Chapter Text
Home of Viktor Mironov.
June 5, 1889.
Anna Viktorovna Mironova.
Dear Anna,
I hope you find this letter welcome and that it does not violate the newly established boundaries that we have agreed to respect. The exchange of letters being commonplace between friends, I trust that you will be amenable to continuing our correspondence. But if that is not the case and you wish for me to cease, I will refrain from contacting you in this way.
As I reflect on the most recent murder case, I believe we were equally well served by our pact. Your safety was preserved, and the investigation progressed apace and without disruption. I am even more aware now than I was before of the benefit I gain from your unique perspective and insightful questions. More aware now because I can view our shared conferences in an entirely professional light. Despite the tragedy evidenced in this case, I believe you can appreciate justice being done and may take satisfaction from solving the conundrums inherent in our work.
But those observations are not the impetus for this letter. I write to inform you of the good fortune that has come to the younger sisters of the Solonitsyn family. In less than a fortnight, the girls will begin their journey to Kryz’ke to live with a cousin, Ksenia Andropova, and her family. You should not worry about their welfare once they arrive. I have been advised that the Andropovs are kind and generous people, well-respected by their neighbors. The family is not wealthy. They are merchants and live comfortably but modestly with their four children, the oldest of which is a school teacher. You can be assured that they will not want for a proper education.
I know that it was you who arranged for the girls to remain in their home these past weeks. I cannot imagine how distasteful was your negotiation with Ignatov, for he is a foul man. That Kunistyn would readily agree to such munificence is easily understood, however, particularly when I learned that you were the one to have interceded. His admiration for you and appreciation of your assistance in the matter of Mr. Karavaev’s death are well-known.
The arrangements for the girls have been accomplished without disclosing the truth behind the sudden loss of their guardians. It is true that the older girl understands what her sister and father have done and the punishment likely to be meted out. She is bright, too, and comprehends the scale of harm society can inflict on her and her sister if news of this scandal clings to them. The Andropovs believe Mariya and her father to have perished in a tragic accident. You will scold me for promoting lies and for failing to openly defy societal convention. You will accuse me of perpetuating judgments that I am explicitly trying to avoid. I know how it vexes you - the injustice of placing blame on innocents because of a parent’s failure. I may not be passionate in my condemnation of society’s rigid attachment to propriety, particularly when it so clearly causes harm, but I think you know that I find just as much fault in such customs as you do.
I cannot in good conscience express a desire to see you soon, for we know under what conditions that would occur. But I will state that when we again cross paths, as will inevitably happen, it will be a great pleasure to hear your voice and to inquire of your wellbeing while you are standing beside me instead of through the medium of paper and ink.
Yours truly,
Yakov Platonovich.