Elena shook her head and let go of both of us. “Do not worry about me! I have the most handsome partner here tonight, besides Danilo, of course!”
Danilo smiled again, showing perfect white teeth. There were no fangs, I noticed. But would he not grow fangs until his … ascension, as the princess Cantacuzene called it? It seemed a ridiculous story, and I wondered why I’d ever thought such dark thoughts about the crown prince. Even when I knew his sisters had done terrible things in St. Petersburg, I did not want to believe he was anything but the handsome young royal he appeared to be.
I felt his closeness, the warmth from his body. It made me shiver a little. That was when I told myself he might be an even greater spell caster than his sister, without even trying. He stirred my senses. I found myself wanting to know more about him.
As the first sounds of the polonaise played, I realized Elena was no longer standing next to me. The tsar and the empress glided around the ballroom, taking the first turn of the first dance. The ballroom was beautiful, and very elegant, draped in its black crepe. There were no flowers to decorate the tables, only white candles. The room sparkled with the candlelight reflected by the thousands of diamonds worn by all the ladies. In a severe way, it was even more beautiful than usual.
As the tsar and his wife finished their first sweep around the hot and crowded ballroom, the tsarevitch stepped onto the floor with his partner on his arm. Elena. I wondered why in heaven he’d asked her for the first dance when he most likely wished to dance with the princess Alix.
I looked around for her. The Hessian princess was nowhere to be seen.
The grand duchess Xenia joined in next, dancing with her Greek cousin, Prince Nicholas, and then soon everyone was swarming the dance floor. I wondered where the grand duke George was. Why was he not dancing the polonaise?
At the far end of the ballroom, I saw my cousin Dariya, on the arm of a sharply dressed cadet from the Corps des Pages. She gave a little wave, but her smile faded and her eyes grew wide as she noticed my partner. Then she disappeared from my view behind the hundreds of dancing couples.
“Shall we?” Prince Danilo asked. I noticed that his piercing black eyes were fringed with the longest lashes I’d ever seen. All thoughts of everyone else flew from my head. I felt a dizzying rush of delight.
“Of course,” I said, taking his arm. My heart beat wildly as our hands touched.
Prince Danilo was devastatingly handsome. And he danced well. I found myself reveling in the feel of his arms around me. Dancing with him was almost like flying. I saw the faces of several people as we twirled around: I noticed Maman and Papa dancing. Papa looked as if he’d rather be shot, but Maman was very happy. Petya was dancing after all, with one of the Stroganova princesses. I could not remember her name, but she was very pretty. The princesses Militza and Anastasia were dancing with their fiancés. Uncle George looked happy and in love. As much as I distrusted the Montenegrins, I had to thank Anastasia for helping him get over his late wife. He’d been mourning her death for far too long.
But I had better things to think of now. I looked up at Danilo and felt all my senses swimming as he smiled at me.
As the polonaise ended, I stepped back, a bit lost as Danilo moved away. His arms were no longer around me, and I wished the dance had gone on forever. Prince Danilo and I clapped politely for the musicians and wandered toward the rotunda, where a wine punch was being served. He brought us both glasses.
“Thank you, Your Highness,” I said, grateful for the cold drink. My throat was dry and I was out of breath. But I was certain that it was more than the exercise that had left me so dizzy.
“Thank you, for the wonderful dance,” he said, his voice low and hypnotic. “This is my first ball in your beautiful city, and I will never forget it.”
I strained to take in his every word. “It is unusual, to be sure,” I said. “Most are more colorful than this.”
The crown prince pulled my fingers to his lips. “Do not make excuses. The night has been perfect. And my dance partner has bewitched me.” He looked at me with his sleepy black eyes as if I were a queen.
I thought I would melt into the floor. I’d never been looked at like that before. It was thrilling and terrifying at the same time.
My heart raced until I thought it would burst. I would have sworn I could feel the heat from his kiss on my gloved hand. The fire raced up my arm and down my spine.
I shook myself as if to break a spell.
That was when I saw the grand duchess Elizabeth with her husband, the grand duke Sergei Alexandrovich, passing us in the hall. I needed some sort of distraction before I lost all my senses.
“Your Imperial Highness, is your sister here tonight?” I asked. “I have not seen her yet.”
The grand duchess shook her head. “I am afraid Alix is very unwell today and has stayed in her room resting. We went ice-skating again yesterday, and she is quite fatigued.”
“Mon Dieu,” I said. “Please give her my greetings. I hope to see her again soon.”
“Thank you, I will tell her,” the grand duchess said kindly. She nodded regally as I introduced her and her husband to the crown prince. Grand Duke Serge Alexandrovich, one of the tsar’s younger brothers, was a slim, wiry man with a mustache and beard. He was very possessive of his young wife. Taking her by the arm, he retreated with her to the grand hall.
“I suppose it would be presumptuous of me to ask for a second dance?” Prince Danilo said, smiling his charming smile again.
I couldn’t help laughing. He made me feel reckless. Almost enthralled. “It would be very presumptuous,” I told him. “But I shall accept, as you are new to the ways of St. Petersburg society.”
He grinned and took my arm to lead me back to the ball. Elena was now dancing with one of the officers from my brother’s regiment. She was having a grand time.
It was a waltz by Tchaikovsky, a dizzying, breath-stealing dance, and I was elated to be flying across the ballroom with the heir of Montenegro. The rest of the world fell away from us. I was conscious of nothing except his arms around me, his hands gently holding on to my waist. I wanted the moment to last forever.
But as the waltz ended, I saw Dariya whispering with Aurora Demidova. Surely they knew by now whom I was dancing with, and the speculations would soon start. They saw us heading toward the rotunda and quickly intercepted us. “Katiya!” Dariya said. “I don’t believe we’ve had the pleasure of meeting your beau.”
Neither girl was smiling. Both looked at the crown prince with icy disdain.
“Your Royal Majesty, may I present my cousin Dariya Yevgenievna and one of our fellow students, Aurora Demidova? This is Danilo of Montenegro.” I looked at Dariya a little guiltily and added, “Elena’s brother.”
“Enchanté, mesdemoiselles,” the crown prince said, bowing gallantly with a click of his heels.
Dariya and Aurora both curtsied politely. “How are you enjoying St. Petersburg?” my cousin asked.
“I am enjoying it very much,” Crown Prince Danilo said, staring at me. I could feel my cheeks burning with embarrassment. “But perhaps I have monopolized your beautiful cousin for too long?” He turned his dazzling smile on Dariya.
She must not have been quite so immune to his charms, for she finally smiled. “There are so many other girls here tonight eager to dance with you, Your Majesty,” she said.
“Then I would not want to break their hearts. Katerina Alexandrovna, I regret that I must leave you now.”
I curtsied to the crown prince as he gallantly kissed my hand once more and disappeared back into the throng.
Dariya linked her arm with mine, saying in a low voice, “Really, Katiya! What were you thinking? Elena’s brother!”