The Secret Wife(39)

Dmitri wondered what would become of his parents, back home in the comfortable estate that had been in his father’s family for centuries? What would happen to the Romanovs in the new ‘workers’ paradise’? Dmitri realised straight away that these events would split Russia down the middle and change the country he loved forever.

Shortly after the coup, a letter came from his mother telling him his father had been arrested. It seemed the Bolsheviks were taking a hard line with what they called the ‘bourgeoisie’. Dmitri worried that his proud father would not submit easily to captivity and prayed he would not be foolish enough to resist his captors. He wrote to his mother and instructed her to engage a good lawyer. In other circumstances he would have ridden home to protect his mother and sisters and to agitate for his father’s release from prison, but for the time being his first loyalty must be with his wife.

He wondered if news of the Bolshevik coup had reached Tsar Nicholas, and asked Tatiana in his daily letter, but it seemed from her reply that she did not appreciate the implications of the change of government:

I am glad the war is over if it means no more Russians will be killed, but Papa is worried that the Baltic lands currently occupied by the Germans may be lost in the peace negotiations. He has requested that he might be included in the discussions …



After that she changed the subject:

Did I tell you we are now keeping five pigs in an old stable in the yard? They are very sweet and come when called, like dogs. Ortipo barks at them but is too much of a coward to venture close. I must not let myself become over fond of them, as I suspect they are intended for our table this winter … We also have chickens, turkeys and ducks, and Father has dug a duck pond for them. I have begun to reread the works of Tolstoy, since it seems we are stuck here for the next few months. I’d forgotten what a great storyteller he is! Do you like Anna Karenina? We are also rehearsing a production of Chekhov’s Three Sisters to entertain our parents. I am the director and play the role of Masha. I only wish you could come to watch …

Dmitri was astonished by Tatiana’s everyday tone. Did she realise that the nation was rift in two? He supposed that in captivity her horizons had narrowed; either that or she was putting a remarkably brave face on events. He thought he had grown to know her rather well but found it impossible to guess what she was thinking deep down. Was she simply being cheerful for his sake?

Dmitri wrote to several aristocrat friends asking what they planned to do about this so-called workers’ revolution. Surely they wouldn’t give up their property without a struggle? It was agony to be stuck in Tobolsk, powerless to help resist the coup, but he couldn’t leave Tatiana when every day he felt the danger increasing, like a dark shadow sweeping across the land, set to envelop them completely.

20th December 1917

Malama sweetheart,



The temperature today is minus nineteen and the windows are draughty, so I am huddled in my warmest coat and shawl, and have tempted Ortipo to sit on my lap, where she acts like a hot water bottle. Still my freezing fingers make it hard to hold the pen so forgive me if my writing is shaky. We are occupied with making Christmas presents since we cannot buy them. I am painting bookmarks to give to all our guards here, and embroidering or knitting gifts for the family. What can I make for you, my dearest? Would you like a scarf or some socks? Be sure you are in church for the Christmas Day service so we can see each other. I do love Christmas. As I write, my nostrils are full of the citrusy scent of a balsamic fir Christmas tree that stands just outside my bedroom door.

Dmitri was in his usual place in Blagoveschensky Church for the Christmas Day service. These brief occasions when he could be in close proximity to his beloved were like a balm to his anxious soul. The Romanov family arrived, huddled in their coats and mufflers, and Tatiana had a smile in her eyes as she passed him and pushed a tightly wrapped parcel into his hands. No one noticed in the bustle of worshippers and he quickly secreted it inside his coat. He had earlier given Trina his Christmas gift for Tatiana – an amethyst brooch he had purchased from his landlord’s wife – and as she unfastened her coat he could see that she wore it on her collar. She turned and caught his eye.

The Christmas service was interminable. It was conducted by a new priest and when he called out the names of those taking communion, he used the old, forbidden title ‘Tsar Nicholas II, Emperor and Autocrat of all Russias’. A gasp went around the church and the guards standing by the doors glanced at each other. This priest obviously did not know that monarchy had been abolished and the former tsar was now referred to as Citizen Romanov. Again, when it came to the Tsarina, he called her ‘Empress Consort of all Russias’. There was a stirring movement in the crowd and more soldiers filed in. Dmitri fingered the knife he always kept tucked in his belt. If the soldiers became violent, he planned to grab Tatiana and bustle her from the church and out of harm’s way.



All through the service, Dmitri kept an eye on the guards, but it appeared they had no orders to intervene. At the end, they surrounded the Romanov family and herded them up the street to the Governor’s House as fast as they could. Dmitri caught sight of the Tsarina’s face and she seemed bewildered.

The following morning Trina brought a letter from Tatiana, and this time there was no pretence of cheerfulness.

The Bolshevik authorities are so incensed by the use of Papa and Mama’s titles in church that we have been banned from attending any more services. I am desolate because it was the only chance we got to step beyond the confines of the yard and my only opportunity to see you, my precious one, up close. Without that, I don’t know how I will remain optimistic.