BooksBarbecue
Back The Summer Queen
Chapters (54)
  1. Cover
  2. The Summer Queen
  3. Dedication Page
  4. Family Tree of King George III
  5. Family Tree of Queen Victoria
  6. PART ONE
  7. Chapter One
  8. Chapter Two
  9. Chapter Three
  10. Chapter Four
  11. Chapter Five
  12. Chapter Six
  13. Chapter Seven
  14. Chapter Eight
  15. Chapter Nine
  16. Chapter Ten
  17. Chapter Eleven
  18. Chapter Twelve
  19. Chapter Thirteen
  20. PART TWO
  21. Chapter Fourteen
  22. Chapter Fifteen
  23. Chapter Sixteen
  24. Chapter Seventeen
  25. Chapter Eighteen
  26. Chapter Nineteen
  27. Chapter Twenty
  28. Chapter Twenty-One
  29. Chapter Twenty-Two
  30. Chapter Twenty-Three
  31. Chapter Twenty-Four
  32. PART THREE
  33. Chapter Twenty-Five
  34. Chapter Twenty-Six
  35. Chapter Twenty-Seven
  36. Chapter Twenty-Eight
  37. Chapter Twenty-Nine
  38. Chapter Thirty
  39. Chapter Thirty-One
  40. Chapter Thirty-Two
  41. PART FOUR
  42. Chapter Thirty-Three
  43. Chapter Thirty-Four
  44. Chapter Thirty-Five
  45. Chapter Thirty-Six
  46. Chapter Thirty-Seven
  47. Chapter Thirty-Eight
  48. Chapter Thirty-Nine
  49. Chapter Forty
  50. Chapter Forty-One
  51. Acknowledgements
  52. Select Bibliography
  53. The Summer Queen
  54. By Margaret Pemberton

It was when she was packing up mementos of Grishka that she came upon an envelope addressed to Nicky in the monk’s handwriting. Anything written by Grishka was to be treasured, for he had rarely written anything. As a peasant, writing had been something that he was uncomfortable with. The envelope wasn’t sealed and she slid the letter out, eager to read its contents.

In heavy black ink, it was dated December, shortly before his murder, and at first Alicky thought it was a will:

I write and leave behind me this letter at St Petersburg. I feel that I shall leave life before 1 January. I wish to make known to the Russian people, to Papa, to the Russian Mother, to the Children, to the land of Russia what they must understand. If I am killed by common assassins, and especially by my brothers the Russian peasants, you, Tsar of Russia, have nothing to fear and your children will reign for hundreds of years.

But if I am murdered by nobles, and if they shed my blood, their hands will remain soiled with my blood. For twenty-five years they will not wash my blood from their hands. They will leave Russia. Brothers will kill brothers and hate each other, and for twenty-five years there will be no nobles in the country. Tsar of the land of Russia, if you hear the sound of the bell that tells you Grigory has been killed, know this: if it was your relations who wrought my death, then no one in your family – none of your children or relations – will remain alive for more than two years. They will be killed by the Russian people. I shall be killed. I am no longer among the living. Pray. Be strong and think of your blessed family,

Grigory

The blood thundered in Alicky’s ears. The ground felt as if it was shelving away beneath her feet. The world was spinning and she couldn’t breathe. Had Nicky ever received this letter? Common sense told her that he had to have done. The envelope had been opened. It had been in the same small box as several icons that Grishka had blessed. And Nicky hadn’t shown it to her. How could he have shown it to her? Grishka never spoke a word that wasn’t true. If it was your relations who wrought my death, then no one in your family – none of your children or relations – will remain alive for more than two years. They will be killed by the Russian people. The words leapt from the page as if written in fire.