I spotted a man outside, standing on the quay, leaning against a lamppost. It wasn’t so odd to see someone there, but it was odd that he wasn’t looking out at the river. He was looking right at our house. All the stories I’d heard of people being watched by the secret police came rushing back to me, how people hadn’t realized their everyday activities were being monitored until the police came pounding at the door.
We had our own watcher.
Chapter Four
I TOOK A few deep breaths, trying to stay calm. I knew the man outside was from the secret police. He had to be. There was no other reason someone would watch our house. The baron had made it sound like we didn’t yet have the Okhrana interested in us, but he’d been wrong. If someone had put an observer on us, they weren’t just sniffing around.
The front bell rang, and the sound of it made my hand jerk, knocking into the glass of tea and spilling some of it on the tablecloth. To hear the bell that early in the morning was odd, not only because we got very few callers, but because it was early for anyone to make a call. The watcher outside straightened up, his gaze focused on whoever stood on our front steps. I went out into the hall as the footman was taking the cloak of a person so covered in snow I couldn’t make out much about him except that he was a man. I didn’t think I made a noise, but the person turned in my direction as he handed over his gloves and shifted a cane from one hand to another. It was the soldier from the night before.
Since I’d been thinking about our times at the dacha, my first impression was that he looked like he’d just come from a hike in the birch woods. His hair and his eyelashes were frosted with snow, making his dark eyes stand out in his face. My breath caught. He looked even better than he had the night before, especially since he was no longer wearing the elaborate white dress uniform. The simple dark blue uniform that was the standard daytime wear of Horse Guard soldiers suited him much better.
I froze, staring at him, unable to think why he’d be standing in our entry hall. Surely he hadn’t really wanted to speak to me so badly he’d come to the house.
Archer cleared his throat. I glanced over at him. He was looking at me with a puzzled expression on his face, probably because I’d been standing there like a statue.
I managed to choke out a few words. “Good morning,”
The young man nodded at me without smiling.
“Lieutenant Dmitri Antonovich Sokolov to see General Cherkassky,” Archer announced. “I was just about to show him into the library.”
“No need. I’m right here.” My stepfather came into the hall. He sounded perfectly alert, and he was walking just fine. Maybe the spell he’d had the night before had just been from tiredness. “Welcome, welcome, Dmitri Antonovich!” he said. “I’m so pleased to meet you. And there you are too, Lottie. Perfect timing. This young man is to be your brothers’ new temporary tutor.” My stepfather beamed as if he’d just given me a present.
“Tutor?” I said. “What happened to Monsieur Girard?” Girard had only been hired the week before. I’d been so pleased to find him, convinced he’d be the perfect fit since he’d spent his whole career as a teacher.
“I thought I told you. He quit yesterday.” Papa shook his head. “Just packed his bags and walked out. Some nonsense about his nerves and about the house being cursed. I’ve never heard such foolishness from an educated man.”
It took all my self-control not to yell for my brothers to appear that instant. A cursed house? I was sure the boys had pulled a devious prank on Monsieur Girard, and I was also sure I knew the identity of the ringleader. Miles.
“Very glad you are here, Dmitri Antonovich,” Papa said. “Tutoring the boys while you recover will help us all out. We’ll make sure you get plenty of rest so you can get back to your unit as soon as possible. I know the Horse Guard needs every man they can get. At some point, I do want to hear your impressions of conditions at the front.”
“Yes, Excellency,” Dmitri replied. He made the same motion he’d done the night before, shifting his weight, which caused another shudder to his whole body. I could see the pain on his face.
Papa beamed again. “No need to be so formal here, young man. I’ve been retired a long time now, and I promise I won’t report you to your commanding officer. I told the boys yesterday I’d find someone right away and gave them quite a stern lecture that they need to settle down and concentrate on their studies. They should be ready and willing to work at your direction.”
Which meant my stepfather had said a few words about studying and then one of the boys had asked a geography question, Papa’s passion, so the talk would turn to that. The boys were experts at deflecting attention from discussions of their own behavior.
I didn’t understand why a member of the Horse Guard would even want to be a tutor. They would consider such a job beneath them. Even before the war, being in the Horse Guard was a full-time occupation for those men who were meant to bring honor and glory to their families. Only the sons of the wealthy were allowed to join, and their families supplied the money to purchase horses and all the elaborate dress uniforms. It wasn’t for those in need of funds, who had to take extra jobs to make ends meet.
The baron’s words came back to me. You never know who is spying on you. Don’t trust anyone. The man I’d seen outside watching the house was an obvious danger, but I was sure the Okhrana had more devious methods, such as sending in a stranger who was not really a tutor.
Or was I just being foolish? Would a member of the Horse Guard lower himself to spy for the secret police? Pavel would never have done anything like that. Even those who thought the Okhrana were necessary still held them in contempt for the way they turned on ordinary citizens. There had to be another explanation for his presence.
“My boy Stepan will be joining the Horse Guard when he’s old enough,” I heard Papa say. “He’ll be delighted to meet you. Charlotte, perhaps you can introduce Dmitri Antonovich to your brothers. I have to go out or I’d do it myself. Dmitri, Charlotte will help you with anything you need. I don’t know what we’d do without her. She’s the eldest, you know, so she takes care of everything.”
She takes care of everything. A voice in my head wanted to yell, No! She doesn’t want to take care of everything! but I gritted my teeth instead. I’d always be Charlotte, the eldest, never just Charlotte.
I scrambled to think of another way to forestall bringing this person into our house. Whatever reason he had for being here, he wasn’t what we needed. We needed someone older who would be able to get some work out of my brothers and who wouldn’t be run off by them. “Papa, perhaps we should talk before you hire a new tutor. I’m sure Dmitri Antonovich is very qualified, but the boys need help in specific subjects.” The young man didn’t appear to be much older than me, so he didn’t actually look all that qualified.
“Mathematics, I know, Lottie dear,” my stepfather replied. “I’m told Dmitri Antonovich had the highest marks in mathematics on his university entrance exam, which he took three years early. It’s a shame the war interfered with the young man’s studies, but it’s lucky for us.”