“Do you think the Chinese are truly are spies?” Olga whispered into my ear.
I have to confess the question had not previously entered my mind, but I now weighed the possibility. “No,” I finally said. “They are just students, just as we are.”
“They could still be spies.”
I sighed and pulled Olga away from the window, and made her sit down by the table. “Listen. They are our friends. Shouldn’t we trust them?”
Olga’s eyes filled with doubt but she said nothing.
“Come on,” I said. “What did they ever do to you?”
Olga stood, and would not meet my gaze. “I better go.”
“You can’t go by yourself.” I turned to Anastasia. “Please take Miss Olga to the dormitories.”
Anastasia scowled. “And leave you here alone? No, miss, I cannot.”
“Consider it an order,” I said. “Please don’t argue, or I’ll send you back to Trubetskoye and you know what words my Aunt Eugenia would have for you.”
Anastasia paled, impressed by the thought of Countess Eugenia’s wrath to such an extent that even her freckles disappeared. “How will you get home, Miss Alexandra?” she dared to ask.
“I’ll walk,” I answered. “Don’t worry, I know the way, and I’ll be along as soon as we know what these men want.”
“You don’t have to stay,” Olga said, still not looking me in the face.
“I won’t be long,” I answered. “I just want to make sure that Mr. Chiang Tse and his friends are not harmed. I cannot do much other than offer my word as to their character, but my family might mean something to these people.”
I walked Anastasia and Olga to the door and promised to join them soon. When I returned to the dining room, the servers had cleared the table. The Chinese students had congregated in small groups, some speaking English, others conversing in what I assumed was Cantonese.
“What is going on?” I asked Chiang Tse, who was speaking to Lee Bo and Wong Jun.
All three turned toward me with tense smiles.
“We must thank you for warning us,” Lee Bo said. He was the most soft-spoken of the three, and I was surprised to hear him speak for the rest. “Several of our countrymen disappeared recently. Initially, we believed they were compelled to return home on urgent business. But my own brother, Lee Jin, disappeared yesterday. Suspecting foul play, we went to the authorities. But if what you say is true, I now worry we will find no assistance from government officials for my brother and our friends.”
I sought for words with which to reply, shocked by the realization of the severity of the situation. Its grievous nature was reinforced by the fear written so clearly on copper-dark faces surrounding me. “This makes no sense,” I said. “Surely, the emperor… ”
I could not finish the thought — of course the emperor would trust his brother over foreign students. As for the students’ war-torn native country, even if made aware of the harassment and abuse of its children abroad, little attention could be spared from more profound national problems. I remembered the group of menacing male students following me, and — once I recognized with crystal clarity how defenseless all of us were, how vulnerable — my head began to swim.
“I will go out, I will try to reason with the scoundrel,” I said.
“What will you say?” Lee Bo said.
“This is ridiculous,” Chiang Tse interrupted. “It is only one man in the street, and we have no reason to think he’s looking to arrest someone. We’ve allowed fear to overwhelm us.”
“It is understandable if you consider my brother’s disappearance,” Lee Bo interjected.
“At the very least, I can ask,” I said, and resolutely pulled my gloves on.
When I stepped outside, I realized Lee Bo’s fear was not exaggerated. The Nikolashka Anastasia claimed to have recognized stood under a small arch next to the club’s doorway. Moreover, there were another six men in street clothing milling about and trying to look inconspicuous. When they saw me, most of them turned away, as if looking at something fascinating down the street. The sun had almost set by then, and long shadows twisted around them, hiding their faces and pooling under their eyes.
“Excuse me, gentlemen,” I said. “I could not help but notice you’ve been here for some time. Are you waiting for anyone in particular?”
Anastasia’s Nikolashka frowned in my general direction. “Pass along, miss. Official business.”
“Really?” I stepped closer, even though my heart was fluttering high in my throat. I was close enough to smell onions on his wheezing breath. “Is anyone in this club of interest to you then?”
He did not answer but turned away with a sigh and a show of irritation.
“My family,” I said with as much weight as I could muster, “is close to the emperor. I will gladly offer my word of the good character of those inside.”
Nikolashka jerked his shoulder. “Good for your family then, miss. Now, let me do my job, and I won’t spoil your friendship with the emperor, how’s that sound?”
I stepped back, unsure of what to do next.
“And you better not go back into that club,” he said. “You don’t want to be caught consorting with that element, believe you me. Just walk home and get yourself some sleep.” He never addressed my by name, but I got a distinct feeling he knew who I was.
For a moment, I was tempted to follow his advice. I think what stopped me was a slowly rising anger at being dismissed for not presenting a real threat; in any case, I headed back to the club’s entrance.
There were a few men leaving the club, none of whom I recognized. Still, I stood and waited for them to pass through the doors and by the arch. I hoped the Nikolashki would not dare anything while I watched. Perhaps my mere presence would be enough to avert a disaster.
The next to emerge were Wong Jun, Lee Bo, and Chiang Tse. I pressed my lips together and inclined my head in the direction of the arch. They seemed to understand, and hurried into the gathering darkness.
“Halt!” called the Nikolashka who smelled like onions. At his command, a few of his comrades stepped forth, surrounding the three men.
I am not exactly sure what was I hoping to accomplish, but I stepped between Chiang Tse and the Nikolashki. A part of me hoped that the latter would be dissuaded from their pursuits if there were a witness; it had never occurred to me that any real harm might befall me.
The one who smelled of onions moved to shove me aside, and his arm caught me across the chest, pushing me into the waiting arms of others, while three more stepped forth to apprehend the Chinese students. I struggled out of the men’s hands, appalled by the unclean touch of their corrupt fingers, all the while demanding that my friends be left alone.
The gas streetlamps were coming on, but the passersby were few, and clearly uninterested in getting involved. All four of us were held by the arms now; only I continued to struggle, still willfully oblivious to whose side the power was on.
I was lifted bodily off the ground, and used this opportunity to try and kick at my capturers, but they were apparently used to such attempts and the onion-breath avoided injury with surprising deftness. Before they could carry me off to the carriage now waiting at the corner, a part of the night sky suddenly grew darker — both starlight and lamplight disappeared, and before I had a chance to wonder at this phenomenon, the dark patch resolved itself into a wide cloak.
I could not see the face of the man who fell like a stone from the sky — a suicide, I thought at first, even though there were no tall buildings in our proximity. Our capturers saw him too; I felt the grip on my elbows relax, and used the opportunity to wrench free. I was not the only one: I saw Chiang Tse and Lee Bo wrestle out of constraining hands as well. Noting their hesitation, I screamed, “Run!”—furious that they might waste this opportunity with unneeded chivalry. They wisely obeyed.