Konrad and Alexandra (pdf) - Rolf Gross

abduction. You do know that story?"
Of course she did, but nobody had ever told her of this bitter end of the Shamyl saga.
David spread his arms. "Ironically this situation is now in our favor. We aren’t
landowners like George Dadiani. My brother and I only lease this land from the emperor. And
because it belongs to the Russian crown it is not subject to the land reform. A thorn in the flesh
of Jordania’s Socialists. Sooner or later they will, of course, find a twist to disown the Russian
crown. We would be reduced to caretakers…." His voice trailed off. "Caretaker on my
ancestors’ land? I don’t think I want to be a part of that. I would probably leave like George
Dadiani before that happens."
David poured her a glass of cognac. "You need a drink. I see this comes as a real shock
to you, but at the moment we are considerably better off than George Dadiani because we
have not been landlords here for over seventy years. We are well liked in Kakheti and have
become a kind of historic relic, Kakhetian folklore. Admittedly we are poor devils by comparison
with George Dadiani."
He laughed bitterly.
"But don’t feel sorry for George and his family, he has stashed away enough money in
Switzerland to tide him over, whatever he decides. Don’t misunderstand me, George has been
exemplary in his generosity to your father and Tamunia. You know that I have the highest
regards for George’s business acumen."
She had never seen her otherwise gentle, sensitive uncle so bitter. Finally, she thought,
I discover the deeper reasons for the smoldering resentments between my two families.
David gave her a smile. "Tell me about yourself and Konrad. I hear you fled St.
Petersburg with only what you could carry. I can imagine that the social and political situation in
Russia has, under the pressures of this disastrous war, become dangerously chaotic. Have
you found suitable work in Tbilisi?"
She was touched and felt encouraged, here was someone who seemed to have an idea
of what they had been through. She described their life during the past few years and their
march across the mountains. She told him of the excellent jobs they had found. Finally she
confessed that the reason for her coming was the hope that he could explain to her the
confusing situation and the future of Georgia. "If one comes from St. Petersburg, Tbilisi
appears like a tiny paradisical island in a sea of collapsing empires. This illusion cannot last.
What then? That is why I asked you about your views on the land reform, not guessing what
abyss was waiting for me behind my question."
David looked past her and did not answer for a while. She followed his eyes and saw
the portraits of her ancestors on the back wall of the room.
He lowered his gaze. "Yes, they will destroy the Georgia your ancestors built. The old
landowning families will disappear to make room for a new order. Your wedding was the last
traditional celebration in this valley, even Konrad looked like a specter from the last century. He
reminded me of ill-fated Griboyedov marrying Tamara Chavchavadze eighty years earlier."
He smiled. "You did well to marry this man. And even better was your decision to study
medicine when this was barely conceivable for a woman from an aristocratic Georgian family.
You made the jump into a bourgeois life whether you knew it at the time or not. I admire Irakli
for giving you that freedom. I would not have had his courage and foresight had you been my
daughter."
365