Mikhail was baffled by his nephew’s indifference to the religion of the people he dealt with: not only with regards to his customers – protecting, in turn, his business – but also with others, the people he met at cafés, or entertained in his house, or paid visits to. He was also baffled by how effortlessly Émile could strike up a rapport with the Italian officers. He didn’t simply treat them with respect because they represented the local authorities, he welcomed them cordially, even sought them out. Were these relationships as important to him as his family ties? Did they serve a purpose, or was he simply mistaking them for customers? How could anyone manage affairs that weren’t strictly useful or dictated by necessity, and what rules were these affairs subject to?
Mikhail had opened a
