“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” I whispered, pulling away from him. “Please leave me alone.”
The crown prince smiled. “Just because you are protected does not mean those closest to you are safe.”
I gave him the frostiest gaze I could summon. “Stay away from me. And stay away from my family.” I turned on my heel and walked off before he could grab me again. I was shaking as I heard the crown prince laughing behind me.
Maman turned to look at me as I slipped back into our box and sat down. “Where on earth have you been?” she whispered.
“I needed fresh air,” I hissed back, still seething inside. I knew she would be hysterical when she discovered the engagement had been broken off, but I would let her know in the morning. Princess Cantacuzene would be disappointed as well, since it would interfere with her own schemes. As for Princess Militza, I was no longer afraid of her. Not much, anyway.
Maman took me to see the empress and Grand Duchess Xenia after the end of the second act.
The empress’s brown eyes twinkled and she smiled kindly. “My dear, we have heard news of your engagement. Congratulations, Katerina Alexandrovna.”
“Thank you, Your Imperial Majesty.” I curtsied. She would have more gossip the next day when she heard of the engagement’s being broken. I could not tell the empress without telling Maman the bad news first.
Grand Duchess Xenia followed me to the anteroom behind the imperial box, where servants stood ready to pour wine or tea. There was a feast of hors d’oeuvres, called zakuski in Russian, laid out on a white linen–covered table. We each took a small glass of wine and sampled some of the caviar. “Tell me about the prince’s proposal!” the grand duchess said. “Was it in the moonlight? Did he get down on his knees?”
I smiled weakly. “Not at all. It was at Grand Duchess Miechen’s ball. And he most definitely did not get down on his knees.”
“Did he kiss you?” the grand duchess asked. Mon Dieu, she was a nosy thirteen-year-old.
I blushed. “I cannot tell you that, Your Imperial Highness.”
“He did!” she exclaimed, laughing.
“He did what?” the tsarevitch asked as he and his brother appeared, taking glasses from the impeccably dressed servant’s silver tray.
I almost choked on my wine.
“Katerina Alexandrovna was telling me about the night her prince proposed to her.” Their sister giggled. “And the prince kissed her!” I felt my face burn scarlet.
“Congratulations, Duchess,” the tsarevitch said warmly. “It is a wonderful match. And we will be calling you Your Majesty one day!”
I should have confessed right then the engagement had been broken. But instead, I said, “Thank you, Your Imperial Highness,” with a feeble smile. I could not bring myself to look at the grand duke’s face.
“Will you be married in St. Petersburg or in the prince’s country?” Grand Duchess Xenia asked.
“Most likely Cetinje, though it upsets my mother so.” This conversation was ridiculous. I was discussing a nonexistent engagement and wedding plans that were no longer valid.
“You leave many responsibilities behind in St. Petersburg,” the grand duke said in a low voice while Xenia asked the tsarevitch something about the ballet.
I glared at him. “You know nothing of my responsibilities, Your Imperial Highness,” I whispered back.
“Don’t I?” he said softly. “Your troubled friend was sighted, not four days ago, across the Neva River.”
“The count?” I whispered. I almost dropped my plate of blini. “Why did you not send me word?”
“What would you have done? Run after him? That would not be safe, Duchess. I am merely pointing out the fact that you have created a mess that you would leave behind for your new life in Cetinje. Besides, would your fiancé approve of your traipsing through the woods after an undead count?”
I almost told him right then and there about the Vladiki, and Princess Cantacuzene and Miechen. I almost told him that I had just broken off my engagement. That I would not give up on saving Count Chermenensky.
The empress and my mother entered the anteroom at that moment. “Katerina! We must hurry back to our box, dear, before the next act. Ooh, chanterelles? Merci!” Maman said, picking up an hors d’oeuvre. “These are divine!”
I risked a glance at the grand duke before following Maman out. He raised his glass to me but did not smile. I looked away in a hurry.
Slipping into my seat next to Maman, I settled in to watch the remainder of the mediocre ballet. Fortunately, the Montenegrins did not visit our box the rest of the evening. I did not know what Danilo had said to his sisters, if anything. They would be coming to call on me as soon as they found out; I was certain. I wanted to be the one to tell my parents, but I did not want to spoil their evening. I promised myself I would tell Maman and Papa first thing in the morning.
Ah, well, some other girl could be the prince’s fiancée. Let her become queen and have hospitals named after her. It was not for me.
CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
I dragged myself out of bed the next morning, dreading the day I knew I was going to have. Before anything else, I had to tell my parents about my broken engagement. Somehow I did not think Papa would be terribly disappointed. Maman might take to her bed, however. We would have to send for Dr. Kruglevski.
Anya’s friend Lyudmila had been hired to help out while Anya was recuperating from a late-winter cold. She was not as friendly as Anya, but I thought she was just shy, having traveled from Kiev and leaving her family to come here. I tried to put her at ease. “Do you know Anya’s brother?” I asked her. “He attends the medical school in Kiev.”
She cast her eyes down, her face a deep scarlet. Lyudmila must have known him rather well, but she said nothing.
She fixed my hair in a slightly different fashion, more Russian than European, but I liked the change. The curls framed my face, making my cheeks seem thinner. “This looks beautiful, Lyudmila. You’ll have to show Anya how to do my hair like this.”
“Thank you, Duchess,” she said, finally smiling.
I gave myself one last glance in the mirror before going to face Maman.
She was in her boudoir, having tea and toast. “Katiya! You are up early this morning! I expected you to sleep until noon. Sit with me and have some tea.”
“Maman, I must tell you something and I do not want you to be upset.” I slumped into a peacock-blue velvet chair. “I broke off the engagement with Prince Danilo last night.”
She let her butter knife slip, and it hit the table with a loud clang. “Katiya! What on earth would you do that for?” She turned to her maid, who was putting several dresses away in the wardrobe. “Please send for my husband at once! Oh, Katiya, how could you?” She was going to be hysterical again.
I helped her to her bed, sighing. “Please understand, Maman. I am not consort material. The prince and I had a disagreement and I realized that he is not someone I would be happy with.”
“Happy? Being queen would not make you happy?”
“Would you have married Papa if he did not make you happy?”
“Well, that was different. I should have married him for his title, even if he hadn’t made me happy. We were extremely fortunate that our personalities were so … agreeable to each other.”
“Agreeable? Is that what you call it?” Papa said, catching the tail end of our conversation. “You were hopelessly in love with me.”
“It was you who were hopelessly in love with me,” she said indignantly. “Anyway, it is not our marriage I’m concerned about. Katiya has broken off her engagement with the crown prince!”