He said nothing but raised his cup of tea to me.
“We have so much work to do,” Maman said. “Instead of hiding in Biarritz, now we can go to Paris to look at wedding dresses. Do you remember the gown Grand Duchess Elizabeth wore? Very simple, but elegant. You would look better in something a little more daring. Your neck is one of your best features.”
I tried not to blush, thinking of Prince Danilo’s hands on my throat the night before. “I liked the grand duchess’s dress.”
Maman laughed and continued chattering. “What about the gown your aunt Zina chose? The Worth gown with all the little white feathers?”
I wondered what she would say if I admitted I detested feathers, but Papa already looked as if he were being tortured. I winked at him. “I am sure we will find something hideously expensive and horridly tasteless, which will have all of St. Petersburg talking for years.” I stood up and kissed both of them on their cheeks.
I was on my way back to my room when my brother returned home, looking very haggard. It had been a rough night for him. “Petya!” I ran and hugged him, relieved that he was unhurt. “What has happened?”
“I cannot discuss it, Katiya,” he said with a tired sigh. “The actions of the Order are secret.”
But he did discuss it with Papa. I wrapped myself in the sheult spell and stood outside my father’s office while he and Petya argued about the safety of the Order.
“Demidov was poisoned,” Papa said. “I read the report myself. By hemlock.”
“What sort of a creature uses hemlock?” Petya asked. He sounded incredulous. “Is the Order truly cursed, as the cadets say?”
“Of course not,” Papa said. “You’re being superstitious. But it’s the damnedest thing. The girls at Smolny who took ill were poisoned with hemlock as well.”
“Is Katiya safe there?”
“Yes, for now.” I heard Papa chuckle. “Kruglevski told me she had him check her blood to be certain.”
“She is too headstrong to stay out of trouble,” Petya said. “She should be here at home, where you can keep an eye on her.”
“I must say, I’m unhappy about her marrying the crown prince. I thought she wanted to focus on her education. But if it’s what she wants, I cannot forbid the marriage.”
I could hear my brother’s boots clomping on the floor as he paced back and forth. “There are rumors of the royal family having dark powers, Papa. I think you should look into their bloodline before agreeing to the engagement.”
“King Nikola has pledged his loyalty to the Bear. If his family uses their powers to support the tsar, how could Katiya be in danger?”
“Perhaps she will be safe,” Petya said, but he did not sound convinced. I leaned back against the wall. My brother cared more about me than I’d ever realized. I didn’t want him to get hurt—or worse—trying to protect me.
“The War Ministry has been receiving reports of an increase in animal attacks,” he went on. “People have been seeing wolves in the city at night.”
“The tsar has always tolerated the wolf-folk as long as they behave.” I heard Papa set his glass down. “But if they become a danger to the people of St. Petersburg, he will force them to leave.”
“But the teeth marks on Demidov’s neck were not animal but human bite marks,” Petya said. “The general fears it was another of the creatures that attacked him.”
I wanted to tell my father and my brother about the Montenegrins, but I couldn’t endanger them by revealing the secrets of Danilo and his family. I wondered if Grand Duke George knew of Prince Demidov’s blood test. I was eager to discuss it with him at the ball that evening.
I smiled, wondering what the chances were of the grand duke asking me to dance that night. Then my stomach lurched as I remembered. I was engaged to Prince Danilo again. I could not dance with anyone but him.
CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT
The palace of the grand duke and grand duchess Serge was beautiful. A brilliant brick-red on the outside, it had been bought by the grand duke as a wedding present for his bride. On Prince Danilo’s arm, I followed my parents and my brother up the elegant grand staircase to the ballroom. My father and brother treated the crown prince cordially enough, though I could feel they were still wary of him. My father was willing to place his trust in the tsar’s judgment. I wondered if the empress could see the Montenegrins for what they truly were with her faerie sight. Did she approve of the tsar’s friendship with King Nikola?
The crown prince’s sisters were not in attendance, as they were journeying back to Cetinje in the morning to be with their sister the princess Zorka and her new baby.
Although it was nowhere near as large as the one at the Winter Palace, or even the one at Anichkov, the ballroom was very beautiful. The pale blue walls were decorated with plaster angels and scrollwork, and huge arched mirrors along the walls created the illusion of an even larger space. The room sparkled with the light from several chandeliers.
I stood at the entrance, waiting with dread as the dance master announced us. “His Imperial Highness Crown Prince Danilo Petrovic-Njegos of Montenegro, with his fiancée, Duchess Katerina Alexandrovna von Oldenburg.” I saw the grand duchess Elizabeth standing with her sister, Princess Alix, who smiled shyly at me. My father spoke with Alix’s father, Grand Duke Ludvig of Hesse, and Alix’s brother Prince Ernest.
The crown prince left me with a kiss on the hand, saying, “I will return shortly, my love. I must go and speak with the grand dukes Serge and Pavel.”
“You look beautiful, dear,” Grand Duchess Elizabeth said to me. “The faint blush of love blooms on your face.”
This only caused me to blush more. It was not love that bloomed on my face, but shame. And misery. I wanted more than anything to run away to another country where the Vladiki would never find me.
The orchestra struck up the imperial theme as the empress arrived with her children. I was surprised to see the tsar arriving as well. Everyone knew he detested balls, but this one was being given by his favorite brother and sister-in-law. He must have felt honor-bound to make an appearance. We bowed low as the members of the imperial family swept into the room. The tsar wore his dress regimentals, with the empress, on his arm, wearing an ice-blue gown. The tsarevitch followed him, looking just as handsome, and then the grand duke George escorted his sister, the grand duchess Xenia, who wore a gown of white heavily embroidered in silver. The youngest Romanov children were still too young to attend even family balls. The tsar and the empress led the first dance as the tsarevitch and his siblings made their way to where we were standing.
“Aunt Elizabeth,” the tsarevitch said, smiling. “It would give me great pleasure if you would honor me with the first dance.”
The grand duchess curtsied, her hand placed over her heart dramatically. “I’d love to, Your Imperial Highness, but I have promised that dance to my husband.”
The tsarevitch’s eyes twinkled. “Then I must humbly ask Princess Alix for the pleasure.”
The princess blushed, embarrassed by his gallantry. “Of course, Your Imperial Highness.” She took his hand as he led her onto the floor.
The grand duchess Xenia smiled at me and whispered something to her brother the grand duke George. “Ooh, there is Sandro!” she said excitedly, and ran off after her Romanov cousin.
The grand duke George bowed politely to me. “Your Highness, would you honor me with the first dance?”
He must have had some information to tell me. Something about Count Chermenensky or about the princess Cantacuzene. I couldn’t turn the tsar’s son down, and yet I could not dance with anyone other than my fiancé—who showed up precisely at the wrong moment.