The Gathering Storm

CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE

"Protect ... Mis-tresss ...," Count Chermenensky muttered, clawing at the other knight once more. His opponent either had not heard the grand duke or hadn't cared. He was still trying to tear Count Chermenensky apart.
"Katerina, get inside. Now!" the grand duke barked. I stood up, my dress covered in wet snow. I was freezing.
"Do not hurt the count," I begged. "He was only trying to protect me."
"Now, Duchess." His face was hard. He looked years older at that moment. I nodded finally, tears running down my face, and headed toward the palace.
The sound of another shot made me stop and turn around again. "No!" I ran back down to the edge of the woods. A lone creature lay in the snow, whimpering.
"He got away," the grand duke said grimly. "Your count. What the devil were you doing out here, anyway?"
I wiped the tears from my cheeks. "I heard him in the woods and I was bringing him food."
The creature on the ground had merely been slowed down by the bullet hole in the side of his head. He was already dead, so the grand duke could not have killed him. The grand duke rolled the knight over.
"Demidov," he said. "He must have smelled your food too."
"Demidov?" I grabbed the grand duke's jacket sleeve. "Dr. Kruglevski's toxin screen! He'd been poisoned with hemlock."
"Poisoned? That makes no sense." The grand duke stared at the revenant's body. "He seemed perfectly healthy before he died." I shook my head. "It's the same poison that made my cousin and the others at Smolny ill."
The creature began to stir, and the grand duke pulled me back protectively. "You must leave, Duchess."
"But the hemlock-"
"I'll look into it. But you must return to the ball." Demidov moaned and started to stand. The grand duke pulled his saber from the scabbard at his side. "Go back to the ball, Katerina. Before your fiance misses you."
His words stung, but I knew he was right. I had to play the infatuated young girl. For the grand duke's safety as much as for my brother's. I nodded sadly and headed back inside the palace.
"Unless you still need to be rescued," the grand duke said softly over his shoulder.
I turned around to face him, holding back more tears. I tried to keep my mind blank so he couldn't read my true thoughts. My true feelings. "I thank you, Your Imperial Highness. But I can take care of myself." I returned to the ball, not wanting to watch him complete his grim task.
The grand duchess Xenia and Princess Alix were sitting in the drawing room still, nervously waiting for me. Princess Alix jumped up when she saw me. "What happened to you?" she cried. I looked down and noticed the mud on my skirts.
"Merde!" How was I going to explain that? I sighed.
"Forgive me," the princess said. "My French is very poor and I have learned very little Russian since we have been here. What is 'merde'?" The grand duchess giggled and whispered into the princess's ear.
Princess Alix blushed. "I see," she said. "I thought it looked like mud." I shook my head. The princess asked a servant to bring us some rags and a bowl of water. She helped me sponge most of the dirt from my gown.
Perhaps in the dim light of the chandeliers, and on the carriage ride home, no one would notice the other smudges. I sighed. "Thank you for helping me," I told the princess.
"Did you and Georgi talk?" the grand duchess asked eagerly. "Did he kiss you?"
"What? Of course not!" I couldn't help blushing. "Why would he do such a thing?"
She looked disappointed. She leaned closer, whispering so Princess Alix could not hear. "With my mother's faerie sight, I can see glimpses of the future," she said. "And I see you and my brother embracing. I thought tonight he would tell you to get rid of that black-hearted prince Danilo and run away with him instead."
If only he had. If only I could have told him yes. But I had made it quite clear to the grand duke that I was committed to the crown prince. He would not ask me again. It was not safe to have such fantasies about the grand duke. Not for him or for me.
I shook my head.
"Is that what this was all about?" Princess Alix asked, looking shocked.
Her hearing was extraordinarily acute. "You were walking in the woods with the grand duke?"
"I went for a walk for the fresh air. The grand duke must have decided he needed fresh air as well, for he came upon me after I slipped on the wet embankment. He behaved like a perfect gentleman."
"Who behaved like a perfect gentleman?" my fiance asked, entering the drawing room. I glanced at the grand duchess and princess, silently pleading with them not to say anything about the grand duke. "I do hope you are speaking about me." He took my gloved hand and pressed it to his lips. I squirmed with revulsion.
"Of course, Danilo." I slipped my hand out of his grasp. "Do we have time for one last dance?"
"They are about to begin the cotil ion. That is why I came looking for you.
Did you enjoy your card game?"
"Yes, very much," the grand duchess Xenia said, stepping on Princess Alix's foot before she could say anything. George's sister looked at me reproachfully with her huge dark eyes. But she would help me keep my secret.
"Then we shal have the princess and the grand duchess over every night to play cards with you when we are married." Which of course was not true, since the heir of Montenegro and his bride would have to reside in his home country. I would probably never see the princess or the grand duchess ever again. Danilo placed my arm in his with a possessive smile.
"This way, my love."
I knew Grand Duchess Xenia was shocked, and probably more than a little peeved that I would choose the crown prince over her brother. If only she knew that I preferred to keep the grand duke alive and safe, she would understand. Perhaps one day the grand duke would understand as well.
That was the last large ball before Lent. There would be no more dances or operas or ball ets for the season, and in a way I was relieved. I hated parading around on the crown prince's arm. Especially when I saw the way it disturbed the grand duke. How I wished it were his hand on my waist.