Nemoville by Brian Stableford

Author:Brian Stableford [Stableford, Brian]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Black Coat Press
Published: 2012-07-19T00:00:00+00:00

C. Paulon: The Blue Laboratory

(Paul Combes)

(1898)

Miss Madeline Rennick was an orphan, who no longer had any close relatives, and who made her living in London—with some difficulty—giving private lessons. So, when Dr. Chance, an English-born naturalized Russian living in St. Petersburg, offered her a hundred pounds sterling a year to provide an education for his two daughters, she resolved to accept the situation without a minute’s hesitation.

She said goodbye to her friends, and packed her trunk. She took with her, among other things, a small revolver with a silver handle, and fifty bullets.

She arrived in St, Petersburg without any mishap. Dr. Chance was waiting for her at the station. He was a rather handsome man, but myopic, having passed fifty.

He greeted the governess with cold politeness, gave instructions for her luggage, and took her directly to his residence on the Ligovsky Canal. There, the young woman was received by Madame Chance, a woman who seemed to be, in every respect, the opposite of her husband. She was half-Russian and half-German by birth, conducted herself in a manner full of curiosity, and was also as uncongenial as possible.

Miss Madeline’s two pupils were pretty girls, though. The older was tall and had her father’s dark eyes; she had a beautiful frank expression; her name was Olga. The younger was shorter, with sharp features; she was called Maroussa. Both spoke English quite well, and the warmth of their welcome made the governess forget their mother’s indifference.

It was about a month after her arrival in St. Petersburg when Maroussa said to her one afternoon: “You must find it terribly dreary here?”

“Not at all,” the governess replied. “I’ve wanted to see Russia for a long time.”

“You know, of course, that our father in English, He’s been living in Russia since the age of thirty. He’s a great scientist. How your eyes shine, Miss Madeline! Is it because science interests you?”

“I took a course in science at Girton,” the young Englishwoman replied—and she returned her attention to the Russian novel that she was reading.

At that moment, a coldly polite voice spoke almost in her ear. She looked up, and to her great astonishment saw that Dr. Chance, who never—or hardly ever—favored the female gatherings of his family with his presence, had come into the room.

“Did I hear correctly?” he said. “Is it possible that a young lady like you is interested in scientific matters?”

“I like science immensely,” Miss Madeline replied.

“It gives me great pleasure to learn that. The fact is that I came expressly to ask you to do me a favor. At times, I experience an intolerable pain in the right eye. If I make use of it, on such occasions, the agony becomes worse. I’m suffering that torture today. Would you come downstairs and act as my secretary for a few moments?”

“Certainly—I’d like that.”

Immediately, Dr. Chance headed for the door, beckoning Miss Madeline to follow him. Two minutes later, she found herself in his study. It was a vast room, whose walls were garnished

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.