Inventing Wonders

Chapter 30: The Last Happiness

It was the second week without an emperor in Russia. This fact alone caused numerous events and worries. But the situation was aggravated by minor inconveniences that had become impossible to ignore. Larisa Konstantinovna, succumbing to the general mood, did not waste any time.

"You've lost your mind!" exclaimed the gray-haired attorney when the countess explained the nuances of her visit.

"You said the same thing when I invented an older brother for myself," nodded the girl and added confidentially, "but we both know I'm in my right mind."

"To rewrite everything? To the serfs?.."

"No," shook her head, "here are the papers. They are all free and my distant relatives. Pay special attention to Kirillushka!"

"You want to register your house in the name of a singing boy?" groaned the old man.

"Yes, and the estate, which, by the way, is not ancestral, I ask to be given to Pelageya Makarovna."

Lara sighed heavily, surveyed the room with a weary look, and before the bureaucrat could repeat his thesis about her madness, she added:

"Understand, the times are uncertain now. You know better than I what is happening in the capital and who my protector is. And if there is a revolt? What will the conspirators do to me? What will happen to this fortune? Would it be more pleasing to you to see my ruin? Don't you feel that all this is also your creation? We amassed this fortune in a year!"

She sighed sadly, looking piercingly into his time-dulled eyes. The old man was always moved by his client's sincerity. It was advantageous for him to manage the property of someone who hid nothing. Sometimes he felt like a priest. Moreover, the countess indeed had influential patrons. It was practically a sin to oppose such people.

"Larisa Konstantinovna, my dear, but what will you do if none of the things you worry about happens?"

"Fyodor Artamonovich, nothing will happen. We'll burn these papers together, drink wine, and laugh at my nervousness!"

In high spirits after such a productive visit, hastily tidying herself up and dressing more decently, Lara headed to the Anichkov Palace. She was supposed to meet with Nikolai. Recently, he had insisted on her frequent presence. However, Larisa Konstantinovna would be lying if she said she wasn't flattered by court life. She always gravitated towards being in the center of attention, and now there wasn't a person in Petersburg who didn't know her.

The weather was terribly cold but clear. For some reason, the girl decided not to take a carriage but to walk. Her behavior seemed less logical since the departure of all the house's residents. In the afternoon, a kind girl from the neighbor's kitchen would rush to bring some food, and in the evening, she would light the only fireplace. Pelageya had asked her to do this, reasoning that in her strange moods, the countess might completely forget about her earthly body. Of course, the kind-heartedness of the sudden helper was not entirely selfless. Larisa Konstantinovna faithfully left some coins at the entrance and kindly greeted the helper when she met her. Although the kitchen girl felt that the countess had no real concern for her and, once out of sight, would immediately forget her existence.

Lara felt like she was rushing along Nevsky Prospect, though in reality, she was barely moving her legs.

"Countess Vovk!" If court ladies were allowed to leap from ambush, Lara would have undoubtedly concluded that she was being ambushed. "Are you in a hurry?"

Somewhere near the Moika River, she was intercepted by Elizabeth Vorontsova, stately walking with her maid.

"Countess Vorontsova, what an incredible joy to meet you here! I'm ready to postpone all my rush for you!"