter of trees, a flock of waterfowl rose shrieking from a pond and the troika slithered to a halt.
Nicholas hitched the reins to the bar before he sprang down and lifted Stepan out, carrying him to the back of the sleigh. He was unconscious, his face covered in blood. She had seen too much violence to be shocked, but the grim look on Nicholas’s face frightened her. Was he dead? There was no time to ask as he grasped her arm and helped her up onto the driving box.
‘Have you ever driven troika?’
‘Once before – long ago.’ Anna’s voice was tight.
‘I’ll need to use both muskets. You’ll have to drive. Can you do it?’
Anna nodded but her hands were clumsy as she separated the reins. ‘One each for the flankers and two for the shaft horse,’ she muttered, trying to remember Omelko’s instructions. ‘Never take your eyes off the middle horse. Keep him straight and the tracers will follow.’
Nicholas was attending to Stepan, bandaging his head and covering him with furs. Anna took long, deep breaths and gathered a measure of strength before he joined her. The leather creaked as he sat down and, incredibly, he smiled.
‘It may be close but I’ll wager we’ll outrun them. Let’s go!’
As he knelt up with a rifle in each hand, Anna clicked her tongue and loosened the reins. She had a glimpse of jagged black branches against an ashen sky before they broke cover. As soon as they were on open ground, she saw the bandits appear from the other side of the wood. They towered above their mounts, standing up in their stirrups and firing indiscriminately, bullets flying in all directions.
‘Keep down, as low as you can!’
Anna bent down as Nicholas lifted the gun to his shoulder. He took aim and the explosion made the horses leap forwards. Clods of snow flew up, hitting her shoulders and knocking her fur hat down over her face. All she could see was a blur of hooves, flying horsetails and the brightly coloured duga. He reloaded and there was another loud bang. The outside horses shied violently, pulling in different directions so the troika veered from side to side. As they careered on, Anna thought her arms would be torn from their sockets. At any moment, she expected the reins to be jerked out of her control, but she clung on until Nicholas’s hands closed over hers. He pulled hard until the horses slowed down and finally stopped.
‘We’ve lost the bastards.’ He was panting and breathless.
Anna opened her mouth to speak, but no words came and Nicholas’s arms went round her. He held her until her heartbeat steadied and she stopped shaking.
‘Well done! Stay here – in case we run into more trouble. I must check on Stepan.’
When he came back, he brought a bearskin, which he tucked over their knees.
‘How is he?’ Anna asked.
‘He’s alive and awake. He was lucky – the bullet only grazed his temple. I’m proud of you, Annushka.’
The spark in his eyes surprised Anna. Was it admiration? Surprise? Tenderness? Nicholas straightened her fur hat on her head and rubbed the ice from her cheeks with his thumbs. Then, taking her face in his hands, he kissed her, a firm, quick kiss on the lips. He picked up the reins and, as they moved forwards, Anna leant her head on his shoulder. She tried to stay awake but the effort was too much. Lulled by the smooth pace of the horses, exhaustion folded over her and she closed her eyes, dozing fitfully, until Nicholas nudged her elbow.