The czarina was pleased; both with my answer and her own clever proposition.

“Cossack, you are to enlist aboard a vessel in a western nation of your choosing, be it with the English, the French, the Spanish, or the Dutch, for temporary service. Once you have found yourself aboard a good vessel amongst a skilled crew, you shall write an account of your experiences, to be delivered to us in the form of a journal. However, we would also ask that you deliver frequent reports in the form of correspondence. Naturally, official dispatches addressed directly to the Czarina of All the Russias would arouse suspicion. Your messages must be written as if they are ordinary letters, and they are to be delivered to an intermediary correspondent… but whom should that be?”

I slowly raised my hand, “Your Highness, if I may suggest?”

The czarina nodded and Potemkin crossed his arms, as if he were expecting me to sputter some peasant nonsense.

“What if I were to disguise my correspondence as letters to a lover?”

The czarina chuckled, “Oh? Go on.”

“There is a certain officer in your Amazon Company that would be a perfect cover. I could write accounts of my experiences addressed to her, masked with sweetness and romance, then she could pass them on to Your Highness.”

As the words left my mouth, I almost felt ashamed to suggest this. It was as if I was putting Lieutenant Morozova between a hammer and an anvil, for I knew she had no eyes for me. I considered taking back my words, but this truly was a good idea, at least in my mind.

The czarina gave me a dainty applause. “An excellent idea. Even if the seal of the letters would be honored, technicalities and matters of military nature typically make terrible reading. A dash of romance, however artificial, would be very much appreciated.”

Potemkin scoffed, “Something to be read at the dinner table, Your Majesty?”

“Well, that depends how entertaining and eloquent this man is in his writing.”

The prince nodded and turned to me with a skeptical scowl. “Are you even capable of writing, Cossack?”

“Yes, Your Highness,” I said with a short bow. My jaw clenched, hoping that he would not prod any further.

“And how did you afford an education?”

My tuition was paid in years and wounds, not rubles and kopecks. Potemkin did not know it, but his simple question brought me back to the Crimea, when the crack of the whip was my morning rooster and my aching bones only reminded me that I was alive. I would have stayed silent, but when a prince speaks, one must answer.

“When I was a young boy, Your Highness, I was enslaved in the mines by the Tatars. I found myself fortunate enough to share my lot with a schoolmaster, who, despite his own suffering and labors, taught me numbers and letters to distract my mind from the pain and monotony of swinging the pickaxe. The ground was my classboard, thin sticks were my writing implements. Learning to read and write gave me hope that maybe God had willed something for me other than slavery.”

The czarina and Prince Potemkin exchanged looks. While she bore pity on her countenance, the prince’s face conveyed only unmistakable skepticism.

“Do you truly wish to go through with this, Matushka?” the prince’s whisper was soft, but the pavilion was quiet.

The czarina gave the prince a smile and a nod, saying out loud, “Yes, I truly do. I am the sovereign, after all, Grishenka. I do what I feel must be done.” She looked at me with a warm smile and said, “We will arrange the paymaster to award you, shall we say… forty rubles, yes. Forty should suffice, for travelling expenses.”

I felt my jaw drop. I had never seen forty rubles in my life. That was much more than some soldiers made in a year! I could live like a king, if only for a short time. The prospect of taking the money and running was certainly very appealing.

“Thank you, Your Highness,” I said with a low bow, “I will be sure to not disappoint you.”

“We aim to ensure that you will not.”

The czarina’s hand reached into a bejeweled strongbox and produced a magnificent golden medallion bearing the double-headed eagle of the Russian Empire. She bade me to come closer and placed the medallion in my hand.

“This is our seal, and you are to wear it at all times. It will mark you as a representative of the empire, and will keep you safe from the transgressions of foreign soldiers. However, we cannot say the same for the brigands and highwaymen that pollute our roads.”

“You have my most sincere gratitude, Your Highness.”

With a wave of her hand, the czarina dismissed me from her presence. I gave another bow and walked out of her pavilion with a smile. As I was leaving, I heard her call for a guard to “fetch Lieutenant Morozova.” Once again, I felt like I was exploiting her, and little drops of regret rippled in my gut.

“Monsieur Kazansky, how was the meeting?”

Andrei stepped out of the corner of the tent in a playful attempt to surprise me. He did not. I merely pursed my lips and replied,

“It’s been taken care of.”

“I trust you have chosen something sensible for your boon?”

“I chose, but the choice was also made for me.”

Andrei chuckled, “Whatever do you mean, monsieur?”

“Do you remember when we spoke briefly about the possibility of me commanding one of the czarina’s ships in the Black Sea?”

“Yes, I also recall telling you that it would not be the most appropriate thing to do, but perhaps the czarina disagrees with the opinion of a mere footman?”

I sighed and shook my head. “The czarina agrees wholeheartedly, as does Prince Potemkin.”

My shoulders sank as I sat down on the grass beside the pavilion. Andrei immediately took notice.

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“Whatever is the matter, monsieur? Anyone else would be thrilled at the prospect of going on an adventure!”

“First of all, Andrei Vasilyevich, it is not the particular adventure that I had envisioned. I am told that I must first travel to Europe to be a spy for Her Highness’s navy, where I am to learn the detailed minutiae of seamanship, as I am a mere whelp when it comes to knowledge of such things. I will not be able to have command of a vessel until I am judged to be capable, as His Highness Prince Potemkin made abundantly clear.

“Second of all, I fear I may have forced the hand of a mutual acquaintance of ours, Lieutenant Morozova. She is to be the unwitting recipient of my correspondence detailing the accounts of my travels abroad, and it was my idea to disguise my notes as love letters. You and I both know that she cares nothing for me, and I fear that I may be pushing her away even further.”

Seconds after the words left my mouth, I realized what I had just said. Before I could correct myself, a smile appeared on Andrei’s face.

“Ah, so you are fond of her? Very good, monsieur. Love is always a powerful tonic for the distress of faraway voyages.”

“Fool, love can only be a tonic if it is reciprocated! If it is a falsehood, then it is poison! My letters will be a mockery of courtship in a child’s game!”

“Letters to whom, Cossack?”

I bolted to my feet and turned around to see the vision that was Lieutenant Morozova standing before me. Her dark, curly hair fluttered ever so slightly in the gentle steppe breeze, and her eyes, laden with suspicion as they were, made me feel weak, even more so than in the presence of the czarina herself. She looked at me not with bitterness nor with joy, but regarded me as one might regard a subordinate.

“Answer me,” she said, her countenance unchanging.

“Letters… to…” I looked to Andrei, as if he held the answer to my dilemma.

Andrei bowed to the lieutenant, “Letters from the czarina to a clandestine recipient, Your Nobility. Her Majesty has all the details for you. If you would be so kind as to follow me.”

The lieutenant let out a passive “huh,” and followed Andrei into the pavilion while I waited outside alone. That gave me time to think.

Do I have feelings for her or is this some sort of attraction devoid of thought? Was I lusting for a woman because of their scarcity on the steppe? Or was she simply my soulmate, predestined by fate to be my lover?

Perhaps it was it her face, with her piercing eyes and her full lips contrasting against her pale skin that drew me to her. Her mind and soul as well; a warrioress of a quality so rarely seen in women of this age beckoned me to have her. I wondered if I would have to fight it, or fight her for her affections.

I pondered these things as I paced in front of the pavilion. From inside, I heard the czarina’s stifled laughter. No sooner had I turned to look, than Lieutenant Morozova and Andrei emerged from the pavilion. Irritation was on her face; staggered astonishment was on his. I could almost see her blood boiling through her eyes as she threw open the tent flap and tossed it behind her into Andrei’s face. She came before me with tense, heavy strides and thrust her finger at my chest.

“Do you think this is funny, Cossack? You pry me away from my official duties to the czarina for this play at romance?” She leaned in closer to me and hissed, “A lot can happen on the road from here to the west. A man could be robbed, or killed.”

I smiled at the way her brows creased when she was angry, and the way her pearly teeth gnashed as she spoke. Even the way she made the vague threat was adorable. She was close enough to me that her rosemary-scented perfume wafted up into my nose. I supposed that heaven smelled of rosemary, then, for this was as close as I could get to it.

A quick backhand to my face brought me back to earth.

“Are you even listening to me? Stop smiling like that!”

“But your fire is so strong it can only melt my heart,” I said with a grin.

“And I’m supposed to escort you all the way to the west? My God!”

My eyes widened.

“What do you mean ‘escort me?’ I was under the impression that I would go alone.”

She pursed her lips and extended her hand like a knife to my face.

“His Highness Prince Potemkin has ordered me to travel with you to the destination of your choosing. He fears it would not be wise to trust a ‘peasant,’ his words not mine, with forty whole rubles. I must admit he has a point. That sum is quite large for someone of your particular circumstances. He fears you would run away with it and never be seen again, hence my presence.”

“His Highness is wise to be cautious,” I said with a slight bow, as if I were talking to the prince himself. I was mildly aggrieved by the prince’s insinuation that I was a thief, but his reasoning was just. “But know that I will not shirk from my duty to the czarina. Say, why does Andrei Vasilyevich look like he has walked through a cemetery?”

The little man was indeed quivering in his boots. The lieutenant smirked and stepped aside, holding out her palm to the man as if to say, “let him tell you.”

“I am to come with you!” he screeched. “Out there! In the wilderness!” He ran his fingers down his face as if a great tragedy had befallen him and let out a wordless snivel.

I almost let out a hearty laugh, as his gestures reminded me of a spoiled child who was no longer getting his way. Lieutenant Morozova folded her hands and raised her chin at me.

“The czarina wishes to provide you with an education on the manners and bearing of a proper gentleman. If you are to represent her, you must do so with behavior that reflects well on Her Majesty and the Russian Empire as a whole,” she gestured to Andrei, “Monsieur Andrei Vasilyevich Kuznetsov will instruct you in these manners, including how to properly speak, dress, and act as a gentleman is expected to act.”

I scoffed, “I speak with the eloquence of Demosfen himself! I do not need to learn how to talk again!”

Lieutenant Morozova let out the slightest chuckle, “You mean Demosthenes.”

“What?”

“Coſsack, if thou art ſo lettered, art thou then familiar with the Rudiments of the Engliſh Language?”

I blinked for a moment, and repeated myself, “What?” Those were the first words I had ever heard in English.

“The English language,” she explained as she paced between myself and Andrei, “is the lingua franca of the western sailors. While those marching in armies speak French or German, many at sea are content to speak English. It seems that wherever there are boats in the North Sea there are damned Englishmen. Dutch boats, Englishmen; Danish boats, Englishmen; Russian boats, of course, captained by Englishmen. If you wish to seek employment on a boat, you must learn it.”

“How do you know these things?” I asked her. It was curious that a soldier — even an officer — would be so well versed in matters of culture and linguistics.

“I read, Cossack. You should do the same. Now then, I do not intend to dawdle. Gather your belongings and meet me at where the horses are hitched. I shall instruct the grooms to provide spare horses for you and Andrei Vasilyevich.”

I was about to thank her, but the lieutenant walked away before the words left my lips. I heard her grumble to herself as she strode off into the camp and found myself sighing at her.

I felt a tap on my shoulder, and I turned around to see Andrei looking up at me.

“Monsieur, do you really, truly need me? I can attest to the lieutenant’s knowledge of all matters related to language and etiquette. I know for certain that a lady of her stature surpasses me, and…”

I put a firm hand on Andrei’s shoulder and he let out a little whimper.

“Andrei Vasilyevich, do you see how much she pines for me? How much she longs to be ever closer just to hear the sound of my voice?”

Andrei furrowed his brow in confusion.

“I beg your pardon?”

“Yes, exactly. She has as much desire to teach me as you have to be on this journey. Like an ass tethered to a millstone, you must take up this duty and become my tutor, for I fear she does not have the patience to teach me. After all, did not the czarina command you to do this?”

“Y - yes,” Andrei stuttered.

“And as one of her footmen, surely you have witnessed the penalty for those who fail her.”

Andrei grit his teeth and stormed away, mumbling that he would retrieve his things since “duty demanded it so.”

The man was amusing, to say the least. His antics, although petulant, served as a sharp contrast to the lieutenant’s cold and dispassionate demeanor. At least he would be a pleasant companion to have on this long journey. As I looked towards the vast barrens beyond the camp, my mind wandered. Perhaps we would come across dangerous wildlife, or dangerous men; we might fall prey to nature itself and die of starvation in the woods beyond the steppe.

But ah, to roam free on a sturdy horse of good breeding — even if it was with two companions of vastly different skills — this was to be a glorious voyage indeed.