– and let out a shriek. ‘You took it to barter, without consulting the rest of us! Haven’t you understood anything about how we are trying to run the IRT? You stupid, ignorant—’
‘Enough,’ interposed Slavkin, but they were beyond reining themselves in now, both on their feet, shouting at each other.
‘It was for the commune, you nagging old cow, don’t you see? A whole barrel! I didn’t have time to consult with your ladyship—’
‘You brute, you take us for fools – you’d take advantage of all of us given the chance, just to satisfy your disgusting libidinous self-indulgence, wouldn’t you?’
‘You stupid bitch, what are you talking about now?’ yelled Volodya.
‘You’re using the Revolution as an excuse to exploit a gentle soul—’
‘Stop.’ Slavkin was on his feet between the two of them. ‘Quiet – don’t speak.’
Volodya, leaning towards him like a bull ready to charge, was breathing heavily. He could have snapped Nikita in two; I marvelled at Nikita’s calmness, his strength.
‘Now – let us try to understand. What are you saying, Doctor? Please be careful not to express groundless prejudice.’
‘I’m asking, can it be right for one comrade to take advantage of another’s gentleness of character?’ Dr Marina’s voice was shaking.
A long pause.
‘Are you talking about any comrades in particular?’ asked Fyodor. ‘Because if so I think we should know.’
‘Marina, darling, please don’t,’ said Vera. She was blushing hard and her eyes were a little watery.
Dr Marina’s face was flushed, her eyes glittering. ‘Yes, I am, as a matter of fact,’ she said. ‘I’m—’
‘She’s talking about me, of course,’ Volodya interrupted, clearing his throat. His voice was calm but he smiled a tight, angry smile. He went over to Vera and took her hand. ‘Verochka and I, we are very happy to announce to you all that we are occasionally sleeping together. Or rather not sleeping, having sexual intercourse. Seeing as you all seem to think it’s your business.’
‘Oh!’ Vera started to cough and the tears trickled out of her eyes.
Aghast, I glanced towards Slavkin. ‘But we’ve all promised Nikita to be celibate,’ I burst out. ‘You… you mustn’t, you know…’
Beside me, Fyodor’s face was turning scarlet. ‘You decadent! How dare you twist Revolutionary language for your own ends! You have betrayed a trust! You have debauched an innocent girl!’
‘Say that again,’ growled Volodya. ‘Repeat that, if you dare, you toad.’
Pasha stood up as well. ‘Wait, Fedya, can’t you see their point of view, too?’ he asked Fyodor. ‘They’ve decided to love each other openly – to have a “socially affirmed sexual life”, haven’t you heard Kollontai’s expression?’
‘Milaya Vera, sweet Vera, I never made you do anything you didn’t want to do, did I? It was your choice too, wasn’t it?’
Vera was shrinking into the corner of the divan. ‘Yes, Vova, it was my choice,’ she whispered.
Volodya sat next to her and put his arm round her. ‘You are treating us like children.’ He turned to Dr Marina, menace in his voice. ‘Every individual is free to make his or her own decisions now, even if you disapprove of them. What do you want, a priest to come along and marry us?’
‘She’s not free to make that decision!’ snapped Marina. ‘She’ll fall in love with you, you brute, and you’re just amusing yourself.’
Nikita sat back in his chair as though all the energy had flowed out of him. ‘Vova,’ he said quietly, ‘no one is denying that you are perfectly within your rights. But, my dear friend, aren’t we devoting all our strength, every minute of precious time, to achieving other goals?’ We are in the very first stages of the commune. If you have affairs, not only will you spread disharmony among your fellow commune members, you will be distracted from your Revolutionary work. And what about children? This is no time to bring children into the world. With children, you have a family unit, the basis of all bourgeois life—’
‘There are methods, you know, for not having children.’
‘Slavkin is right,’ snapped Fyodor. ‘We must make sacrifices, Volodya. Those methods are not reliable in any case. Only if we learn self-control can we become true Revolutionaries.’
I didn’t trust myself to speak; I couldn’t look at Slavkin.
‘Oh, you are a herd of nanny goats,’ interrupted Nina, who was lying voluptuously on the sofa. ‘What are you all making such a fuss about? It’s normal. Look around you, everyone’s doing it!’
There was a pause.
‘Camel, we don’t want to let you down,’ said Volodya at last, almost pleading. ‘Tell us what you want us to do.’
Nikita stirred. He looked painfully disappointed, with dark shadows under his eyes. ‘Pasha is right, you can make your own choices. But we are attempting to put the needs of the collective before our own, do you understand? We must not have the commune splintering into sub-groups. In our Manifesto, we wrote that we’d abolish the private and the domestic. How will you avoid that?’
‘We’re not married,’ said Vera timidly. ‘I mean, it’s not as if we’re in love or anything,’ she added, blushing.
Slowly, with purpose, Nikita spoke. ‘I want you to promise that you will cease these sexual relations.’
Volodya made an exasperated gesture. ‘Really, Camel?’
‘Yes. Or you must leave the IRT.’
‘For fuck’s sake…’
Nikita stood up. ‘I think you should talk privately and come to a decision. Will you stay and abide by the rules of the commune, or go? Why don’t you let us know tomorrow?’
We were silent as he left the room. Vera was crying quietly.
‘Verochka, darling,’ said Marina, throwing herself down beside her sister, ‘we promised Mother we’d stay together and look after each other. I beg you not to go with him—’
‘Oh, leave her alone,’ spat Volodya. ‘Stop bossing her, Marina, for once.’
I slipped out of the room and went to check on the old ladies in their bedroom. Mamzelle was not well – she had a chest infection – and as I settled her for the night I was aware of Anna Vladimirovna watching me. No detail ever passed her by.
‘You’re shaking, Miss Gerty,’ she said. ‘Are you feeling well?’
‘No, no, I’m a bit tired, that’s all. I shall go straight to bed now.’
As I left the room, I heard her say in a loud, hoarse whisper. ‘I’ve always said it doesn’t do to let peasants have too much of a say. Now he’s ruling over them all like a tsar.’
The following evening Volodya and Vera announced to the meeting that they wanted to stay in the commune.
‘She wants to stay, and I don’t want to go on my own,’ said Volodya, with bad grace.
Fyodor raised his eyebrows. ‘You can hardly participate with that attitude.’
‘No, no, you know how much I think of the Camel. I said already, didn’t I? He’s got a brain, he has, and I want to give him a chance to make things fairer.’ Volodya stood up straight and looked Nikita in the eye. ‘You have my word, Camel – I’ll give it my best shot. That’s all I can promise.’
Nikita smiled at him, his sweet, whole-faced beam. ‘I’m so glad, Vova. We’ll vote on it straight away. Shall we give them a chance? Any member can be expelled if the commune feels they are poisoning the atmosphere. Put your hands up those who want them to stay.’
Dr Marina, Pasha and Sonya put up their hands straight away; Nina and Ivan casually signalled yes. Slavkin joined them, and I did too. Only Fyodor remained firmly against.
‘Well, you are on trial, Vova, Verochka. Be aware that we will all be watching you to see if you are keeping your word. All right?’