Written on the Wind (The Blackstone Legacy #2)(101)

He brought Mischa home to Natalia the same day. They had not expected to adopt again so soon, but how could he leave his son overnight at an orphanage where no one could understand him? Natalia had been taken aback but quickly agreed that Mischa belonged with them. They’d decided to hold off on adopting more children for at least two years, and for now their family was the perfect size.

“Let’s take the children to the city so they may play with your little brother,” he said impulsively, and Natalia flashed him a blinding smile.

He preferred their country home, but Natalia was always keen for a visit to town. He still mistrusted the city, but he liked indulging Natalia, so they went often. Besides, it would be another six years before the apple trees he planted would bear fruit. By then the mill Ilya Komarov was building him would be operational, and he would try to recreate a bit of the pastoral bliss he once had in Russia.

His homesickness wasn’t as bad as he once feared. It still descended upon him occasionally, but Natalia could usually spot the signs and knew how to cure the ache in his soul. She’d beckon him inside, then make him a cup of spiced cider and rub his feet, begging for stories of the vast Russian steppe, or the palaces of Saint Petersburg, or of Temujin and their dangerous trek through the wilderness. Somehow, in recounting the stories for her, his memories of that faraway land became a shared recollection they both treasured, and that helped ease the wistful ache.

Someday he would take Natalia and their children to Russia so they could see the endless fields of autumn wheat, the wooden churches in the countryside, and the land where Natalia’s mother had been raised. He would show Natalia the ring of birch trees that surrounded Mirosa and the creaking waterwheel where he almost died. Beneath the immense sky they would share the cider grown on his ancestral land and raise a toast to their shared heritage.

And then they would return to America, where they all belonged.





Historical Note





The Trans-Siberian Railway was completed in 1904. The railroad’s chief proponent was Count Sergei Witte, who believed it was the key to transforming the Russian economy by gaining access to the rich natural resources of Siberia. Construction was challenging because the railroad crossed hundreds of rivers, swamps, forests, and permafrost. Extreme temperatures constantly interfered with the schedule, but the railway was completed on time and under budget.

The Boxer Rebellion (1899–1901) affected construction of the railroad when the uprising spread to the Russian border. When Chinese insurgents shelled the Russian town of Blagoveshchensk, the Russians used the incident to assert greater control over the region by expelling ethnic Chinese villagers. The expulsions took place at numerous towns along the Amur River, resulting in thousands of deaths from drowning, shooting, and stampedes. Estimates of the deaths range between three and nine thousand people. The name for this series of pogroms in rural Russia is not standardized but is generally referred to as either the Blagoveshchensk Massacre or the Sixty-Four Villages East of the River Massacre.

Count Arthur Cassini was the Russian ambassador to the United States from 1898–1905. He was as brilliant as described in the novel but is perhaps best known today for his famous relatives. His daughter, Countess Marguerite Cassini, was best friends with Alice Roosevelt, and the two teenaged girls were notorious for scandalizing Washington society. Fifty years after the events in this novel, Marguerite wrote of her relationship with Alice in her memoir, Never a Dull Moment: “Our friendship had the violence of a bomb. We were two badly spoiled girls set only on [our] own pleasure.” By her own admission, she and Alice inflicted “a veritable reign of terror” on Washington society. Their friendship imploded when Alice’s future husband became infatuated with Marguerite, who ultimately married and divorced a Russian count, moved to Italy, and founded a fashion house. Her son, Oleg Cassini, was Jacqueline Kennedy’s favorite designer, and her seventeenth-century ancestor, Giovanni Cassini, was the astronomer for whom the Cassini spacecraft was named.

Today, the Trans-Siberian Railway remains the world’s longest passenger railroad at 5,772 miles. Riding the Trans-Siberian from Moscow to Vladivostock takes seven days, crosses eight time zones, and is routinely cited as an adventure of a lifetime.





Discussion Questions





Dimitri reflects on his difficult years while working on the railroad in Siberia with the following: “Sometimes our best memories are born during our harshest trials. They become happy only in hindsight.” What did he mean by this?

During a weekend party at Mirosa, the wealthy landowners debate whether it was dishonest for Ilya Komarov to charge people different amounts for the same pint of applejack. What do you think?

Dimitri asks Natalia to say something positive about Poppy, which forces her to reassess Poppy’s contribution in restoring Oscar’s health. How might focusing on an admirable trait help you view an otherwise frustrating person in a more positive light?

Liam splits with Darla because she spoke disrespectfully about him to her friends. Is he too hasty in walking away from her?

Is Dimitri really a hypochondriac? Why do you think he dwells on his various aches and pains?

Oscar is willing to sue Silas Conner for his libel of Natalia, but she dissuades him. She reflects: Punishing him might deliver a quick rush of satisfaction, but it would never bring her the lasting peace that forgiveness could provide. Is it possible to truly forgive someone if they have not expressed remorse?