“No!” I shouted, climbing out of the carriage. “We mustn’t wait for any guards. Let me take him to the hospital. It is not much farther down the road.”
The grand duke looked at me. I could tell he suspected something. And he was right, of course. This was all my fault. Not that I compelled Count Chermenensky to attack Princess Alix, but still, I felt responsible. I had to make it up to the princess. And to the count.
“Please, Your Imperial Highness,” I said quietly. “I must see this through.”
He nodded and told his brother to go ahead and leave us. “We shall be fine. Send the carriage to the hospital to pick us up.”
The grand duke had a hand on Count Chermenensky’s arm and was already leading him down the street. “Sir, can you tell me your name? Where do you live?”
“I think he has amnesia,” I said again, over the count’s incomprehensible moaning. At least, I hoped it was incomprehensible. Would the grand duke remember the name of the soldier who had died at the Blessing of the Waters?
It was a windy day, and we were all frostbitten by the time we reached the hospital. The portly guard recognized the young grand duke immediately.
“Your Imperial Highness! What brings you to our military hospital? It is truly an honor to have you here!”
“This man with us needs medical care immediately. He was found wandering in Tauride Gardens.”
“Of course, right away, Your Imperial Highness.” An orderly helped Count Chermenensky into a wheelchair. We followed down the hallway as he was pushed into a large and cold examination room.
“Mis-tresss,” the count moaned, looking at me pitifully. He reminded me of my father’s favorite hunting dog.
“Have faith, sir. The doctor will make you feel better.” I patted Count Chermenensky on the shoulder.
In a low voice, the grand duke, behind me, said, “I wouldn’t be too sure of that.”
I turned to him in alarm. I was afraid that he saw something with his faerie sight. Surely he could not see the cold light as I did. The dead count was bathed in a blue glow, his cold light completely uncoiled. Before I could ask the grand duke what he meant, a short Austrian doctor walked in.
“What have we here?” He grabbed the count’s hand to check his pulse, and I held my breath. The count wouldn’t have a pulse. Or a heartbeat. Or a breath.
“This man was found half frozen in the woods,” the grand duke explained again. “We, er, believe he has amnesia.”
“Amnesia, eh? What is your name?” the gruff doctor practically shouted at the poor count.
“Count Alexander Eframovich Chermenensky,” the count said. My heart sank. So much for amnesia.
“Open your mouth,” the doctor said, and held the count’s tongue down to look at his gray throat. Then he looked into his yellowed eyes, and at his blackened fingernails. “Ja, ja, I see now.” He turned away from his patient to wash his hands in a basin on the washstand.
“Do you know what is wrong with him?” the grand duke asked.
“Of course I know what is wrong with him. This man is suffering from hepatitis and will continue to deteriorate slowly if not properly treated. He must be sent to the Crimea for the fresher air immediately.”
“Hepatitis?” I asked. I knew I should be thankful for the misdiagnosis, but I was shocked at the doctor’s incompetence. “Shouldn’t you conduct blood tests or examine the man’s urine before you determine what’s wrong?”
The doctor looked at me with disdain. He would have looked down his nose at me if he had not been two inches shorter than I. “And what would I find if I examined his water, young lady?”
“Tea-colored urine, with a strong odor, if he indeed has hepatitis.”
The doctor shook his finger at me. “Mind your own business, fräulein. I have practiced medicine for thirty-six years. I have never made a wrong diagnosis.”
The grand duke stepped forward. “I beg your pardon, Doctor, but you are certainly not speaking with a mere fräulein. She is the daughter of the Duke of—”
“Mis-tressss!” Count Chermenensky whimpered, and knocked the doctor over with a large clumsy swipe of his arm. I couldn’t help feeling just the tiniest bit proud for a brief second.
“Monsieur!” the grand duke said firmly. “You must control yourself.”
The furious doctor stood up with my help, straightening his glasses in a huff. “Take him to the Crimea and be gone with him! Ungrateful, wretched young ruffians …” He stormed out of the exam room muttering to himself.
“Mis-tressss,” Count Chermenensky whimpered again.
I sighed and patted him on the shoulder. “Do not worry. We will think of something.”
Grand Duke George leaned against the exam table, arms crossed. “I do not see why you found it necessary to insult the doctor. Why all the nonsense about tea and blood tests?”
“It wasn’t nonsense,” I said, crossing my arms too. I suddenly felt drained. Emotionally exhausted and physically tired. I slid down the wall to a sitting position. The count hunched down next to me. I sighed. “Since I was a little girl, I have wanted to be a doctor.”
“A doctor?” The grand duke looked at me as if I were crazy. “You?”
I nodded. “Women are allowed to attend medical schools in Paris and Switzerland. I know I would make a good doctor.”
He smirked. “Better than the one you just insulted?”
“No one should make a diagnosis of a fatal disease by merely glancing at a patient. It was irresponsible of him.” Even though it really had been in the count’s best interests. I should have kept my mouth closed. If I could just get him safely to the Crimea, maybe everything would be all right.
“We must leave the man here, Duchess. I must see you back to your home safely.”
“I am grateful, Your Imperial Highness. But I must return to Smolny this afternoon, and it is only a short walk from the hospital.” I had no idea what to do with the count. I had a feeling he would become agitated if I tried to leave him.
The grand duke reached out a hand to help me stand up.
I hesitated. His hand dropped to his side. “You waltz with vampires and parade about town with undead monsters, and yet you are afraid of me, Duchess?”
“He’s not a monster,” I whispered, staring at the grand duke in horror. He knew. All along, he had known. And he’d seen me dancing with Danilo at Le Bal Noir. I’d been too wrapped up in the crown prince’s attentions even to notice. “How did you know?”
“I recognized the poor man the moment I laid eyes on him. Thank God my brother did not, or he would have told the guards.”
“I found him in the woods,” I said, starting to sob. I had always hated girls who cried in front of boys. And here I was. “He called me his mistress.”
“I knew you had dark powers, but I never suspected something this terrible,” he said softly. “You brought a dead man back to life. Why would you do such a thing? Did you hate him? Had he scorned your love for another?”
“How could you say such a thing? No, it was nothing like that at all!” I closed my eyes, wishing the grand duke would just leave. He always saw the worst in me. The parts I couldn’t change, no matter how hard I tried. I took a deep, ragged breath. “I did nothing to bring him back. I had no idea it had even happened. Until today. When he found me.”
“You could not have done this without some sort of incantation or ritual.”
I shook my head. “I swear on my life, I have never performed any rituals. Even the moth at the Smolny Ball … I did that on purpose, but I had only to focus on the insect, and it just happened.”
The grand duke sighed, crossing his arms. “You know what must be done.”
“No, I do not know what must be done. I do not routinely summon people from the grave and have them follow me around!”