Excerpt
LENINGRAD, JULY 12, 1974
As she slipped into the hotel dining room the next morning, breakfast was almost over and several of the students were pushing away their plates. Jennifer was conscious of the smirks. Surely no one had observed her early morning jog from the streetcar back to the hotel. She told herself not to care. They can’t know where I was last night. Anyway, it’s none of their business. At a corner table Professor Chopyk was poring over some notes. At least he didn’t miss me, she thought, so I won’t get another lecture on my morals. It was unlucky that Hank, who was given to ribald comment, was standing at the buffet table.
“It’s omelette this morning, Mrs. White. Good for your physical energy.” She could have sworn he winked. The use of the word Mrs. grated on her. She had just slept with a virtual stranger, though she was technically a married woman. But she forced herself to smile pleasantly at the red-haired man. Catching Natasha staring at her, she met the gaze headlong. Natasha turned away and rapped her knuckles on the table, calling for silence.
“Now that everyone is present,” she said with a glance at Jennifer, “I will inform you of today’s itinerary. At 10 a.m. exactly, you are to assemble at the bus. We go to Peter’s Palace which was built by Peter the Great after he was inspired by a visit to the great French palace of Versailles in 1717. You will see his famous office, his own Monplaisir, with its view to the west, and the picture gallery with its 365 paintings. There will be time to walk in the gardens to see the golden statues and the trick water fountains that might surprise you with a shower.” She smiled.
Damn, thought Jennifer. I’m supposed to meet Volodya at 1 o’clock and it doesn’t sound like we’ll be back in time.
Libros Libertad 