Эльвира Барякина - White Ghosts

Suddenly he noticed a familiar hat in a white gazebo that stood apart from the crowd. Nina had come after all. Daniel almost ran to meet her.

“I didn’t think you’d come,” he said, sitting down next to her on the bench.

“I’m sorry I’m late.”

She took a black satin fan out of her purse. It looked strangely mournful and out of place next to her white dress and its red belt.

“I brought you the money,” said Daniel, pulling a wad of banknotes from his pocket. “Count it: there are five thousand dollars.”

Nina smiled gratefully. “Thank you, but I don’t need it. You mentioned you’re going to Guangdong province soon. Would you be able to take me and Kitty with you?”

Daniel was dumbstruck; this was the last thing he had been expecting.

“Are you serious?”

“Absolutely.”

He wanted to kiss her hand, but couldn’t resist taking her into his arms instead. “I’m so glad that you’re no longer angry with me.”

She tried to pull away. “What if somebody sees us?”

“Who cares.”

She freed herself from his embrace. “What’s the best way to get to Canton? By steamer? I know that there’s unrest in the south, and it’s a bad place for a woman and a baby at the moment. But if you could help me when we get there, I’d be very grateful to you.”

Daniel looked at her for a long time. “I’ll think of something.”

It was clear as day that Nina had decided to go to Canton to find Klim Rogov.

That night, Daniel couldn’t sleep. Should he tell Nina that her husband was dead? But then she would start asking questions, and possibly even give up on her idea of going to Canton.

Daniel sat at the window, chain-smoking until he almost felt sick. He knew only too well how the kitsune fairy tales usually ended. Once wounded, a vixen would convince the man she had enchanted to share his vital energy with her; her strength would be restored but he would go crazy. Indeed, it was utter madness for him to sacrifice himself willingly for her sake.

The next morning Sam announced the arrival of Captain Wyer.

“I’m not at home,” said Daniel and hurriedly went off to the stables.

It smelled of hay and horse sweat. Beams of light penetrated through the narrow windows under the ceiling.

The grooms took the golden-red horse from its stall, but as soon as Daniel put his foot into the stirrup, the tall figure of Captain Wyer appeared in the doorway.

“Get out,” he snapped at the grooms, and they immediately disappeared.

Daniel dismounted and took the horse by the bridle.

“I didn’t know you were here, sir.”

“You did,” Wyer said, cutting him short, “but I’m not interested in your pathetic attempts to avoid me. It’s Edna that I want to talk about. As far as I’m concerned you may visit whores, like any other decent man, and I will think none the worse of you for it. But don’t you dare go dragging my daughter’s honor through the mud by getting yourself a mistress.”

Daniel felt the blood rush to his face. He released the bridle, and the horse stepped back in its stall in fear.

“Mind your own business, sir,” Daniel said quietly. “Otherwise you may live to regret it.”

“Are you threatening me?” Wyer chuckled.

“If certain people in London get to know that you provide protection to smugglers and drug dealers, you’ll find yourself out of office and straight into prison in no time.”

“Listen, you sleazy son of a bitch, in this city the only person who makes threats that mean anything is me!”

Wyer took a stack of photographs from his map case and shoved under Daniel’s nose. The images had been taken near Nina’s house, and the photographer had taken a snap every time Daniel had visited her.

His meeting with Nina at the regatta has also been captured. The first picture showed Daniel offering her money, a second caught them locked in an embrace, while a third showed them getting into the same car.

“I’ve been following your mistress,” Wyer said. “And if you’re caught with her again, I’ll show these pictures to Edna. Then, once she’s divorced you, I think we’ll have another look at the Czechoslovak Consulate case and re-examine the evidence Jiří Labuda told us about you. So think hard about it.”

Daniel returned Wyer the photographs without saying a word.

“You’d better realize I’m deadly earnest,” the captain said, and he went out into the street.

For a while Daniel stood there, tapping the top of his boot with his riding crop. Things could be a lot worse, he told himself. Wyer evidently knows nothing about “Comrade Krieger.” But in any case, it would be best if he and Nina were to leave Shanghai immediately.

But what about the airplane? Would it be possible to take her to Canton by air? He needed a map and to refuel along the way. But to the south of Shanghai, there was nothing but endless Chinese countryside, where electricity was a rarity, let alone aviation fuel.

On his way to the house, Daniel met Ada.

“Good day, sir,” she greeted him.

He looked at her inquisitively. Whatever happened, he would need to register his airplane with a front, preferably a person who knew nothing about military equipment. When Don Fernando got better, he would be able to bring the Avro to Canton by sea.

“Miss Marshall, I’ll require your help tomorrow,” Daniel said. “I’ll pick you up at six in the morning.”

“Are we going somewhere?” Ada asked.

“It’s going to be a surprise. So don’t tell anyone about it.”

The poor girl was so confused that she was barely able to mumble, “Yes, sir, as you wish.”

Daniel winked at her and went to his room.

An hour later, he passed the library and peeped in through the open door. Ada was dancing to a popular song, “I Was Waiting For You, Sweetheart.”

The opposition stronghold of Xiguan had been shelled by the mountain guns, killing about two thousand people, and the ensuing fire caused millions of dollars’ worth of losses.

But Klim was very lucky. The Red Cross volunteers found him among the ruins, his head badly wounded by the gilded statue of Guan Yin. However, the goddess had covered him with her body and protected him from falling debris.

As a white man, he was taken to the Victoria Hotel on Shamian Island, which had been converted into a hospital. He was left unconscious in the hallway until One-Eye discovered him on his way to the Don’s room.

Fernando insisted that the nurses put Klim next to him.

“Don’t you dare die,” he whispered to him. “You’ve saved my life and you’re not going to croak on me now. Anyway, look at the room service, amigo! There’s a bar, a balcony, and a gramophone with a full set of records. As soon as we’re able to walk again, we’ll make a trip to go and see the bathroom. I’m told the taps are gold-plated and the lamp brackets shaped like the most exquisite women.”

Soon, a famous British surgeon arrived at the hospital.

“Please save my best friend,” Don Fernando pleaded. “I’ll give you every penny I have. I’ll be in your debt for the rest of my life.”

But the surgeon curtly replied he knew perfectly well what needed to be done without the Don’s advice or inducements, and he ordered for Klim to be wheeled into the operating theater.

A little while later, at the Don’s insistence, a nurse was explaining the finest details of Klim’s medical notes to him. His friend had suffered a serious head injury, a stab wound to the chest, and an impressive list of minor cuts and bruises.

“That’s bad that he’s been hit on the head,” One-Eye told the Don. “If Klim survives, he might start acting weird.”

One-Eye had once been appointed an executioner and knew more about fatal wounds and injuries than any run-of-the-mill physician.

Much of the time, Klim was delirious, raving in Russian, Spanish, and English, and the Don was shocked to learn that his rescuer was married to Nina Kupina.

“You must be crazy to get involved with that sort of a woman,” he said indignantly. “Her breasts are undoubtedly magnificent, but to marry her! Her sort is nothing but trouble. Did you know she had an affair with Daniel Bernard?”

“I did,” Klim said in a quiet dangerous voice.

“Oh! You mustn’t take anything I’ve said personally. I’m just worried about you, that’s all.”

When the Don received the telegram from Daniel, he replied that Rogov had been killed during the shelling. It was unlikely that Mr. Bernard was going to wish Klim a fast recovery.

In the meantime, Klim was getting sicker and sicker by the day.

“Send Nina a letter and tell her that I’m finished,” he asked the Don on many occasions.

“Don’t hex yourself,” Fernando whispered fearfully. “Relax, I’ve already sent her five letters and ten telegrams.” He was so superstitious he didn’t even want to mention death.

All day long, the Don would pray to the Holy Virgin for Klim. “It won’t cost you anything to save him. What do you want of me? I can recite the rosary a thousand times. How about I donate the consignment of leather that’s been in my warehouse to the priests? I’m sure the soles of their shoes need saving.”

Fernando even went so far as to promise the Holy Virgin that he would put himself on the path of righteousness and start a crusade against the criminal underworld. Not long after that, Klim miraculously began to get better.

“We are blood brothers now!” the Don yelled happily. “You’ve saved me from those Chinese butchers, and my prayers have saved you from death. Let’s face it, you’re not a Catholic and if it wasn’t for me, you’d be burning in hell now. However, you’ll be able to live and enjoy life for a while.”