The Imperial Family had great concern for their English friend. The Emperor himself several times asked me privately how I thought Hanbury was faring, though his understanding was at least as good as mine. The Empress arranged a dinner the following night, so that Hanbury would not be in his room in the dark with only his thoughts for company. A few of us considered able to lift his spirits were invited – Prince Mikhail, the Belgian de Ryckel . . . One or two more, but it was a small affair.

There were no children this time, and we talked of adult matters, the war among them, though taking care as we did so. I remember the Emperor saying that a history of it would already run to many volumes, and the conclusion was not yet in sight. He mentioned the June edition of The Times History of the War, which Hanbury had shared with him and in which, without any intent at all, two Hanburys featured on facing pages. On the left was a picture of Ambassador Buchanan in his office at the British Embassy with, on the wall behind him, a portrait of Sir Charles Hanbury Williams, the ambassador of the 1750s. On the right was a photograph of our Hanbury in conversation with the Emperor. And no connection made between the two. We marvelled for a time at the games coincidence can play, each of us sharing instances of it from our own lives.

We did what we could to elevate Hanbury’s spirits. The Emperor had even contrived something amusing. He told Hanbury he had had word from Prince Golitsyn, who was in the Caucasus with Grand Duke Nicholas, and that Nicholas was still accusing Hanbury of taking matches from his dining car. This was an old grudge, and one that persisted for the sake of entertainment. The Emperor announced that he had a plan to address this once and for all and, from a pocket in his dinner jacket, he drew a tiny matchbox that he had had made by Fabergé. Smaller than a vesta box, it was. He opened it to reveal two half-matches inside. They completely filled the box – that’s how tiny it was. The Emperor said he would wrap it in a much larger box and send it to Grand Duke Nicholas as a gift from Hanbury. With that, he was quite certain Nicholas would not mention the matches again.

The dinner was on the Thursday, December twenty-first, and, on the Saturday, I received a note from Hanbury, asking me to meet him in his room. I believe I had seen him on the Friday but, for the most part, that day had kept each of us occupied with meetings at Stavka.

I assumed he needed the company, and was surprised to find he had not asked me there for that purpose at all. Prince Mikhail was with him, and made sure to shut the door once I had walked in the room.