hug.
‘I thought I’d call to see if you’d settled in all right, and if I could help in any way,’ she told me.
‘Why don’t you take your friend to your room to talk? I’ll look after the children for a while.’
‘Thank you, Nyanushki ,’ I said, with heartfelt gratitude.
It was such a relief to have some time in private, to be able to share my concerns over the recent squabbles and misbehaviour and how inadequate I felt at dealing with the children.
‘According to Nyanushki , the last governess took such a dislike to Serge that she deprived him of his food and half starved him,’ I said. ‘No wonder he’s such a trial, the poor boy doesn’t trust anyone. Even his own mother is either over-indulging him, or encouraging him to play silly practical jokes.’ I finished by telling Ruth what had happened back home at Carreckwater when he’d almost drowned Irina in the lake.
She was shocked. ‘It is important to set out your rules and acceptable standards of behaviour from the start. But it shouldn’t be necessary to impose dreadful punishments. A little talk, perhaps, or sent to bed for a rest until they recover from their tantrum.’
‘Quite. It seems to be mainly Irina who suffers. The child was made to stand in the corner with her hands on her head at tea the other day. She might have been there for ages had her father not intervened,’ and we were soon both laughing as I told the tale.
‘I’m sure matters will improve. They’re just testing you. Anyway , the real reason I called was to offer to help you buy the right clothes. Winter is coming and you can’t wear that old shuba of mine for church or the theatre. It’s an absolute disgrace. We really should go shopping. Then I’ll introduce you to the British and American chapel.’
‘Oh, that would be lovely.’
Nyanushki agreed to sit with the children the following afternoon , and the outing was duly arranged.
My new job had not begun well, due largely to my lack of experience. But I realised that if I was to hold on to it, and protect the children from their bully of a mother, I would need to quickly improve.
TEN
I t felt wonderful to be out and about discovering the delights of this beautiful city of canals, rivers, islands and bridges, with its well-deserved title of ‘Venice of the North’. Ruth took me to see St Isaac’s Cathedral with its classical pillars and golden dome, and then we made our way to the Palace Square, or Dvortsovaya Ploshad , dominated by the magnificence of the Winter Palace, before entering the Nevsky Prospekt. This seemed to be the very heart of the city, a busy thoroughfare with impressive architecture, amazing statues, street artists and any number of fascinating shops.
‘I’m already growing quite fond of the children,’ I told Ruth as we strolled along arm in arm, ‘particularly Irina, despite their naughtiness at times. But it’s good to enjoy a little adult company for a change, and be free of the worry and responsibility of them for an hour or two.’
‘I know the feeling,’ she laughed.
I bought a new warm coat, complete with hood and fur lined, although with cony, not beaver; a pair of woollen trousers that fastened underfoot; and beautiful beige felt Valenki boots that came right up to the knee.
‘They are so soft and warm,’ I said, hugely impressed.
‘You can wear them indoors to keep warm on cold winter days, or when outside you can slip a pair of galoshes or rubber boots on top to keep out the wet. You’ll find this particularly necessary when the thaw begins.’ The shop assistant hurried away to fetch me a pair of those too.
Ruth next insisted I buy a large packet of envelopes, and carefully wrote out my new address in Russian on one of them. ‘Now you can copy that address on to all the other envelopes and send them home for your parents to use.’
‘Wonderful! You have been so kind to me.’ We were standing on a bridge overlooking the canal, admiring the golden
‘I thought I’d call to see if you’d settled in all right, and if I could help in any way,’ she told me.
‘Why don’t you take your friend to your room to talk? I’ll look after the children for a while.’
‘Thank you, Nyanushki ,’ I said, with heartfelt gratitude.
It was such a relief to have some time in private, to be able to share my concerns over the recent squabbles and misbehaviour and how inadequate I felt at dealing with the children.
‘According to Nyanushki , the last governess took such a dislike to Serge that she deprived him of his food and half starved him,’ I said. ‘No wonder he’s such a trial, the poor boy doesn’t trust anyone. Even his own mother is either over-indulging him, or encouraging him to play silly practical jokes.’ I finished by telling Ruth what had happened back home at Carreckwater when he’d almost drowned Irina in the lake.
She was shocked. ‘It is important to set out your rules and acceptable standards of behaviour from the start. But it shouldn’t be necessary to impose dreadful punishments. A little talk, perhaps, or sent to bed for a rest until they recover from their tantrum.’
‘Quite. It seems to be mainly Irina who suffers. The child was made to stand in the corner with her hands on her head at tea the other day. She might have been there for ages had her father not intervened,’ and we were soon both laughing as I told the tale.
‘I’m sure matters will improve. They’re just testing you. Anyway , the real reason I called was to offer to help you buy the right clothes. Winter is coming and you can’t wear that old shuba of mine for church or the theatre. It’s an absolute disgrace. We really should go shopping. Then I’ll introduce you to the British and American chapel.’
‘Oh, that would be lovely.’
Nyanushki agreed to sit with the children the following afternoon , and the outing was duly arranged.
My new job had not begun well, due largely to my lack of experience. But I realised that if I was to hold on to it, and protect the children from their bully of a mother, I would need to quickly improve.
TEN
I t felt wonderful to be out and about discovering the delights of this beautiful city of canals, rivers, islands and bridges, with its well-deserved title of ‘Venice of the North’. Ruth took me to see St Isaac’s Cathedral with its classical pillars and golden dome, and then we made our way to the Palace Square, or Dvortsovaya Ploshad , dominated by the magnificence of the Winter Palace, before entering the Nevsky Prospekt. This seemed to be the very heart of the city, a busy thoroughfare with impressive architecture, amazing statues, street artists and any number of fascinating shops.
‘I’m already growing quite fond of the children,’ I told Ruth as we strolled along arm in arm, ‘particularly Irina, despite their naughtiness at times. But it’s good to enjoy a little adult company for a change, and be free of the worry and responsibility of them for an hour or two.’
‘I know the feeling,’ she laughed.
I bought a new warm coat, complete with hood and fur lined, although with cony, not beaver; a pair of woollen trousers that fastened underfoot; and beautiful beige felt Valenki boots that came right up to the knee.
‘They are so soft and warm,’ I said, hugely impressed.
‘You can wear them indoors to keep warm on cold winter days, or when outside you can slip a pair of galoshes or rubber boots on top to keep out the wet. You’ll find this particularly necessary when the thaw begins.’ The shop assistant hurried away to fetch me a pair of those too.
Ruth next insisted I buy a large packet of envelopes, and carefully wrote out my new address in Russian on one of them. ‘Now you can copy that address on to all the other envelopes and send them home for your parents to use.’
‘Wonderful! You have been so kind to me.’ We were standing on a bridge overlooking the canal, admiring the golden
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