Maid of Baikal: A Novel of the Russian Civil War

“Thank Heaven for that!” Zhanna exclaimed. “Will you do your part, then, and accept the Lord’s counsel?”

“I will listen,” Kolchak replied warily. “As I listen to others. But my decisions will remain my own.”

The Admiral stopped pacing and took a seat beside the Maid, his stress-lined face appearing somewhat more relaxed than before.

“That is only proper, as earthly responsibility for this war rests with you,” Zhanna told him.

“I will do all that an old sailor can do,” he replied with fresh vigor. “We shall see whether God finds it sufficient.”

They remained together in silence for a minute longer before someone knocked at the door and the Admiral rose to answer it.

“You may call the others now,” Kolchak called out.

A few minutes later, General Dieterichs led Archbishop Sylvester into the office, with Guins, Lebedev, Ivashov, and Ned behind him.

Dieterichs cast a curious look at the Supreme Ruler and seemed to notice a change in his demeanor. But it was Zhanna whom the general addressed.

“Why, it appears that your tête-à-tête has done wonders to restore the Admiral’s spirits,” he told her.

To the Admiral, he added, “Perhaps the Maid has given you something worthwhile, after all.”

“I daresay she has,” Admiral Kolchak replied, “At first, I was not inclined to believe her, but Zhanna offered proof of a sort I find hard to deny.”

Zhanna beamed at Kolchak upon hearing this.

“My Voices assure me that no man alive is better suited to lead Russia, Your Excellency,” she told him. “And by placing your faith in God, you will grow faith in yourself. So, put aside all doubt, and be as I have dreamt you to be. Be as Russia requires you to be! For without you, Russia is helpless. With God by your side, she will be invincible!”

For a moment, Ned thought he could see in the Admiral’s eye a divine spark of self-confidence that Zhanna had ignited there. Soon, however, the glow faded and Kolchak’s shoulders bowed once again with the unsupportable weight of anxiety and responsibility.

Lebedev seemed to see it too, for he stepped forward to ask Guins whether he might have a few minutes alone with the Admiral. But Guins, likely having noticed that Kolchak’s energies were nearly spent, and sensing that Lebedev might seek to exploit the man’s momentary weakness, suggested Lebedev return the next day.

“I shall ask you to excuse me now, gentlemen,” Kolchak told them, “for I have more than enough thoughts to occupy me this night and I require some rest. Guins, please ensure that Zhanna Stepanovna has a comfortable place to spend the night after her long journey.”

To Dieterichs, he added, “And my dear Mikhail Konstantinovich, please do me the favor tomorrow or the next day of hearing the Maid out. If you can, find a way to put her to good use. For I believe that God is with this girl, and He may yet be with us, if we heed her advice.”

“Yes, your Excellency,” Dieterichs replied with a curt bow. And to Ned’s great relief, Dieterichs flashed a benevolent smile to Zhanna while paying no attention at all to the angry stares that Lebedev and Archbishop Sylvester leveled at him.

* * *

After their audience with Admiral Kolchak, Guins directed Zhanna, Ned, and Ivashov to the reception room where Paladin was waiting, now fast asleep on an ornate French sofa. When Guins joined them there a few minutes later, he brought news that the Admiral’s mistress, Madame Timiryova, who had been following the girl’s story in the press, had procured a flat where Zhanna could stay. The favor was all the more significant, Guins pointed out, because, had it not been for Madame Timiryova’s intercession, Zhanna might not have been permitted to see Admiral Kolchak at all. And from that remark, Ned surmised why Guins had decided to give Zhanna her audience, and why the receptionist had reversed his arrogant demeanor toward the Maid.

As Ned had learned early during his stay in Omsk, Anna Vasilyevna Timiryova was an intelligent and well-bred woman of twenty-six who had left her husband, an officer serving under Kolchak, to take up with the Admiral. She now worked in Omsk as a translator for the Business Services Department. Though she kept an apartment separate from the Admiral’s, they often appeared together at social and charitable events. Timiryova was a particular favorite of the British women in Omsk, owing to her fluency in English and her skill at composing witty verse. Until now, however, Ned had not realized the sort of political influence she wielded behind the scenes.