"I will see if I can persuade the Metropolitan to speak to Menshikov on your behalf. With more laborers arriving, better facilities for caring for the injured and ill will be needed." He thought a minute. "Would you find more help useful? Kyril may be a good man, but you may need more than your three assistants if the disease spreads."
"You mean you would lend us one of your servants?" She stared in surprise. "What would the Ksiezna say?"
"I was thinking I would help you, if you would permit me to do it. The Ksiezna doesn't mind that I do this, for it adds to her reputation
for magnanimity." His quick smile was self-effacing. "I have some experience in these matters, as you know."
"But you're a nobleman," she said quietly. "Would the Polish King allow you to take such risks?"
"You are the daughter and wife of boyars," he pointed out. "Neither your father nor your husband have required you to stop tending the sick."
"But I'm Russian," she said as an explanation.
"Does my being Hungarian make it impossible for me to assist you?"
"No, but--"
"Then accept my help. Who knows: it may help in persuading Menshikov to authorize your new care-house before autumn." He knew that would convince her if anything would.
Ludmilla mused for a short while, then said, "I shouldn't accept your offer, no matter how kind it may be, but we are desperate here, and without someone to speak for us, we will be overwhelmed in this house. What we need is a barrack, and a dozen assistants."
"I know," he said, "which is why I want to help you. There is no other place here that can offer what you do. If you are to continue to provide succor to those who need it, you will need all those things, and more. I am determined to be of what use I can be."
"You do so much already," she said, knowing it was the proper thing to say. "Why do you want to do more?"
Saint-Germain looked directly into her eyes, the full force of his compelling gaze upon her. "Someone must," he said.
Text of a letter from Alexander Menshikov dictated to Nikolai Dmitreivich Urusov, to Arpad Arco-Tolvay, Hercegek Gyor, delivered by personal courier.
To the respected Hungarian, Arpad Arco-Tolvay, Hercegek Gyor, presently living in the Foreign Quarter of Sankt Piterburkh, the greetings of Alexander Menshikov.
Hercegek Gyor,
I have given your request my consideration, and have decided to allocate the two-story barrack near the fortress wall for the use of Heer van Hoek and Ludmilla Borisevna Svarinskaya, with the provision that their care be extended to soldiers as well as work supervisors, and such merchants and foreign residents as may require it. As you warned me last week, the Swamp Fever is indeed worsening and the number of men requiring medical attention is on the rise, and unless a better care-house is constructed, the deaths from the malady will slow the rate of building demanded by Piotyr Alexeievich. So that the care-house may be put into service, I will require one of the staff of the care-house to take up residence in the unfinished barrack in order to instruct the workers in how the construction must be done to provide the staff of the care-house the best realization of their facilities. The sum you offered to defray the building expenses has been deemed acceptable, and should ensure the full cooperation of the workmen and carpenters assigned to the new care-house.
You are also authorized to build sleeping quarters in your stable, so that your horses, tack, carriages, and feed may be protected through the winter. Your coachmen and your messenger will be permitted to sleep there, so that they may execute their duties even in winter. Again, your munificent gift for the workmen should ensure a rapid completion of your new rooms to be prepared in the loft. It is most useful to realize that foreigners can comprehend the way in which projects in Sankt Piterburkh are accomplished.
I have spoken with the Metropolitan, and I agree that the remains of the unknown man found in the partially drained portion of the marsh near the treadmill-pump should receive proper burial, and to that end, I have arranged for the graves work-gang to inter what little has been found of the unknown man in the cemetery being established across the river from the fortress. None of the work-gang who found the bones will be held responsible for the death of the man, for, as you pointed out, the man died before the current work-gang was moved to this part of the marsh.
It is my intention to hold a banquet in ten days, and I hope you
and your lovely wife will be able to attend. The Czar's Marfa Skavronskaya has expressed a desire for Zozia, Ksiezna Nisko's company on this occasion, and for your many charitable acts on behalf of this city, you will be most welcome as well. We will dine in as much magnificence as we can achieve here at this time. It is my hope that Czar Piotyr Alexeievich may be able to leave the siege at Narva and join these festivities.
The recent scandal of the replacement of the King of Poland, which was rife with bribery and corruption, may have impact upon you and the Ksiezna, but rest assured, no one in this city will oblige you to depart unless Stanislas Leszczynski should decide to recall you. That would be a foolish decision, for all the good-will you and the Ksiezna have achieved here. If it would be to your advantage, I would be willing to recommend to Stanislas that you and the Ksiezna be left in place here. I am planning to point out the benefits to both Russia and Poland that would result in having the two of you, and your household, remain at least through the winter. I will dispatch a courier to Poland by the middle of September, so that the message will be delivered before winter stops all ships in the Baltic.
In appreciation for your generosity and excellent conduct, I remain
Most sincerely,
Alexander Menshikov
at Sankt Piterburkh, August 30th, 1704
all but the signature by the hand of Nikolai Dmitreivich Urusov
9
With a melting sigh Zozia beckoned to Saint-Germain, offering with it a tantalizing smile. "You've been wonderful, Grofok, watching after me as you do. You might be born to the manner, you do it so well. Before you move to the new care-house tomorrow, let me thank you properly for your service." She purred a laugh at her jest as she loosened her pale-pink taffeta wrapper and lay back on the bolster at the top of her bed. "It's almost midnight. We might as well have the house to ourselves; everyone else is asleep. No one will pay any attention to what we do."
Saint-Germain was still in his mallard-blue satin knee-britches, silver leg-hose, and silver-buckled shoes, but his mallard-blue embroidered coat and honey-colored damask waistcoat were set aside in his portion of the bedchamber, and he wore only his ecru-silk chemise above his waist. "What is the reason for thanks, that you choose to express it this way?" The room was stuffy, the result of a warm and humid day, but neither he nor she paid any attention.
"Surely you know," she said provocatively.
"I cannot guess," he told her, keenly aware that she wanted him to succumb to her blandishments, and that thanks was just an excuse to lure him.
"Why, for your giving up your part of the bedchamber for my brother's use during his stay," she said, trying to maintain her seductive display. "That was quite a sacrifice to make for me. I want to show you I know how much you've done for me." Behind this gentility there was the suggestion of imperativeness that reminded Saint-Germain that Zozia saw herself as the master of their mission, and entitled to require compliance from him.
"That is hardly a sacrifice, since I have already agreed to occupy the new care-house while it is being finished; you and I do not share a bed in any case."
"No, we don't."
He could see the scowl that flittered across her features, to be replaced with a smile. "You have nothing to thank me for, Zozia."
She stretched sinuously, trying to show him the richness of her body. "Then why not enjoy our chance for passion? Can't that be reason enough?"
"This one last time," he suggested. "Before I go to the new care-house."
"Until my brother leaves. Yes. We will not be able to share our bodies while Benedykt is here, for he would believe that Arpad is being dishonored if he suspected that anything was passing between us. He's a stickler for appearances."
"By the terms you have set down for our enjoyment of each other, nothing is passing between us." He did not mention the small amount of blood he took from her when she was at the culmination of her passion; it was the emotion that nurtured him more than the blood itself, and he valued the fleeting intimacy she provided in those rare moments. He was aware he would have to tell her about his true nature and its requirements, but not now--there would be a better time for that, to explain that this fifth time together would be the last time their desires would be safe for her. He only said, "Yet you can take advantage of this night, if you decide you want to--"
She moved quickly, seizing his arm and pulling him down beside her. "Of course I want to," she murmured before she pressed her open lips on his and squeezed the luxurious sumptuousness of her body to his, turning her amplectance to an emphatic demand, with all her physicality set afire by the anticipation of what he could do to pleasure her. When he tried to pull back from her, she became more forceful in her pursuit, renewing her kiss and holding his arms more tightly so that he could not break away from her. "It will be at least two months that we won't be able to act on our appetites, perhaps not until spring, if Benedykt remains longer than the middle of autumn. The last ships should be gone by the end of October, if not sooner."
"That is what the sailors say," Saint-Germain conceded. "Once the ice starts to form, it will be safer for the ships to moor out in the
river, and to remain there until the ice from Lake Ladoga has broken up and come down to the sea."
"Yes, everyone says that," she said, reaching for one of his hands and sliding it into her wrapper and onto her breast. "Then let's make the most of our opportunity. This is a good place to start."
He knew that much of her ardor came from taking command of his love-making, so he complied with her requirement, caressing and gently kneading her pliant flesh until he could feel her nipple rise. He untied the wrapper and let it fall open, and extended his attentions to her other breast as he stretched out beside her, close enough to feel the whole range of her response, but not so close that she would need to resist his nearness.
"You know the very thing I want," she whispered to him. "You do everything I like and nothing I don't like, and that is more delicious than what most men are willing to do. I wish my husband had your sensitivities. He only wants to spend himself as abruptly as he can."
"Not all men have an inclination for pleasing women, and for such men I apologize," said Saint-Germain, bending to kiss her shoulder, the voluptuous rise of her breasts; as her breathing deepened, he flicked her nipples with his tongue and followed that with kisses delivered slowly and luxuriously to her breasts, sensing the deepening arousal that ignited the sensuality banked within her so that she gave herself over to the exaltation of abandon that coursed through her. She tried to tell him how much pleasure she felt, but no words seemed adequate.
Caught in the thrilling excitement that he drew from her, Zozia wriggled to open all her body to him, urging him in an under-voice, "Don't take so long. I want to plunge into the carnal spasm as soon as I can. I must have my satisfaction. You don't have that release, so you can tune yourself to my melody."
"There is no reason to rush. You will have greater fulfillment if you are willing to take time arriving at your apogee of satisfaction. You will have a greater liberation of your senses if you let your body arrive at the point without urging." To demonstrate his assertion, he slowed his fondling and gave her a long, evocative embrace that stimulated her
flesh from her neck to her knees, leaving her breathless and wild-eyed. Again he stroked her body, starting at her face, then down her neck, over her breasts and abdomen, employing a wide range of touching in order to provide the most awakening possible.
"You never did that before," she murmured, her body thrumming with the enhanced pleasure. "Why did it take you so long to--"
"You did not seek it until now," he told her gently as he at last eased her thighs apart.
"Tell me how you know these things." Her order was unsteady, and she shivered in anticipation of more rapture to come.
He wondered if he should tell her the truth: that he had learned her from tasting her blood, and decided that she would not believe him. "Your body is like a fine instrument, one I am learning to play. You teach me how you like to be sounded."
"You are willing to learn of me," she said, her eyes luminous.
"How else am I to bring forth your sweetest harmonies?" He kissed his way down her body until she took two or three sharp breaths.
"Not yet," she protested.
"No, not yet," he agreed. "This is just the start of your fulfillment." He slowed down his munificent caresses. "You need not be precipitate in your gratification."
"If you can discern that, you are a most accomplished musician." She trembled as he touched the little kernel at the top of her nether-lips; it jumped in answer to his feather-light stroking. "What instrument responds to such playing?"
He smiled. "The viola d'amore," he told her, and felt her hushed chuckle. "It makes such sweet music, and is so melic for those who play it."
"If the musician is talen--" She inhaled sharply as he slid two fingers into her, still taking his time, seeking out the sites of her greatest transports. He kissed her face, her breasts, then her throat, never hurrying, matching the intensity of his love-making to her rising need. This was better than anything he had done before, and she wanted to hurry to her completion of this joyous delirium even as she wanted to prolong the ecstasy that was building within her. Suddenly she jolted
