Pe urmele prințeselor Elena și Bălașa Cantacuzino (11) - Sir Patrick Fermor la Pucioasa

În 1967, Sir Patrick Fermor vine in România comunistă, incognito, să își revadă prietenele, prințesele exilate la Pucioasa. Iată cum relatează scriitorul britanic vizita de o noapte la Pucioasa (parcă le văd, exact așa cum le descrie Sir Patrick, pe vremea aceea tocmai începusem și eu orele de engleză și franceză cu cea căreia noi îi spuneam Doamna Donici):


”The moment the veto was lifted I went back to Rumania in 1965, with a short-term visa. Mixing with foreigners incurred severe punishment, but harbouring them indoors was much worse; so the visit had to be made by stealth, at night, and on the back of a motorbike borrowed by the Ophelia niece, who was working as a draughtman in Bucharest.

We found them in their attic. In spite of the interval, the fine looks of my friends, the thoughtful clear glance and the humour were all intact; it was as though we had parted a few months ago, instead of twenty-six years. Their horrible vicissitudes were narrated with detachment and speed: time was short and their were only brief pauses for sleep on a couple of chairs. The rest of our forty-eight hours - we dared risk no more - were filled with pre-war memories, the lives of our friends, and a great deal of laughter. It was a miraculous reunion. the sisters now eked out their state pittance by teaching French, English and painting.”


(Words of Mercury Taken from the article Rumania-Travels in a Land before Darkness Fell,  Daily Telegraph Weekend Magazine, 12 May 1990)