From Governess To Countess. Marguerite Kaye

finally arrived here in St Petersburg that I began to worry that all was not what it seemed.’

      Allison was listening intently, her teacup clutched, still full, in her lap. Aleksei set his own aside. ‘The first thing I discovered was that there had been no accident. Michael appeared to have died of an apoplexy, a violent heart seizure which killed him before the doctor could be summoned. Elizaveta then fell ill shortly thereafter, but her symptoms were quite different. A flux, breathlessness followed by palpitations, caused by a severe intolerance, the doctor confirmed. Here is a copy of his report.’

      He handed over several pages of notes, which Allison quickly scanned. ‘The cause of the Duchess’s death is very clear. What is a coulibiac?’

      ‘A sort of fish pie, peasant food which my sister-in-law consumed on impulse at the market. She had been advised to avoid eating fish following previous adverse reactions as a child, as it says in the notes. It’s clear her death was nothing more than a tragic coincidence. Her reaction, as the doctor states, was severe, but not in the least bit suspicious.’

      Allison frowned over the report. ‘But there is no suggestion that your brother’s death was attributable to any sort of poison. The doctor is quite clear, as you said, that he thinks it was due to an apoplexy.’

      ‘Thinks. But he is not certain,’ Aleksei said. ‘In fact, he told me that he was most surprised, because not only was my brother in rude health, Michael had just turned forty, a notoriously abstemious man and most unfashionably fond of taking exercise. What do you make of it?’

      She spread her hands helplessly. ‘In my experience, apoplexies are more common in older men, or those who indulge in excessive consumption of food or wine, but it could simply be that your brother had a weak heart. Isn’t the more obvious conclusion what the doctor has described in his notes—a seizure of the heart?’

      ‘An obvious conclusion in London perhaps, but not in St Petersburg where poison and power are often bedfellows. And if it was not an apoplexy, it must have been poison, don’t you think?’

      Allison scanned the report again. ‘No lesions or rashes. No signs of blunt force or trauma. Clear signs of stress of the heart but none to any other vital organs. I would have to study it more carefully, but—’

      ‘I know, it is not much to go on,’ Aleksei interrupted her, ‘but the manner of Michael’s death is not the only factor which aroused my suspicions. There is also the sudden disappearance of Anna Orlova, the children’s governess, which I mentioned yesterday.’

      ‘You can’t mean that you suspect the governess capable of murder?’

      ‘I know, it sounds far-fetched, but it is even more far-fetched, when you take account of the circumstances, to conclude she was not complicit in some way. Why else would she abandon her charges, whom she is purported to be devoted to, so suddenly and the day before Michael died? And if she has nothing to hide, why is she, paradoxically, in hiding?’

      ‘I assumed that you wanted to find her for the children’s sake,’ Allison said, sounding quite dazed. ‘I agree, in the context you have described that it looks suspicious, but she was not even present when he died. Not that that means—for there are poisons which are slow acting or have a delayed effect, but—what had she to gain from killing her employer? And such an illustrious one—a duke, for heaven’s sake.’

      ‘The Orlova woman was due a small bequest, but it has not been paid, since her whereabouts are unknown, and as a motive for murder, where the punishment would not only be death but torture—no, it beggars belief.’

      ‘What of the other beneficiaries of your brother’s will?’

      ‘Aside from the legacy to myself, there are no other significant beneficiaries. Michael left everything to his children, as indeed, did Elizaveta, which leaves my nieces and nephew extremely wealthy indeed, but I think we can rule them out.’

      ‘Aleksei!’

      ‘A poor joke,’ he said with an apologetic smile. ‘The children’s guardian has the most to gain, for he has their vast assets and their malleable minds entirely at his disposal.’

      ‘But you are their guardian.’

      ‘Which brings me to the root cause of my suspicions. Michael changed his will about a week before he died. According to his man of business, the change was to be kept under wraps until such time as Michael chose to inform the relevant parties. I’ve no idea if he informed Elizaveta, but as you know, I was in the dark, as was my first cousin, Felix Golitsyn, who until the change was the nominee of long standing.’

      Aleksei drummed his fingers on his thigh, frowning off into the distance. ‘Felix was the first person to call on me to pay his condolences, though he was so grief-stricken himself, it was I who consoled him in the end. Michael’s man of business had fetched him from Peterhof Palace, some distance down river of here, where he had been staying when my brother died. It fell to my cousin, as Michael’s nearest male relative, to take charge of the funeral arrangements in my absence. Felix fully expected to take custody of the children too, and when he was informed of the change of guardianship it came as quite a shock.’

      ‘But if your logic is correct,’ Allison said, clearly struggling to keep track, ‘if this cousin did not know your brother had changed his will, then surely that makes him the prime suspect?’

      ‘Aside from the Orlova woman, you mean? Yes, I’m afraid that it does,’ he agreed heavily. ‘I find it very hard to believe, but as you point out, the logic is inescapable. I would give almost anything to prove his innocence, however.’

      ‘You must care a great deal for your cousin.’

      ‘The truth is I care more for what my cousin can do for me,’ Aleksei replied, ‘which is take my wards off my hands. Felix understands the workings of the palace and the court, and he’s much more familiar with the family estates than I am.’

      ‘Yet your brother clearly thought he was no longer suitable.’

      ‘I know, dammit. But until I find out why he changed his mind I cannot discount the possibility that it is somehow connected with his death.’

      Allison was toying with one of her hairpins, absentmindedly bending it to form a circle. ‘Do you suspect anyone else?’

      ‘No one.’ Aleksei grimaced. ‘And everyone. I have gone through Michael’s accounts with a fine toothcomb and found no evidence of extortion, of shady dealings, property transactions or unusual payments or deposits. The political posts he held were much coveted but they now lie within Nikki’s gift—or mine, at the moment. No, if it was murder, and if it was not committed by either the Orlova woman or Felix, then the field is wide open. Assuming that we rule out a crime of passion which, believe me, knowing my brother, we can, the motive could be anything—revenge, a personal vendetta. Michael would have been privy to any number of potentially explosive secrets. Was he killed to silence him? Who knows?’