Page 66 of Fall of Giants (The Century 1)

It was going to be difficult living here, Lev suspected. But it would not be for long. As soon as he had enough money he would go to America. Nevertheless, while he was here he had to eat.

They went into a bakery. This time Lev was determined to get what he wanted. He pointed to a rack of loaves and said in English: "One bread, please. "

The baker pretended not to understand.

Lev reached across the counter and grabbed the loaf he wanted. Now, he thought, let him try to take it back.

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nbsp; "Hey!" cried the baker, but he stayed his side of the counter.

Lev smiled and said: "How much, please?"

"Penny farthing," the baker said sulkily.

Lev put the coins on the counter. "Thank you very much," he said.

He broke the loaf and gave half to Spirya, then they walked down the street eating. They came to the railway station, but the crowd had dispersed. On the forecourt, a news vendor was calling his wares. His papers were selling fast, and Lev wondered if something important had happened.

A large car came along the road, going fast, and they had to jump out of the way. Looking at the passenger in the back, Lev was astonished to recognize Princess Bea.

"Good God!" he said. In a flash, he was transported back to Bulovnir, and the nightmare sight of his father dying on the gallows while this woman looked on. The terror he had felt then was unlike anything he had ever known. Nothing would ever scare him like that, not street fights nor policemen's nightsticks nor guns pointed at him.

The car pulled up at the station entrance. Hatred, disgust, and nausea overwhelmed Lev as Princess Bea got out. The bread in his mouth seemed like gravel and he spat it out.

Spirya said: "What's the matter?"

Lev pulled himself together. "That woman is a Russian princess," he said. "She had my father hanged fourteen years ago. "

"Bitch. What on earth is she doing here?"

"She married an English lord. They must live nearby. Perhaps it's his coal mine. "

The chauffeur and a maid busied themselves with luggage. Lev heard Bea speak to the maid in Russian, and the maid replied in the same tongue. They all went into the station, then the maid came back out and bought a newspaper.

Lev approached her. Taking off his cap, he gave a deep bow and said in Russian: "You must be the princess Bea. "

She laughed merrily. "Don't be a fool. I'm her maid, Nina. Who are you?"

Lev introduced himself and Spirya and explained how they came to be there, and why they could not buy dinner.

"I'll be back tonight," Nina said. "We're only going to Cardiff. Come to the kitchen door of Ty Gwyn, and I'll give you some cold meat. Just follow the road north out of town until you come to a palace. "

"Thank you, beautiful lady. "

"I'm old enough to be your mother," she said, but she simpered just the same. "I'd better take the princess her paper. "

"What's the big story?"

"Oh, foreign news," she said dismissively. "There's been an assassination. The princess is terribly upset. The archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria was killed at a place called Sarajevo. "

"That's frightening, to a princess. "

"Yes," Nina said. "Still, I don't suppose it will make any difference to the likes of you and me. "

"No," said Lev. "I don't suppose it will. "

Chapter 7

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