Marianne and the Lords of the East

We'll go not to Moscow, or only in passing, but to St. Petersburg.'

'You want to cross the whole of Russia? Do you know that's something like two thousand miles?'

The American's broad shoulders, in the torn and much-abused coat he wore, lifted slightly.

'What of it? It's only a couple of hundred more, unless I'm much mistaken. Will you come with me, sweetheart?' he added, turning tenderly to address the girl at his side.

'I'd go with you to Siberia if you wanted me. But why St. Petersburg?'

'Because my father, who was a great traveler in his youth, had a friend there, a rich shipowner for whom he once did a favor. We never asked for any repayment of the debt, indeed there was none in my father's eyes, nor would I claim any, but we have had news of the Krilovs from time to time and I know that they will help me. And I would rather ask help from a friend than from the man who condemned me to the convict chain.'

Only a brief glance passed between Jolival and Marianne, but they understood one another. They both knew Jason's stubborn nature of old and his near inability to forgive an injury. Better, they felt, to say nothing of the tsar's letter and agree to Jason's plan. The road to St. Petersburg passed by Moscow, after all, and so they lost nothing by it. And then luck might be on their side and once the letter was in Napoleon's hands there would be nothing to prevent Marianne from going with the man of her choice at last.

That he should have given in so easily was more than they had hoped. Knowing his almost physical love for his ship, Marianne had expected something of a fight. But she saw, too, as they made their way down to the Greek tavern to seek out Gracchus, that Jason's eyes turned continually to the far end of the great mole. Gradually he began to walk more slowly. She urged him on affectionately.

'Come, we must hurry if we are to be out of the town in time. Dawn is not far off.'

'I know. But you don't need me to rout out Gracchus.'

He let go of her suddenly and she saw him run toward the site of the new arsenal. He came back holding an unlighted lantern.

'Have you got a light?' he asked Jolival.

'Of course. But do we need one?'

'No. I know. Only lend me flint and tinder and wait for me. I shouldn't be long but if I'm not back in, say, half an hour, then go without me.'

'Jason!' Marianne cried, struggling to keep her voice down. 'Where are you going? I am coming with you.'

He turned and took her hand and squeezed it tightly before putting it in Jolival's.

'No. I forbid you. What I am going to do is my business. She is my ship.'

The Irishman already understood.

'But I am coming with you,' he said firmly. 'The rest of you, wait for us. Rouse Gracchus and try to find some kind of vehicle for the journey. We can't walk to St. Petersburg.'

In another moment he was running after the dark figure of Beaufort, who was making for the small beach where some boats lay drawn up out of the water.

'This is madness!' Jolival cried, no longer bothering to keep his voice down. 'We won't find one, except at the post house by the Kiev gate, and for that we must climb the hill again to the other side of the town. And even then we may have trouble—'

Craig paused for a moment and they heard him laugh.

'Sure and you may have somewhat less trouble if we are successful. The folk hereabouts will have enough doing at the harbor to keep them busy awhile. They'll not be troubling themselves about the likes of us. Now hurry.'

A moment later Marianne and Jolival saw with a sudden chill a small boat put out from the shore and creep slowly and silently over the dark water.

'What are they going to do?' Marianne whispered fearfully. 'They surely wouldn't—'

'Yes. They are going to set fire to the Sea Witch. I was expecting something of the sort. A man like Beaufort could never have consented to leave his ship behind… Come, we too have work to do. You can say your prayers later,' he added, not without a touch of irritation, as he became aware that Marianne was murmuring softly over her clasped hands.

The house of which the Greek tavern occupied the ground floor was small and square with only a single upper floor. There was one large window enclosed with a latticework balcony in the Arab style and next to it another, much smaller one, closed by a single wooden shutter. Feeling that there was a strong likelihood that this would be where young Gracchus slept, Jolival picked up a stone and threw it hard against the shutter.

He had guessed right, for after a moment a hand pushed the shutter open with a faint creak and a tousled head looked out. Before he could say anything, Jolival called up softly: 'Gracchus! Is that you?'

'Yes, but who—'

'It's us, Gracchus,' Marianne said, 'Monsieur de Jolival and—'

'Mademoiselle Marianne! By all the saints! I'm coming down.'

The next instant Gracchus-Hannibal Pioche dropped quite literally into their arms and hugged them both with the utmost enthusiasm, seeing them in that moment not as his employers but as friends miraculously restored to him. They returned his greeting just as warmly, but Jolival saw to it that their transports did not last too long.

'Listen here, my lad,' he said firmly, breaking in on the young man's exclamations of delight, which even in whispers were still penetrating enough. 'We aren't here for a reunion. We need your help.'

Leaving Jolival to explain hurriedly what had been happening,

Marianne made her way back to the waterfront. Already it was less dark. The forest of masts stood out more clearly, and so did the white crests of the small choppy waves. A sudden gust of wind whirled around her, filling the wide cloak she was wearing and making it clap like a flag. She stood with every sense on the alert, straining her ears to catch the slightest sound of oars amid the rattle of small bits of wood blown by the wind, and peering out into the shadows of the harbor.

It seemed to her that Jason and Craig had been gone for hours and his last words reechoed in her mind: 'If I am not back in half an hour…' It was too dark for her to see her watch, but according to the pendulum of her heart that half hour must have been up weeks ago.

Suddenly, just when she could bear it no longer, and was on the point of setting out along the mole whose long stone causeway lost itself in shadow, she saw a tongue of fire leap up in the darkness ahead, lighting up a thick cloud of smoke shot with a red glow along its underside. At the same moment she saw two vagrants jump up like rats fleeing a sinking ship from behind the pile of casks, where they must have sought refuge for the night, and run toward the houses uttering some harsh cries she could not understand but which could no doubt have been translated as 'Fire! Fire!'

Immediately the harbor was wide awake. Lights sprang up and windows were thrown open. There were shouts and cries and dogs began to bark. Realizing that she was likely to be cut off from her friends, Marianne turned back to find Jolival and Gracchus. She met Jolival halfway to the tavern and saw that he was alone.

'Where has Gracchus gone to now?'

'He's arranging our departure. I've given him money and we'll join him later in the upper town. He'll be waiting for us at the end of the main street, the Deribasovskaya, not far from the posting house. Let's hope Jason and Craig will not be much longer.'

'They've been gone so long already. You don't think—'

He took her arm and slipped it through his own, patting it reassuringly.

'No, I don't. It seems a long time to you, and that's quite natural. But it's barely a quarter of an hour since they left us and if you ask me, they've not been wasting any time.'

The fire, in fact, seemed to be spreading. Tall flames licked up into the night and the wind was blowing thick waves of choking black smoke in toward the shore. Men with buckets were beginning to run toward the mole and the light of the fire showed more and more people crowding onto the waterfront. A bell somewhere began to toll wildly.

'It's a good thing the brig was anchored at the far end of the mole. Otherwise, with this wind, those two madmen would have stood a good chance of setting fire to half the town,' Jolival grunted.

His next words were swallowed up in a deafening roar, accompanied by a tremendous explosion of fire. Jolival scrambled quickly onto a stone block attached to a nearby house, dragging Marianne after him. They cried out at the sight that met their eyes.