“I can’t, Clementine. Father Gapon already knows everything, and he doesn’t want the news to spread. That’s why they ordered me to go into hiding until the demonstration is over tomorrow. I can’t go to Narva and I can’t go anywhere near other members of the assembly…. I may not have been afraid of delivering the message to the tsar, but I’m afraid of everyone else, Father Gapon’s people most of all. I can’t disobey them, it wouldn’t make any difference. Besides … I don’t want to go to tomorrow’s ‘prayer.’ … See how they’ve given it a religious name? I’ll spend the night at my sister Aleksandra’s, Mademoiselle Anya never notices…. That will put my sister at ease, I sent her a message that I was going to deliver Father Gapon’s letter and that I was a little worried…. I’m sure she’s worried too.”

Clementine covers her head once more.

“Everything’s turning out badly, very badly. Today they posted some notices … announcing that demonstrations are forbidden. Things are going very badly, very badly.”

“The demonstration should be cancelled.”

“I agree. No … although … if something happens, something horrible, a massacre … the people will rise up in rebellion, they’ll forget about their prayers and call for the blood of the guilty. And that would be no good at all.”

“Don’t talk like that, Clementine.”

“Some hero will offer to carry the red flag. It will serve as an excuse to kill who knows how many innocent people. They’ll be the ones who ruin the prayer. Pointless prayers, but perhaps they’ll suffice…. And if there’s no red flag, what do I know, perhaps bullets won’t fly….”

“I don’t know.”

“We can’t fool ourselves. They’ve made it clear a thousand different ways. If my bomb had only exploded … they wouldn’t have been able to continue with their plan, they would have called off the demonstration.”

Clementine leaves without saying goodbye. Behind her, unraveling,

the small bundle that was, for a few hours, her fake child

a tangled mess of strips of cloth

another element of the darkness

becomes complete a few minutes later

Vladimir blows out the candle

and leaves.

4. To the Concert

4. To the Concert

At 7:35 on the dot, Claudia and Sergei get into their carriage. Just as the horses begin to move, Claudia speaks: “We’re picking up Anya.” Her words land like a grenade.

With his hands on his chin he asks, his voice strangled, “Anya? Why are you persecuting me?” Sergei can’t bear seeing his little sister, least of all at the theater, where everyone in society gathers. He practically shouts at the driver, “Giorgi! Stop the horses!”

“Sergei, for God’s sake, calm down!”

“You go! I’m not going. You’ve ruined the only good thing about this horrible day.”