The Concubine's Secret Part 15

What kind of ruler would this man make when he finally held the whole of China in his grip? Because Chang had no doubt that the Communists would oust the Nationalists and send Chiang Kai-shek fleeing like a whipped cur into the sea, tail between his legs. Not this year, maybe not even next year. But eventually it would happen. Chang believed it pa.s.sionately with his heart and soul, but would Mao bring to China the justice and equality it craved? The peasants in the fields yearned for freedom from the yoke of feudal landlords, and this was what the Communists promised them.

But would Mao Tse Tung deliver it? He was an intelligent man, well-read, sharp-eyed, a bed full of books beside him, but . . .

'Chang An Lo, are you no longer with us?'

Chang bowed his head low and cursed his foolishness. 'Forgive my distraction, Honoured Leader. I am overawed in the presence of such company.'

Mao snorted and Chang knew he must tread with infinite care.

'But my mind is still chasing in and out of the Russian maze, seeking the twisting path of their reasoning.'

'And what conclusion did you reach, young comrade?'

'That either the Russians are trying to destroy China by prolonging the civil war, providing finance to both sides so that the Soviet army will be free to invade not only Manchuria but also other northern provinces of our country. While we busy ourselves with snapping at each other's tails here in the south.'

'Or?'

'Or there is a traitor at the heart of the Politburo in Moscow.'

A hiss and an intake of breath trickled round the room. Han-tu thumped the palm of his hand on his knee with a loud slap. 'Our last delegation to Moscow reported that it found Stalin eager to commit greater resources to our struggle against the Nationalist despot. I cannot believe that they would betray us to-'

Mao sat up abruptly. Han-tu fell silent.

'The Russian bear has always been a dangerous and unreliable ally.' Mao's moon face was stern. 'I remind you all that at one time it had such control over our Chinese Communist Party that it tried to force us to merge with Chiang Kai-shek's treacherous Nationalists. Stalin believed we were too weak to seize control of China but . . .' a cold smile tilted his lips and he smoothed the red sheet in front of him with his small hands, 'the Vozhd Vozhd of Soviet Russia was wrong.' of Soviet Russia was wrong.'

'He underestimated you, our Great Leader.'

'You are leading us to victory.'

'Your army will die for you if you ask.'

Mao nodded, satisfied, then his eyes sought out the one man who so far had said nothing. 'Is that true, General Zhu? Will my Red Army die for me?'

Everyone in the room studied the man who had been outmanoeuvred by Mao for control of the military. Zhu was an army man to his core and his men loved and respected him.

'My Comrade Commander,' Zhu growled, 'the army is yours to command. They have already died for you.'

Silence hit the room. Was the General implying Mao had commanded them unwisely? Chang felt the air shudder and saw the eyes of the five other men drop to the silk carpet beneath their feet. The stench of their fear was sharp as cow dung in his nostrils. Mao let the silence lengthen, held the General's gaze until Zhu also was forced to lower his eyes, then he lifted a small bra.s.s hand-bell at the side of his bed and rang it. Immediately a young servant girl entered the room, bowing almost to the floor.

'Chai,' Mao ordered with a dismissive flick of his wrist, 'tea.' He leaned back among the pillows as she left the room, his eyes tracing the swing of her slender hips. 'Perhaps,' he said with a sudden burst of energy, 'our young comrade here is correct. Perhaps Josef Stalin himself is lying to us with a wh.o.r.e's smile on his face while he still hands out arms and Soviet gold to our enemies. '

Mao looked again at Chang, thoughtfully studying this young newcomer who seemed to know too much.

'Chang An Lo,' he said softly, 'do you speak Russian?'

16.

Alexei moved. Nothing much at first, just a slight s.h.i.+ft of his body. Pain. Bright and b.l.o.o.d.y. It gathered in his lungs and reached out to portions of his flesh in sharp malicious handfuls. Dermo! Dermo! s.h.i.+t! Even his thoughts hurt. They felt as though they were being crushed like walnuts under a flat iron till their sh.e.l.ls split and splintered. The pieces lodged in his brain. s.h.i.+t! Even his thoughts hurt. They felt as though they were being crushed like walnuts under a flat iron till their sh.e.l.ls split and splintered. The pieces lodged in his brain.

'Awake, are you?'

Alexei opened his eyes. His eyeb.a.l.l.s felt dry and gritty, as if they hadn't been used in a long time. The light that greeted them was yellow and smelled of kerosene. He was lying flat on his back, that much he registered, so with an effort he rolled his head to one side and slowly the world around him s.h.i.+vered into focus. A low planked ceiling, wooden walls, a table bolted to the floor, cupboards with delicate fretwork, the strong aroma of coffee.

'Coffee?'

Alexei attempted to sit up. Not a good move. The pain in his lungs sank its teeth in and set off a vicious spasm of coughing, but a strong arm supported him and a deep laugh gusted warm air on his skin.

'Take your time, comrade.'

Alexei took his time. How in h.e.l.l's name did I get here? How in h.e.l.l's name did I get here? He eased himself so that he was propped up on the narrow bunk, his head resting against the wall. Someone had lit h.e.l.l's fire inside his chest. He eased himself so that he was propped up on the narrow bunk, his head resting against the wall. Someone had lit h.e.l.l's fire inside his chest.

'Spasibo,' he murmured. Throat as dry as ash.

He focused on the fair-haired man sitting on the edge of the bed and saw a handsome face, neat features clean-shaven but with a hesitancy in his blue eyes. Eyelashes too long for a man but large masculine teeth, full lips more than ready to laugh. In his forties, perhaps a little younger.

'Spasibo,' Alexei said again, and this time he made it more robust.

'You're welcome, friend. Ready for coffee?'

Alexei nodded, regretted it, and waited for the room to rea.s.semble. The man moved away to a stove in the corner and lifted a coffee pot that was stewing there. It was at this exact moment that it dawned on Alexei's sluggish mind that this new world of his was rocking. The movement wasn't just inside his head. A gentle sway, but definitely rocking.

'We're on a boat,' he said.

'Correct. The Red Maiden Red Maiden.'

'Yours?'

'She certainly is.'

The word she she was spoken with affection. The man patted the wall with his palm, the way Alexei would a horse, and poured coffee into two metal cups. He was wearing a thick fisherman's jersey which looked as if it hadn't been washed in a while, and for the first time Alexei realised he was clothed in a similar one himself, as well as rough socks and trousers he'd never seen before. He watched warily as his host returned to sit on the side of the bed and wrapped Alexei's hand around the cup. was spoken with affection. The man patted the wall with his palm, the way Alexei would a horse, and poured coffee into two metal cups. He was wearing a thick fisherman's jersey which looked as if it hadn't been washed in a while, and for the first time Alexei realised he was clothed in a similar one himself, as well as rough socks and trousers he'd never seen before. He watched warily as his host returned to sit on the side of the bed and wrapped Alexei's hand around the cup.

'Here, drink, tovarishch tovarishch. It'll put iron in your veins.'

To Alexei's shock his arm felt like a dead weight when he tried to lift the cup. His hand shuddered and spilled some liquid on his sweater but eventually it reached his lips. The coffee was black and strong and seemed to kick a hole in the fog as it scalded his tongue, but it tasted good. Where the h.e.l.l did a fisherman get his hands on coffee like this in Stalin's Russia, where the shop shelves were covered in nothing but dust? He felt his senses returning one by one and breathed cautiously.

'Your name, comrade?' he asked.

'Konstantin Duretin. Yours?'

'Alexei Serov.'

'Well, Comrade Serov, what were you doing swimming in the river with the fish in the middle of winter?'

'Fish?' Alexei frowned. Images battered his brain. A game of chess, a long-stemmed pipe. The curve of a road to a bridge.

Dear G.o.d, the bridge. Men coming at him from all directions. With a jolt of memory he slid a hand down to his side and felt the bulk of bandages there.

The blue eyes were still smiling at him, but more thoughtful now. 'I did the best I could for you. As good as dead, you were. I found your carca.s.s clinging to a sc.r.a.p of wood in the middle of the river like a drowning kitten. Lost all but a cupful of blood, I'd guess, and near frozen to death.'

'Spasibo, Konstantin. I owe you-'

'Hush, rest now. I'll cook us some fish and we can get some food into you at last. You've not eaten for weeks.'

'Weeks?'

'Da.' He stood up.

'Weeks?'

'Da. I managed to get some water into you and a little soup but nothing more.'

'Weeks?' The word had stuck in Alexei's mind.

'Yes, nearly three weeks it's been. You've had a fever. Thought I'd lost you more than once.' He thumped a hand on the table. 'But you must be made of good strong oak like my Red Maiden Red Maiden here.' He laughed. here.' He laughed.

The noise of it set up a vibration in Alexei's head and he closed his eyes to stop his brains spilling out.

The smell of grilled fish permeated the dusty cabin, ousting even the stink of the kerosene. They ate slowly and in companionable silence, the job of manoeuvring a fork to his mouth taking all of Alexei's concentration. Konstantin left him to it but when they had finished and coffee was once more in his hands, Alexei rested back and scrutinised his host.

'Why did you take care of me?'

'What was I meant to do? Chuck you back in the river like a poisoned fish?'

Alexei smiled. The muscles of his cheek felt stiff, made of cardboard. 'Some would have. Under Stalin's system of informers, people have become afraid of strangers.'

Konstantin returned the smile. 'I was glad of the company.' 'Where are we now?'

'Downriver.'

'South of Felanka, you mean?'

'Da.'

'How long have we been travelling?'

'Ever since I picked you up.'

'Three weeks. Chyort! Chyort!'

'Wrong direction for you?'

'Yes. I have to return to Felanka.'

Konstantin looked away and there was a moment of awkwardness that made Alexei feel ungrateful. To cover it, the boatman reached into a drawer under the table top and pulled out a small knife and a piece of wood, then proceeded to whittle away at it, his blond eyebrows knit in concentration.

'What's in Felanka that is so important?'

'Some business I have to attend to.'

His gaze lifted to Alexei. 'Girl business, you mean?'

'Not that that kind of girl business. It's my sister. She's in Felanka.' kind of girl business. It's my sister. She's in Felanka.'

'Ah, my friend, then there's no rush. A sister can wait.'

Can you, Lydia? Can you wait?

Lydia was forced to wait. Despite her constant daily hammering on the station master's hatch, it was two weeks before she was allocated a seat on a return train to Felanka. What surprised her was how easily she filled the days. She expected herself to be pacing the pavements with impatience, frantic and fretting, but no, it wasn't like that. She sat quietly. On a station platform, in a park, in a hotel room.

She taught herself stillness.

When finally the train heaved itself into the station the compartment was full, but this time with more women than men. Conversations concentrated on the lack of goods in the shops despite rationing, and the length of the bread queues. Before boarding, Lydia had seen a chain of prisoners loaded at the last minute into the baggage van, but so carefully guarded that she had no chance to get anywhere near them. Their heads were already shaven against lice. That came as a shock. The idea of Papa without his flowing fiery locks. The image just wouldn't stay inside her head. She became aware of a young girl next to her, small and slight. She was travelling alone, much the same age as Lydia herself, but her fragility made her seem younger. Lydia took out a cone of sunflower seeds that Elena had thrust into her bag, and offered it.

'Hungry?' she asked the girl.

'Da.' She took a handful. Her face was thin and nervous. 'Spasibo.'

'Travelling far?'

'To Moscow.'

'That's a long journey. But it must be exciting for you.'

'Yes, you see, I won a prize. I was the fastest maker of copper pots in my factory. So I am to receive a medal.'

Lydia blinked. 'That happens?'

'Oh yes, of course. Workers are always rewarded for dedication. Sometimes even by Stalin himself.' Her young eyes gleamed with antic.i.p.ation. 'It's to be awarded in a big ceremony in the Hall of Heroes.'

'Congratulations. You and your family must be very proud.'

'We are . . . but I'm told Moscow is dangerous.'

Lydia looked at her with interest. Didn't the girl know that in Stalin's Russia, everywhere was dangerous?