[The following takes place soon after Nicholas II abdicated his throne during the Russian Revolution.]
March 22 dawned bitter cold and overcast. Nerves on edge, Alexandra sat beside Alexei’s bed, whispering prayers and watching the clock. Every so often, the still-recuperating boy called out the minutes until “Papa” arrived.
Finally, there came the crunch of tires on the ice-crusted driveway. Minutes later, the door to the family’s private rooms flew open. “His Majesty the Emperor,” announced the family’s faithful butler, refusing to acknowledge recent events. Then Nicholas pounded up the stairs. Alexandra gave a little squeal as she leaped from her chair to meet him.
Together at last, husband and wife clung to one another. Tears streaming, Alexandra reassured him of her love. “My beloved, Soul of my soul… I wholly understand your action, oh my hero.”
And Nicholas broke down. Recalled Anna Vyrubova, “He sobbed like a child on the breast of his wife.”
Source:
Fleming, Candace. "Survivors of a Shipwreck." The Family Romanov: Murder, Rebellion & the Fall of Imperial Russia. 183. Print.
Further Reading:
Алексе́й Никола́евич (Alexei Nikolaevich, Tsarevich of Russia
Николай II (Nicholas II of Russia) / Nicholas the Bloody
А́нна Алекса́ндровна Вы́рубова (Anna Alexandrovna Vyrubova, née Taneyeva)
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