Page 86 of The Unseen
Valentina smoothed back her hair and walked slowly toward the parlor. She’d get rid of the visitor quickly and go back out to the garden. She was no longer sleepy, but an hour of peaceful reading before the rest of the family came home would be most welcome. Perhaps she’d even have teaal fresco, all by herself. She was the mistress of the house now; she could do what she pleased.
The man stood with his back to her, gazing out the window into the street, his hands clasped behind his back. Valentina saw the tension in his posture, the rigid set of his shoulders, feet set apart, as if to maintain a better balance. There was something familiar about the set of his head and his defiant stance.
“Good afternoon,” she said softly, so as not to startle him.
He turned around and the world stopped. Their gazes met across the room, his eyes full of uncertainty and longing. He took a step forward, then stopped, as though unsure what to do. Reeling with shock and disbelief, she grabbed onto the back of a settee for support. And then she was rushing toward him and his arms encircled her waist as she buried her face in his shoulder, quaking with violent sobs.
“Oh, dear God, Alyosha, how is this possible?”
“Valya, my love, I’ve been searching for you for over a year,” he whispered into her hair. “I thought I’d lost you for good.”
“How are you alive? I saw that bayonet go right through you. Nyanushka said you were dead,” Valentina sobbed. “I would have never left Petrograd had I known you were still alive.”
She finally let go of Alexei and stood back, drinking him in. He looked the same, but completely different. He’d matured, aged even. Strands of gray silvered his blond hair and there were fine lines around his eyes. They were still warm and filled with good humor, but now there was also pain. He’d suffered. He’d lost.
“What of your family, Alyosha?”
“My mother died on the way to France. She suffered a heart attack. My father and sister are all right. They made it to my aunt’s house and remained there until I was able to join them.”
“Alyosha, how? How did you survive?”
Valentina led him to the settee. He sat down and reached for her hands, as if loath to let go of her.
“I was very lucky, Valya. The bayonet pierced my lung but missed my heart. A tiny bit to the left and I would have died that day. My lung had collapsed and I lost a lot of blood. I was in and out of consciousness that night, and for most of the following day.”
“But Nyanushka told us you died,” Valentina cried. “Why did she lie?”
“Because I asked her to, Valya. I begged her to lie. Had she told you I was still alive, you would have remained in Petrograd to nurse me, and your family wouldn’t have left without you. After I saw what happened to your father, I couldn’t detain you. You were in terrible danger, as were my parents and sister. If I died of my wounds, they’d already be in mourning for me, and if I lived, I’d come and find you all. It took me several months to recover. Nyanushka called for a doctor after you left and he remained by my side for three days. He saved me. Nyanushka did the rest. She looked after me while I convalesced. She nursed me back to health. I wrote to my aunt as soon as I was able to, so my father and sister found out I was alive as soon as they arrived in Paris. They inquired after you every time a new Russian émigré arrived in Paris. No one knew what had become of you.”
“Alyosha, how did you find me?” Valentina asked. Her heart was thudding in her chest, her head throbbing with a sudden headache. The joy and tranquility of a few moments ago was gone. She could barely breathe.
“An acquaintance received a letter from a cousin in London, who wrote that a wealthy Russian industrialist had gonemissing. She mentioned your mother’s name. Valya, why didn’t you go to my aunt like we discussed? Why did you come here to London?” Alexei exclaimed.
“I thought you were gone. There was no longer any point in going to your aunt’s house to wait for you, was there? My mother wished to come here, to her cousin. He took us in and cared for us. We might have perished without him.”
“And now he’s gone missing?”
Valentina nodded miserably. “We don’t know what’s happened to him.” She hated lying to Alexei, but she could hardly tell him the truth of what had happened. The lie had taken on a life of its own and would have to run its natural course.
“I’m so sorry, Valya. It must be a difficult time for you all, especially for your mother. To think that a man who’d been so kind to you just vanished. Have the police found nothing?”
“Not a trace.”
Alexei shook his head. “I wish I’d had a chance to meet him, to thank him for looking after you all.” He lifted her face with his finger and gazed deep into her eyes. “We can be married now, Valya. We can finally begin our life together.”
Tears of heartbreak slid down Valentina’s cheeks. “Alyosha, I’m already married. I married Dmitri six months ago.”
“No!” Alexei shook his head. “No.”
“I thought you were dead,” she exclaimed.
“Did you love him?” Alexei whispered urgently. “Did you truly love him?”
“No, of course not, but I cared for him. I respected him. I felt indebted to him,” she replied, inwardly cringing at her lies. “He offered security for me and my family.”
“He’s gone now, Valya. We can still make a life together.”
“Alyosha, Dmitri may still come back, and even if he doesn’t, it will take seven years for the court to declare him legally deceased. I will remain his wife until then.”
