Dennis Wheatley - The Shadow of Tyburn Tree

When she walked past him with downcast eyes, a Chamberlain made a sign to him to follow her; so he gave his arm to Natalia Andre­ovna and they fell into step in the wake of the Sovereign, the rest of the congregation forming a procession behind them.

On leaving the chapel Catherine crossed the hall and entered a reception-room. At its far end there was a gilt armchair on a low dais. Seating herself upon it, she gave an affable smile to the advancing couple, and extended her hand for them to kiss. It was Roger's oppor­tunity and, on rising from a deep obeisance, he said:

"I cannot thank your Majesty sufficiently for all you have done for us; yet I still have one favour that I would beg."

"You may proceed," she replied, non-committally.

" 'Tis in connection with my marriage," he told her. "Not being of the Greek Orthodox faith I must confess that as yet I do not feel properly wed. As I had the honour to tell your Majesty, I have an English godmother, and strange as it may seem for a Frenchman, I was baptised into the Church of England. Would your Majesty therefore graciously permit the Baroness and myself to go through a second ceremony to be performed by the Reverend Mr. Tooke, the Chaplain to the English Factory, before we set out on our journey?"

Catherine nodded. "Your devotion to your own communion is fully understandable. We will send for Mr. Tooke and you may arrange for him to remarry you in Petersburg to-morrow morning."

Heartened a little by the successful initiation of his new plan, and having secured a temporary postponement of his departure into exile, Roger bowed his thanks, and with Natalia, took his stand beside the Empress to receive the congratulations of the assembled company.

The first to approach was Natalia's crotchety old grandfather, the ex-Hetman Cyril Razumofsky, who, with numerous of her other relatives, had been hastily summoned from St. Petersburg. None of them appeared to think that there was anything queer about the wed­ding taking place without previous announcement, as it was carried out under the auspices of the Empress, and they were all accustomed to accept her sudden whims about such matters without question. They assumed that as Roger was the Imperial choice of a second hus­band for Natalia the match must obviously be a suitable one, and in consequence, treated him with the utmost politeness. It was from their conversation he gathered that the estate in the province of Tula was now supposed to be the Empress's wedding-gift, and that they believed him to be taking Natalia there for the honeymoon.

After half-an-hour spent in introductions and receiving compli­ments, a Chamberlain rapped three times with his staff on the parquet floor and the Empress led the way into an adjoining room where a wedding-breakfast had been prepared. She took her seat a little apart at the top of the table and the bridal pair were conducted to its bottom, so they were not embarrassed by having to make further conversation with her. At two o'clock she rose, and as she passed out she paused to say to Natalia:

"Remain with your friends as long as you wish, child. Since your husband desires a reformed ceremony, you can hardly consider yourself fully married as yet, and your departure for your honeymoon must be postponed until to-morrow. For to-night you had best-occupy your old chamber. The breath of St. Nicholas be upon you."

When the Empress, her immediate entourage, and such court officials as had duties to perform, had left the room, the remainder of the company resumed their seats; fresh dishes were brought to the table and the wedding feast continued.

Between toasts and friendly badinage Roger sought to grasp the full implications of his position. For no particular reason Georgina's vision of their future came into his mind. On the last day of March she had seen a wedding-ring for one of them, but could not determine which. Well, there it was, shining on Natalia Andreovna's finger. He was married now, and his wife was very far from being the woman of his heart's desire. He did not see what he could have done to avoid going through the ceremony but on one thing he was determined; he was not going to allow himself to be packed ofE to Siberia without a struggle.

At half-past three they left the table; but only to return to the recep­tion-room, where the company could move about with greater freedom while the footmen offered them more drinks and silver salvers loaded with a cold collation. By mid-day the news of the wedding had spread all over St. Petersburg and scores of people were driving out to Peterhof to pay their respects to the newly-married couple; so that, instead of there being any signs of the party breaking up, the big room was be­coming ever more crowded.

It was close on five when Roger caught sight of the Reverend Mr. Tooke threading his way through the crowd. Greeting the clergy­man eagerly, he presented him to Natalia, secured him a glass of wine, and as soon as he decently could, led him away into a corner.

"Tell me, I beg," said Roger, almost breathlessly. "Is a ceremony of marriage gone through in the Greek Church binding upon an English Protestant?"

"Why, yes; indeed it is, young Sir," replied Mr. Tooke, with a smile. "I am happy to relieve your anxieties on that score. But I received a message from Her Majesty that you had expressed a wish to have the benefit of the Protestant rites, and if you still desire it, I will willingly perform them for you."

"I thank you. I—er—shall be greatly your debtor, Sir," Roger muttered awkwardly. Then, after a quick look round, he added: "The truth, is, this marriage was none of my seeking, and I am in grave trouble. Not only has the Empress decreed this union for me but she has ordered my wife and I to take up our residence in Siberia. That is not generally known, and the company here believe that after you have performed your kind offices for us to-morrow we shall be setting out on our honeymoon. I used my religious scruples to delay our departure and as an excuse to get a word with you. I beg you, Sir, to devise some means of helping me to escape."

Mr. Tooke's studious face had become very grave. "As to your marriage, there is nought to be done on that score; and whether I bless your union or not, you are already tied. In the other matter you have my profound sympathy; but, you will remember, when you first called upon me, I warned you that I could give you no assistance which might contravene the duty that I owe Her Majesty."

"Please!" Roger pleaded. "Even if you cannot square it with your conscience to give me your active help, I implore you, Sir, advise me as to if there are any steps which I can take that might lead to my evading this sentence of banishment."

"If Her Majesty has not set a period upon your exile it may not prove of long duration. Her clemency in such matters is well-known.

Even in the case of Elizaveta Romanovna Vorontzoff, who endeavoured to have her repudiated and imprisoned, so as to take her place as the wife of Peter the third, the Empress showed extraordinary leniency. No great time after the Czar's death she allowed her rival to return to court and marry Admiral Paliansky. So 'tis unlikely that your en­forced absence will last more than a year or two."

"A year or two." groaned Roger, who saw the one chance upon which he had been able to buoy up his hopes during the past few hours slipping away. "In my situation that is near as bad as a lifetime."

"You will not think so when you reach my age," the clergyman endeavoured to console him.

Roger knew that once he reached Siberia he would find few people who could even speak any language that he understood, and that the difficulties of making his way to a frontier without being stopped and sent back would be immense. He was convinced that his only hope of getting out of Russia with any speed lay in the next night and day, while he was still in the vicinity of the Gulf of Finland; and that Mr. Tooke, with his great knowledge of the country, must be able to suggest some means of escape if only he could be persuaded to do so.