The Gathering Storm

CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT

The next day was back to the flesh and bone world of St. Petersburg, for I was feeling slightly better. I begged Maman to let me attend the ball et that Sunday evening, even though Dr. Kruglevski had advised against it. It would be my only chance to see Jelena Cornalba that season.
She was dancing the lead in the premier of Riccardo Drigo's The Talisman. We dressed in our Sunday finest, heavily beaded, thick woolen dresses, and set out that evening for the Mariinsky Theatre.
The Mariinsky had been named in honor of our previous empress, Marie Alexandrovna, wife of Tsar Alexander the Second. It was a very beautiful building, with a wide, sweeping staircase that rose three whole stories. We were seated in our family box, and I noticed that members of the imperial family were seated in the majestic, central imperial box, next to ours. I could not see Grand Duke George Alexandrovich from my seat, however. I did not know if he was even present that evening.
Prince Danilo and his sister Elena visited our box before the ball et started. The prince met me with a gall ant bow and a kiss on my gloved hand. Something deep down inside me trembled. I hoped the obsidian ring's magic would protect me.
Grand Duchess Elizabeth was attending the ball et, with her sister, Princess Alix, and their brother, Prince Ernest Louis of Hesse. Their father, Grand Duke Louis IV of Hesse, was enjoying a stay at the imperial hunting lodge with the tsar. The two men were getting along splendidly, as they both detested balls and ball ets. Princess Alix had a little more color in her cheeks than she'd had the last time I had seen her. I could tell she doted on her older brother, whom she called Ernie, and he in turn doted on her.
Grand Duchess Elizabeth frowned with concern when she saw me. "We had heard that you had taken ill recently," she said.
"I am much better now, thank you," I replied. Actually, I was still feeling rather weak and wobbly, but I refused to let Maman know. She would have rushed me back home to bed.
Princess Alix stepped forward and clasped my hands. "We have heard the good news of your engagement. I am so happy for you!" She smiled shyly.
"We thank you," Prince Danilo said, stepping in beside me, with a protective hand on my waist.
A cold nausea washed over me. I could not wait much longer to break off the engagement. Miechen had frightened me more about the Montenegrins than Princess Cantacuzene had. "Princess Alix, may I introduce you to my fiance, Prince Danilo of Montenegro? Prince Danilo, this is my friend Princess Alix of Hesse-Darmstadt."
"Enchante," the prince said, gall antly taking her hand and kissing it. I did not think the princess approved of this. She blushed deeply. I hurried to introduce him to Prince Ernest and the grand duchess Elizabeth, neither of whose hands, I noticed, did he kiss.
"We should get back to our family's box before the ball et starts," Grand Duchess Ell a said. "It was a pleasure meeting you, Your Highness," she said to the crown prince with a polite bow. Her sister smiled shyly at us before hurrying after Ell a.
"Your Highness, we must speak tonight," I whispered. "Alone." Enough was enough. I would not take any part in Princess Cantacuzene's plans, and I would not risk my life dall ying with the Montenegrins any longer.
"Indeed?" he said, bringing my hand to his lips. I shuddered, realizing he had a different kind of conversation in mind than I did.
I smiled, hoping I looked seductive and coy at the same time. "During the second act? Can you get away and meet me in the lobby?" It was a grand room, covered with gold and enamel and enormous ornate chandeliers that sparkled.
He kissed my hand once more before leaving me with my family. His sisters were sitting in the box of Grand Duke Pyotr Nikolayevich, Militza's fiance. Maman and Papa frowned as I sat down. "You must take care. You must not be seen with the prince alone," Maman said.
The orchestra began to play and the curtain rose, so she could say no more to me.
That night was the ball et's debut, and I was intrigued by the Indian costumes. The music was beautiful, the choreography somewhat on the simple side. Several times during the first act, a group of university students in the general-seating area below us caused a ruckus, applauding and yelling bravos so loud that His Excel ency the Governor General of St. Petersburg turned around and shook his finger at the students.
"Mon Dieu," Maman whispered. "The ball et is not that good." In the imperial box, I could see Grand Duchess Xenia looking bored. Her brother leaned over and whispered something to her that made her giggle.
I waited impatiently for the second act so I could speak with Prince Danilo. I hoped to use reason with him. I would tell him that I would not make a good queen for him, and that he needed to find a more suitable princess. I was still determined to accomplish important things with my life.
Becoming a doctor was one of them. Rescuing Count Chermenensky was another.
Jelena Cornalba was beautiful onstage, as usual. I regretted having to miss her pas de deux, but I wanted my conversation with the prince to be over. I slid my gloves off and looked down at my hands, one wearing the engagement ring, and the other the obsidian ring. I whispered to Maman, "I need some air. Do not get up. I will be right back," and slipped out of our box. I hurried to the lobby, where my prince was already waiting. "You are impatient, Your Highness," I said. I did not smile coyly anymore.
We walked over to a dim corner of the lobby and sat on a black velvet upholstered settee. We were half hidden from the rest of the lobby by a large palm tree in a Chinese vase.
Prince Danilo took my hand, once again pressing it to his lips. "It is torture to be apart from you, my love. I want to hear you call me by my Christian name."
"Danilo," I whispered, wondering how much power there was in a name.
His seemed to hold sway over me. "We must discuss something very important."
"Yes, Katerina?" His thumb rubbed over the inside of my wrist. "I am delighted that you have come to me."
I shook my head. "This is not what you think. Danilo, I want us to have an understanding. I know you are the heir to a kingdom, and I will assume certain responsibilities by becoming your wife. But I want other responsibilities. I want to become a doctor and study diseases and their cures. I want to care for sick women and children." Prince Danilo looked at me silently. His black eyes showed no emotion at first, and I was suddenly more afraid of him than ever before. Perhaps I should not have discussed my ambitions with him.
Then something in the prince's face changed. He picked up my hand again, caressing it gently. "You are a very special woman, Katerina. When you are my bride, I will build hundreds of hospitals throughout Montenegro in your name. You may spend your days visiting and comforting the sick." I pulled my hand out of his. "Your Highness, that is not my wish. I do not want hospitals named after me."
"Becoming a doctor is not an option. My queen shal never have an occupation."
"But-"
He stood up, pulling me with him by the elbow. "We have been absent from the ball et long enough. You must return to your family, and I to mine."
"We must talk about this," I protested.
"No." His eyes flashed with anger. "There will be no more discussions.
You are to start behaving like a proper fiancee." I saw red. How dare he tell me how to behave? I calmly pulled the engagement ring off my finger and placed it in his hand. "Then I can no longer be your fiancee." How could I have fall en under his spell? He was an arrogant young man, not charming at all.
Prince Danilo grabbed my right hand, turning it to reveal the obsidian ring. "I see someone has been filling your head with lies about me."
"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 ball et.
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 fiance 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 ball et. 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 fiancee. Let her become queen and have hospitals named after her. It was not for me.