Konrad and Alexandra (PDF) - Rolf Gross

obligations, and she, ever since they had set up a common household, kept tight control of her impulsive buying.In appreciation of her circumspection, he would take her out to dinner every so often or to buy with her an exceptionalpiece of clothing, like the new winter coat she needed badly as it became colder.Not to embarrass him in public, she would slip him a liberal amount of money before they entered the establishment.Konrad would laugh, "If other men would know how luxurious the life of a kept man is, they would all convert to ourarrangement!"Because married women could not open a bank account, she opened one in her own name, which proved sufficient tomake the bank’s manager serve her personally. She was aware that she was feeding the rumor mills with her unorthodoxbehavior, but that never bothered her.All of this had another advantage—Konrad did not have to know how much money her father sent his beloved daughterin occasional transactions. They were rather large sums. She made no secret of her father’s financial contributions, buthe did not have to acknowledge or bother with them.So it required no long discussions or begging to hire a cleaning lady twice a week when she could no longer bend downeasily. But she continued to prepare all their meals, it had become not only a ritual of their life, but an exploration into thefoods of other countries.Occasionally Alexandra met with Niko for lunch when their classes coincided. On one such occasion she invited Niko andOtar for dinner. She promised Niko a Georgian feast—without tamada unless he wanted to preside—which he graciouslydeclined. Quite casually she suggested that he bring a girlfriend. "If you have one," she teased with a smile. "And one ofyour radical friends. And if he has a girlfriend, he should bring her too. Niko smiled sarcastically. "My friend VladimirNomikoff might take you by surprise. I have not seen him for a long time."Alexandra frowned. "Vladimir Nomikoff?" She pronounced every syllable. "I think I know him: arrogant, good-looking, andwith a first-class background, but Vladimir a political radical? I thought he was a poet."Niko looked at her in surprise. "Yes, that is he. Well, radical is slightly exaggerated, his father is an influential politician,who has been in custody off and on for criticizing the government. Vladimir went to the Gymnasium with me. The familychauffeur delivered him every morning in his father’s Wolsley! One day he left the school. He was too arrogant tosubordinate himself. His father got a tutor for him. But where did you meet Vladimir?""At Konrad’s summer ball." She said nonchalantly, trying to divert him from this subject. "Do you have a girlfriend who isnice?"Niko blushed. "I met her at the same occasion. We are good friends, her name is Nina."Eventually she also invited the Sisakians.Niko’s friend Nina turned out to be a blond, sensitive Russian girl who quite obviously adored Niko. She willingly offeredto help in the kitchen, anxious to pick up one or another of Alexandra’s Georgian recipes.Konrad, meanwhile, talked to Niko about physics. He had borrowed some introductory books from the university libraryfor him and tried to describe some of the latest, revolutionary developments in this field, the controversy about the natureof light, and the discovery of wireless transmission by electromagnetic waves. Niko, who had listened around at school,hung on Konrad’s words.Vladimir arrived late—driven by his father’s chauffeur in an open Benz-Landau—accompanied by a dark-haired, lusciouspetite in a fabulous dress.Alexandra raised an eyebrow. This complication she had not taken into account, but Vladimir was his studied self, theperfect gentleman. He kissed Alexandra’s hand."Princess Dadiani-Rost may I introduce my friend Rebecca, also known as Becky."And then Alexandra made a mistake. Was it Becky’s presence that confused her or Vladimir’s faultless aplomb? In anattempt to disarm him and to make him more human, she said, "Valdimir Vladimirovich, may I ask you to drop my father’stitles and simply call me Alexandra as everybody does who is present tonight? And would you permit me to address youas Vladimir?"He allowed it with a slight inclination of his head and a supercilious smile. Only she noticed the trace of a blush on hisarrogant face.Becky appeared bored. Obviously she was used to circulate in the illustrious circles of Vladimir’s parents and had sometrouble adjusting to Alexandra’s informality. She was not a student, she explained in fluent French, if one disregarded herdilettante attempts at painting and playing the piano.Alexandra introduced her to Marti explaining that he was a painter who had just arrived from Paris. Becky’s disdainfulapathy disappeared, her father was a passionate collector of impressionist and contemporary French art, in fact, herparents had just left for Paris to search for new paintings.Alexandra carefully mixed the couples around the table. With a mischievous eye she watched her husband and his exoticneighbor. Would sparks fly?Konrad had found a supplier of Georgian wines and had bought a good Tsinandali, which Vladimir, the connoisseur, dulyacknowledged."Oh," Niko shrugged indifferently, "this is a wine from my grandfather’s estate."57