Tamara and her godmother did not meet until nearly lunchtime next day.
A little before that meal the Princess came into her room. Tamara was
still in bed, perfectly exhausted with the strain of the night. The
Princess wore an anxious look of care, as she walked from the window to
the dressing table and then back again. Finally she sat down and took
up a glove which was lying on a cushion near.
"Tamara, you saw I talked last night with Valonne, and this morning I
sent for Serge Grekoff, but he would not come, so I got Valonne again."
She paused an instant. "I was extremely worried last night about
Gritzko. I dare say you were not to blame, dear, but--"
"Please tell me, Marraine," and poor Tamara sat up and pushed her hair
back.
"It appears, as far at I can gather, they all dined at the Fontonka
house--Boris Varishkine and Gritzko have always been great friends--and
at the end of dinner--Valonne imagines, because no one is sure what
took place between them at this stage--Gritzko, it is supposed, said to
Boris in quite an amiable way that he did not wish him to dance the
Mazurka with you, but to relinquish his right in his--Gritzko's--favor."
She paused again, and Tamara's eyes fixed themselves in fascinated fear
on her face. The Princess, after smoothing out the glove in her hand
with a nervous energy, went on:
"They had all had quite enough champagne, of course, and apparently
Boris refused, and suggested that they should toss up, and whoever won
the toss should have first shot in the dark."
"Yes," said Tamara faintly.
"You know, dear, our boys are often very wild, and they have a game
they play when they are at the end of their tether for something to do
when quartered in some hopeless outpost--a kind of
blind-man's-buff--only it is all in the dark, and the blind man stands
in the middle of the room and the rest clap hands and then dodge, and
he fires his revolver at the point the sound seems to come from, and
the object is not to get shot. You may have noticed Sasha Basmanoff has
no left thumb? He lost it last year on just such a night."
"Oh! Marraine, how dreadful!" Tamara said.
"It is perhaps not a very civilized game," the Princess continued, "but
we are not discussing that, I am telling you what occurred. Well, from
this point Valonne and the rest were eyewitnesses. Gritzko and Boris,
still laughing in rather a strained way, said they had some slight
difference of opinion to settle, and had decided to do it in the
ballroom, in the dark. I won't go into details of how many steps to the
right or left, the impromptu seconds arranged, only it was settled when
Sasha at one end and Serge at the other should shut the doors they
should both fire, and if in three times neither was shot, both should
give up their claim."
"It is too horrible! and for such a trifle," Tamara said, clutching the
bedclothes, and the Princess went on.
"Valonne said they were both hit in the first round, and all the
company burst into the room. Nothing seemed very serious, and they
laughed and shook hands. So Valonne left to be in time for the ball,
but this morning, he told me, he found Boris Varishkine had had a
shoulder wound which bled very badly and quite prevented his coming,
while Gritzko was shot through the flesh of the right arm, and as soon
as they could bind it up decently, as you know, he came on."
Tamara's face was as white as her pillow. She clasped her hands with a
movement of anguish.
"Oh! Marraine, I am too unhappy," she wailed. "Indeed, indeed, I did
nothing to cause this. You heard me, I only said to Count Varishkine I
was looking forward to the dance. He is impossible, Gritzko. Oh! let me
go home!"
"Alas! my child, what would be the good of that? If you went off
tonight instead of coming to Moscow, it might create a talk; what we
want is to prevent a scandal, to hush everything up. None of these men
will tell, and your name will not be dragged into it. And if we go on
our trip amicably as was arranged it will discountenance rumor. Gritzko
and Boris are quite friends again. And if anything about the shooting
does leak out, if no one has further cause for connecting you with it,
they will generally think it merely one of Gritzko's mad parties. For
heaven's sake let it all blow over, and after Moscow and a reasonable
time, not to appear too hurried, you shall go home."
"But meanwhile, how can I know that he won't shoot at Jack? or do some
other awful thing! He does not love me really a bit, Marraine. It is
all out of pride and devilment because he wants to win and conquer me
and add me to his scalps, and I won't be conquered. I tell you I
won't!" and Tamara clenched her hands.
The Princess did not know what to say, she was not perfectly sure in
her own mind as to Gritzko's feelings, and she was too thoroughly
acquainted with his ways to hazard any theory as to his possible acts.
She felt it might not be fair to assure her godchild that he truly
loved her. She could only think of tiding over matters for the time
being.
"Tamara, dearest, could you at least try to keep the peace on our
trip?" she asked. "Be gentle with him, and do not excite him in any
way."
Tamara buried her face in her pillows, she was too English to be
dramatic and sob; but when she spoke her soft voice trembled a little
and her eyes glistened with tears.
"He is horribly cruel, Marraine," she said.
"Why should he treat me as he does. I won't--I won't bear it."
The Princess sighed.
"Tamara, forgive me for asking you, but I must, I feel I must. Do
you--love him, child?"
Then passion flamed up in Tamara's white face, her secret was her own,
and she would defend it even from this kind friend--so--"I believe I
hate him!" she said.
After a while the Princess left her, they having come to the agreement
that Tamara should do all that she could to keep the peace; but when
she was alone she decided to speak to Gritzko as little as possible
herself, and to ignore him completely. There would be no Boris and no
one to make him jealous. She would occupy herself with Stephen Strong,
and the sight-seeing, and even Sonia's husband, who was a bore and old,
too; but the prospect held out no charms for her. She knew that she
loved him deeply--this wild, fierce Gritzko--more deeply than ever
today, and the tears, one after another, trickled down her pale cheeks.
If there was not a chance of any happiness, at least she must go home
keeping some rag of self-respect. She firmly determined that he should
not see the slightest feeling on her side, it should be restrained or
perhaps capricious even, as his own.
Their train for Moscow started at nine o'clock, and the whole party had
arranged to dine at the Ardácheff house at seven and then go to the
station.
Nothing of the scandal of the night seemed to have transpired, for no
one even hinted at anything about it.
Gritzko was still very pale, but appeared none the worse, and the
atmosphere seemed to have resumed a peaceful note.
The five sleeping compartments reserved for this party of ten were all
in a row in one carriage, and Tamara and the Princess, on the plea of
fatigue, immediately retired to their berths for the night, Tamara not
having addressed a single direct word to Gritzko. So far, so well. But
when she was comfortably tucked into the top berth, and an hour or so
later was just falling off to sleep, he knocked at the door, and the
Princess believing it to be the ticket-collector opened it, and he put
his head in. The shade was drawn over the lamp and the compartment was
in a blue gloom. Tamara was startled by hearing her godmother say:
"Gritzko! Thou! What do you want, dear boy, disturbing us like this?"
"I came to ask you to tie up my arm," he said. "I was practising with a
pistol yesterday, and it went off and the bullet grazed the skin, and
the damned thing has begun bleeding again. I know you are a trained
nurse, Tantine. Serge, who is with me, has tried and made a ridiculous
mess of it, so I brought the bandage to you."
He now pulled back the shade and they saw he was standing there quite
_sans gêne_ in the same kind of blue silk pyjamas Tamara remembered to
have seen once before, and his eyes, far from being tragic or serious,
had the naughtiest, most mischievous twinkle in them, while he
whispered to the Princess and enlisted her sympathy for his pain.
"Gritzko, dearest child, but you are suffering! But let me see! only
wait in the passage until I have my dressing-gown, and then come in
again."
Tamara now thought it prudent to crouch down in the clothes and pretend
to be asleep, while the kind Princess got up and arranged herself.
Then with a gentle tap this poor wounded one came in.
Tamara was conscious that her godmother was murmuring horrified and
affectionate solicitations, as she busily set to work. She was also
conscious that Gritzko was standing with his shoulder leant against her
berth. He was so tall he could look at her, in spite of her retirement
to the farthest side, and she was horribly conscious of the magnetic
power exercised by his eyes. She longed quite to open hers, she longed
really to look. She felt so nervous she almost gave a silly little
laugh, but her will won, and her long eyelashes remained resting on her
cheek.
"You darling. You are doing it beautifully!" he presently said, and
then more softly, "I had no idea how pretty your friend is! and how
soundly she sleeps! Do you think I might kiss her, Tantine? I have
always wanted to, only she is of such a severity I have been too
frightened. May I, Tantine?" And his voice sounded coaxing and sweet,
and Tamara felt sure he was caressing the Princess' hair with his free
hand, for that lady kept murmuring.
"Tais toi!--Gritzko--have done! How can I bind your arm if you conduct
yourself so! Not a moment of stillness! Truly what a naughty
child--keep still!" Then she spoke more severely to him in Russian, and
he laughed while he answered, and then presently the bandage was done,
and standing on tip-toe he looked full at Tamara.
"And you think I must not kiss her? Oh! you are a most cruel Tantine!
She is sound asleep and would never know, and it would be just one of
the things which could cool my fever and help my arm."
But the Princess interposed, sternly, and getting really annoyed with
him; he was forced to go. But first he kissed her hand and thanked her
and purred affection and gratitude with his astonishing charm, and the
Princess' voice grew more and more mollified as she said:
"There--there--what a boy! Gritzko, dear child, begone!"
And all this while, with her long eyelashes resting upon her cheek,
Tamara apparently slept peacefully on.
But when the door was safely shut and bolted, the Princess addressed
her.
"You are not really asleep, Tamara, I suppose," she said. "You have
heard? Is he not difficult. What is one to do with him? I can never
remain angry long. Those caresses! Mon Dieu! I wish you would love each
other and marry and go and live at Milasláv, and then we others might
have a little peace and calm!"
"Marry him," and Tamara raised herself in bed. "One might as well marry
a panther in a jungle, it would be quite as safe!" she said.
But the Princess shook her head. "There you are altogether wrong," she
replied. "Once there were no continuous obstacles to his will, he would
be gentle and adoring, he would be as tender and thoughtful as he is to
me when I am ill."
Then into Tamara's brain there rushed visions of the unutterable
pleasure this tenderness would mean, and she said:
"Don't let us talk;--I want to sleep, Marraine."
And in the morning they arrived at Moscow.