(Sveta / Galina POV)
"What are you crying stupid?" (Sveta)
" It's humiliating... I have to sleep with him and you..." (Galina)
"You are really stupid girl. You should thank Wilkomir. What would happen to you if he did not take you under his roof? You would sleep with everyone for a little food, or you would find a drunkard husband... what would happen to your daughter? I have been with him for many years and yes, he is not a saint, but he never hit me, he didn't even yell at me. My children have a secure future. I learn to read and write... I don't think if I will eat tomorrow, but what I will eat. Wilkomir has his flaws, but he is a good man." (Sveta)
"A good man? You know how many people died when he captured Moscow... He keeps skulls in his office." (Galina)
"I don't know, but I know how many people he saved from Tatar captivity. Formerly, they attacked these lands almost every year, now it is rare... people live better and live without fear, many of them pray for Wilkomir. As for the skulls, I asked him about it... He said it was a reminder, no matter if you are a warrior, adviser or tsar, anyone can fall." (Sveta)
"He lives in sin and how can a sinner be a good person? God..." (Galina)
"God? I directed all my prayers to him. I prayed that my husband would not beat me and the children, that he would not drink, that my children would have a good future... and perhaps it was God who made Wilkomir appear in my life... I'm happy, and for that I thank God." (Sveta)
"I had a good life... I had a husband and I served in a good home." (Galina)
"You're young and don't understand much yet. Your life has changed and it's the past... you have to accept it, or you will be unhappy." (Sveta)
"How do you deal with his preferences in the bedroom?" (Galina)
"With difficulty... but with time I got used to it, and then I even liked it. Apart from my husband, the only man I slept with was Wilkomir and until I became his mistress, I did not know how much pleasure you can derive from it... and from what I have heard and seen, this pleasure is no stranger to you." (Sveta)
(End POV)
Ten days later I returned to Jazłowiec, officially I was not in Kiev, apart from the Tatars, nobody knew about it, and even they did not know what I was doing in the city.
I was sitting at a large oak table eating breakfast, Sveta, Piotr and Katarzyna sat on my right, Galina on my left, and her daughter Ksenia next to her in a specially made chair. Piotr and Katarzyna were natural, but there was an awkward silence between Sveta and Galina. I didn't know the reason, but knowing a woman, I was sure I'd find out sooner or later.
"Get ready to leave, we are going to Warsaw in a few days and we will spend a few months there." (MC)
It was quite a surprise, especially for Sveta who knew I do not like the capital and I avoided staying in it as much as I could.
"Something happened? Another war?" (Sveta)
At the mention of another war, Galina flinched and dropped her fork.
"No, this time it's a politics, I also got a letter from Wroński that he bought a printing house in Warsaw and I have to deal with it personally." (MC)
"Will you go back to writing books? I have read all your books and every evening I read your fairy tales and legends to Piotr and Katarzyna before they go to sleep." (Sveta)
"I don't know yet, maybe if I have a little more time... we'll see. It is also about time for Piotr to slowly learn about life in the seminary, the sooner he does it, the sooner he can go to Rome."
"He's not too young for that?" (Sveta)
My son is already ten years old, at his age I was Jacek Dydynski's punching bag, so a quiet stay in the seminary should not be a problem for him... A young boy in a seminary with adult priests... well, maybe he is too young.
"You may be right, but we'll see when we get there... Galina, why aren't you saying anything?" (MC)
She looked at me confused and scared as if she had done something wrong.
"Sorry, I was thinking ..." (Galina)
"You don't have to apologize, but I am curious about your opinion. As a mother, what would you like for your daughter in the future? Piotr will be a cardinal, and maybe even more, Katarzyna receives the best education and may even become the wife of the Prince or King." (MC)
"I don't know, Lord, I don't think so far into the future... It's all in God's hands." (Galina)
"As Saint Ignatius of Loyola said... Pray as if everything depended on God and work as if everything depended on you... therefore put your faith in God, but also take care of Ksenia's future yourself." (MC)
Not a whole week later we set off on our way to Warsaw, the most important thing will be to convince the great and influential people that Prince Wiśniowiecki should receive Moscow, and Aleksander Gosiewski receive the mace of the Great Hetman of Lithuania.
Of course, I will have the help of Tomasz Zamoyski, Hetman Potocki, and the interested parties themselves will use their influence, so it should not be a big problem... I regretted a little that Graf Ferber's position was so low, he had great influence in Gdańsk and Pomerania, but in Warsaw his voice did not matter much.
It took us eighteen days to get to the capital, a big contribution to this was the condition of the roads in Podolia, but it was enough to cross the provincial borders to make me miss modern shock absorbers... traveling in a carriage was worse than horse riding.