Kshesinskaya got up from her chair, went to the piano and began to lightly play melodies from Chopin's nocturnes.

— We really want to, — Robert was alarmed, — please continue. We are listening to you carefully. So the tsar persuaded you to seduce the composer Tchaikovsky. How could he convince you and what reason did he have for this?

— Very simple. He promised me all the title roles in the upcoming ballet season. How could I refuse such a gift?

— Well, for what purpose did he go for it?

Matilda stopped playing the piano for a moment and looked at her audience with a smile.

— Our cunning king wished to kill two birds with one stone at once. Firstly, to defame me to Niky and separate us, and secondly, he really hoped that after my hugs and charms, Tchaikovsky would get a taste and take the path of normal relations with the female sex.

The audience looked at each other in shock.

— Why are you so surprised? The whole empire knew about my love affair with Niky, and there were always bad rumors about Tchaikovsky's strange behavior.

Kshesinskaya finished playing Chopin and began to type the notes of the well-known "Chizhik-Pyzhik".

Do you remember this crazy song? Pyotr Ilyich composed it when he put on the black and yellow uniform of the law school, which was located on the Fontanka.

— And what, they drank vodka in this school? Josephine chuckled.

Kshesinskaya laughed ironically.

— You can immediately see Zhozya that you were born in the era of Marxism-Leninism. Then on the Fontanka, in the basement, the tavern was where the future lawyers would go. True, Tchaikovsky hardly drank vodka, but the song about the fawn-fawn took root there.

— Well, who is to blame that you, Malya, were born in the time of Tsar Pea and remember the Old Testament details? — Josephine said with mock resentment, provoking Kshesinskaya to more significant memories.

— I remember a lot of things, — the former prima said meaningfully.

— Okay, we are well aware of your intimate relationship with members of the royal family. Better tell about how you seduced Tchaikovsky?

— Very simple. Early in the morning I went to the maestro's apartment and immediately applied the most reliable method.

— Which?

— Women's cry, turning into hysterics. Works flawlessly on men.

Yes, but you need a good reason to cry. Tchaikovsky himself could not offend you so much as to bring you to hysteria.

— Of course not.

— Well, what caused you to cry?

— Not what, but who. Petipa. Marius Ivanovich Petipa. This paddling pool always pursued me, found fault, deliberately did not put me in the first roles. Especially when the heir to the throne himself was sitting in the imperial box with his mother, the queen.

— Why did he do it? Was he really that mad at you?

— Not at all. On the contrary, he was delighted with me.

— So why?

— At the instigation of the Empress. This German hag in every possible way prevented our love with the heir. Remind me Robert, I'll tell you someday what tricks I had to go to in defiance of the maestro to go on stage and please Nicky with my presence.

— This juicy story I myself will tell Robert. Better continue the story about the seduction of Tchaikovsky.

— So. With a load of resentment against Petipa, I showed up at Tchaikovsky's house.

— And you managed to seduce him? Robert asked.

— Hell no. As soon as I rushed to his chest with a cry, the bedroom door opened and from there came out in underpants the mustachioed Joseph Kotek, or as my Kotik affectionately called him.

— Well, what happened next?

— And then nothing. As soon as the half-naked Kotek appeared, I immediately realized that I had nothing to do here. I got dressed and left quickly.

Kshesinskaya stopped playing music and moved back to her chair.

— And you told the king about all this?

— Of course!

— And what was his reaction?

And he wasn't particularly surprised. He knew about it, but now he has received reliable evidence.

— Which soon killed Tchaikovsky.

Robert's words seemed to hang in the air. Matilda was the first to break the silence.

— You're right. After this incident, the tsar's entourage did not have to convince him to give tacit consent so that the court of honor sentenced the composer to suicide.

— Is the official version of Tchaikovsky's death from cholera a fiction?

— Of course it's a hoax. Where has it been seen that a person who died of cholera was buried in an open coffin, which was carried throughout St. Petersburg, accompanied by a huge crowd of citizens, some of whom kissed the deceased? Tchaikovsky was sentenced to suicide. The main instigator and inspirer of the court of honor was the head of the imperial stable, Count Stenbock-Fermor. Although our king did not like to ride, he was a frequent visitor to the stable, admired the handsome horses, caressed and fed them with carrots from his hands. Stenbock had an old grudge against Tchaikovsky. Allegedly, while studying law, he molested his nephew.

— Was it true?

— It was hard to say whether it was true or slander now, but the supreme equerry managed to convince the tsar to arrange a trial for Tchaikovsky. Arsenic was poured into a glass of water, and either he had to drink it or be dishonored. Tchaikovsky chose the first.

Everyone fell silent under the impression of what was said. Matilda was a living eyewitness of those events and there was no reason not to believe her.

— It turns out that Tsar Alexander was involved in the death of a genius? the American asked.

— It turns out so, and for this his conscience tormented him until the end of his life, — Kshesinskaya summed up.

— Okay! — Josephine decided to return the conversation to the previous topic, — you failed to seduce Tchaikovsky and you and Niky continued to commit adultery.

Kshesinskaya's face at the word "adultery" distorted a grimace.

— Adultery is