The woman’s eyes flicked toward their carriage, but she kept on walking.
“That couldn’t have been Dr. Starova,” Marianne said, shifting in her seat. “She said she was going to get us some tea.”
“Why would she need to get off the train to get tea?” Delphine looked puzzled. “It can’t have been her.”
The train started to pull out of the station.
“Did anyone see her get back on?” asked Sophie. The others shook their heads.
They sat silent for a couple of moments, each of them waiting for Dr. Starova to pull back the curtain and step into their compartment.
After a few more minutes, Sophie said, “She’s not coming.”
Marianne said, “There are one hundred and forty million people in Russia. The chances are it was just someone who looked like her.”
Sophie shook her head. “It’s no use, Marianne. ItwasDr. Starova I saw on the platform. She’s left us on the train.”
There was a longer silence. Sophie felt her heart pick up speed in time with the train. They were now slipping farther and farther away from the station, through the blizzard, into the vast, empty countryside. But where were they heading?
It was unbearable. Sophie stood up.
“What are you doing?” Marianne said.
Sophie didn’t know. She stared out of the window but saw only her own face staring back.
Delphine said, “You got it wrong, Sophie. Dr. Starovamustbe on the train because … if she got off …” She turned a blank face to Marianne. “Do you know where we’re going?”
Marianne looked down at her ticket. She stared very hard at the writing. “I learned the alphabet,” she whispered. “I ought to be able to read what it says.”
Sophie sat down again. She and Delphine waited quietly.
After a minute or so, Marianne looked up. It was clear she was upset. “I’m really smart,” she whispered. “I know I am. But I don’t understand what’s written on the ticket.” She took her glasses off and rubbed her eyes.
Sophie said, “I think that says Saint Petersburg.” She pointed to the top left-hand corner.
“Even I knew it said that,” Delphine said. “It’s two words.”
Marianne chewed her lip. “I’m sorry,” she said. She folded her ticket up and put it in her pocket. And then, her face crumpling, she whispered, “What are we going to do?”
Sophie tried to think, but she felt like her brain was as full of swirling snowflakes as the night outside. She simply could not make sense of what had happened. Their three reflections in the window seemed very small as the train hurtled through the night.
“Let’s call the conductor.” Delphine got up and pulled the curtain open. She stepped out of the compartment, but then froze. “We won’t know how to explain to him,” she gasped. “We can’t speak Russian.”
Sophie, realizing that her Russian amounted to just three words, said, “We’ll just have to make him understand somehow.”
“Understand what?” Delphine looked on the verge of tears. “That we’ve been left on a train? That we don’t know where we’re going?”
She came back into the carriage, drew the curtain closed again, and sat down. She took off her hat and raked her hands through her hair.
Marianne had her thoughtful face on. “Let’s think about this logically,” she said. “Did someone forget to tell us something? Miss Ellis seemed a bit stressed.”
“I’m going to call her.” Delphine got out her phone. She tapped at the screen and put the phone to her ear. Sophie held her breath. Delphine shrugged. “It just rings and rings. I can’t even leave a message.”
“Beel-yet!”The conductor, a small wiry man wearing a peaked cap on the back of his head, pulled back the curtain. He stood with his hand out. The girls didn’t move. He smiled and said more loudly,“Beel-yet!”
“What does he want?” Marianne asked.
The man said, “Teekits!”
