# Touch: Chapter 8



## Huilunsoittaja (Apr 6, 2010)

In a few days, Nadia's brother Sergei came to her home for a visit.

"I would like to invite you to a ball tomorrow night. A lot of my comrades and some other families from society will be there, but mostly young people. I think you will enjoy it," he said.

"I would love to come!" Nadia smiled. "I work in the evenings but I think my... employer will allow me to go."

"You mean the blind guy?"

"Yeah," Nadia frowned at that reference.

"Is it going well?"

"Yes," she muttered, and said no more about it.

That day, Nadia called Andrei's house and she heard the friendly servant on the other line.

"May I speak to Andrei? This is Nadia."

"Would you like to give a message?"

"Well, I prefer I would speak to him."

"Very well," there was a pause on the other end.

"Yes?" Nadia heard on the line a few moments later.

"Hello Andrei, I just wanted to ask your permission to be excused tomorrow night for an event. I've been invited to a ball by my brother."

"Yes, you are excused," he said, in a rather terse way, so Nadia thought.

"Thank you, I really appreciate it."

"I'm sure you do. Good-bye."

Nadia hung up the phone, puzzled by his address to her. He didn't seem very happy about it, but he let her go, nor did he ask for it to be made up. But that's all Nadia cared about, and soon the short conversation went out of her thoughts.

The evening of the ball Nadia wore a dark green gown with black laced edges, and went to the address which was a famous club for men in the center of town. But there were young men and women everywhere to be seen, and Nadia felt eager to come and be sociable for once, since her circle of acquaintances felt limited.

Walking into a rather glamorous ballroom, Nadia looked for her brother. She came upon an unusual sight.

Sergei was standing with a group of officers and other young men with a woman next to himself. He saw Nadia and smiled, beckoning her to come closer.

"This is my friend Katerina," he introduced her to Nadia with beaming eyes. "Her family came in town yesterday would you believe? Completely unexpected on my part. But I am so glad we are all here now!"

Katerina had blonde hair and blue eyes, but rather than being typically pale and frail as blondes are, she seemed quite energetic, and even had a slight tan. Nadia quickly found her as good-natured and lively. But this wasn't all that met her.

Another man was in the same group. Maxim Voronin.

He immediately saw her, although he allowed Sergei to first speak to her, but as soon as greetings were made between Nadia and Katerina, he pounced on her.

"Nadia! How happy I am to see you here!" he grinned handsomely. "I didn't expect you. But I just became acquainted with your brother now. He is under my uncle in the Artillery forces."

"What a coincidence! This world just gets smaller every day," she laughed.

"So you know Voronin?" Sergei asked.

"Yes, we met just a few days ago," Nadia smiled to Maxim. She felt an instant connection with him.

Nadia and Maxim stayed with each other for a long time, speaking warmly and enthusiastically about music and art and whatever interested either of them. They also danced together several times, although she made sure to have a dance with her brother as well. The celebrating and socializing went long into the night.

Around midnight, Maxim took Nadia away to a higher floor to speak with her privately. The whole night, he seemed more and more interested in her to the point of intimacy, and Nadia was surprised at how fast it was all happening, but she was not concerned.

"I don't wish to make you feel uncomfortable," he began as they walked a hall stretching along the foyer below. "I only want to get to know you more. I feel that... maybe we are tied in some mysterious way. Destiny maybe," he laughed.

"Indeed! I haven't had such an electrifying conversation in so long," she exclaimed. "I'm so happy that I've met you."

"What really interests me is this work that you're doing, it's extremely original. I've not met a woman who works as a music copyist in all my time as a composer. You should be proud of your position."

Nadia was truly complimented. "I thank you for your encouragement. Finally working with music, I think I've realized that it was a buried passion, something that was covered over for so long by so many other duties, and responsibilities I had. That seems to happen to things like music a lot, doesn't it?"

"Yes, it's quite disappointing," he frowned. "Just curious... have you met any other composers lately?"

"Well," Nadia dropped her eyes, "Yes... one man."

"Who?"

"Well, Andrei Gavrilov."

Voronin's eyes went wide. "He's been out and about already! I wish I could meet him sometime. He's such a recluse nowadays."

"He is."

"How did you meet him?"

Nadia's eyes flashed, and she looked around, trying to think of something to say, "Well, I... he's come to the publisher..."

"To bring you music?"

"Well... yes," Nadia felt confused and frustrated. She was telling a lot, but how much was too much? And was Maxim a risk anyway?

"What works?"

"Oh, I mean not to me personally, I mean... I nothing I know of it. I don't work with new music right now."

"Oh," he frowned, and said nothing for a while. "Well," lightening his tone, "I'm glad he's got back to composing. I wonder how he does it... would you have any idea?"

Nadia felt herself blush. Walking a little faster than him, she turned a corner to get out of his view for a moment so she could take a breath, but Voronin was right there with her.

"I probably shouldn't bother you about it though. But it's just that... he was a good friend of mine. We worked together splendidly. Have you heard any of my compositions? They are a lot like his. Although I admit... It's more the other way around. I feel I may have influenced him too much," he smiled, this time in a rather sly way.

Nadia stared at him. This was an unusual turn of conversation, and she couldn't understand why it was happening.

"No, I haven't heard any new music recently."

"I see..." he spoke in a gentle way, but Nadia could sense his treatment of her was rather strange. She could almost sense in his voice what he really meant, that is "I see... but I know the truth already."

Now that they were alone, Nadia felt uncomfortable around him for the first time in the whole evening.

"What's wrong?" he said. "You look nervous."

"Oh do I?" Nadia tried to change her expression. "I'm just tired, I would like to find my brother I think."

"Alright," he frowned again. His disappointed look made Nadia feel bad, and she didn't want to leave on bad terms.

"If you would like, let us meet again," she said cautiously. "At the Conservatory?"

"Of course, that would be easiest," they both walked down the stairs to the main floor. Guests were beginning to leave.

"Before you go, please, out of my great honor for you," he politely took her hand and kissed it.

Nadia felt herself flush again, and after whispering farewell escaped him to find Sergei. She could feels his eyes on her back.

Luckily Sergei was easy to find, having just finished talking with some people and was walking out at the same time. Nadia came up next to him, and went arm-in-arm with him, Katerina on the other side. They all talked cheerfully, and as they got outside to the carriages, Nadia saw Voronin in the dark watching her. She smiled at him, but she immediately felt uneasy, and turned away.

Getting home, she pondered everything that had happened.

"Yes, we like each other, and he's a splendid man... except for those few questions and remarks..." she frowned, pacing her apartment. "What made him act like that? Oh... I just hope I didn't say too much for Andrei's sake... but then, what does it really matter? He's a friend of Andrei. It's an imaginary threat, that's all. And after all, Andrei is pretty much a recluse, and probably over-conscious about keeping appearance and reputation and all. I've already seen that..." but she frowned, remembering the real reason why he was. The confusion didn't make sense, and thus she struggled with mixed emotions.

Nadia slept fretfully that night.


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