The Gathering Storm (14 page)

My mother also sent for me and brought me to the house, where her favorite dressmaker could fit us both. With her dark coloring, a black gown would look dramatic on her. Maman could not wear her beloved ruby tiara, but she had a delicate diamond one from Cartier that was just as lovely.

My dress was short sleeved and off the shoulders, with jet beading and black lace across the bodice. Maman called me
to her boudoir on the evening of the ball and gave me a pair of my grandmother’s diamond earrings to wear.

“These will draw attention up toward your eyes,” she said. “Grandmaman Marie would be so proud of you.”

“For what?”

Maman sighed. I knew it gave her grief when I did not act as excited about glamorous occasions as she expected. I did not see how dressing up like a painted doll was an accomplishment to be proud of. Would my grandmother have been proud of me if I had discovered a cure for consumption? Or would she have preferred me to look pretty and decorate the arm of a husband with a title?

I shrugged. I was certain I knew the answer to that question. And it wasn’t an answer I liked. “They are beautiful, Maman,” I said to appease her. I spun around a few times before sitting down to have my hair done. The dress truly was stunning, even though it did make me look paler than normal.

Papa and my brother were both attired in their finest regiment blacks. Petya was still sad about the death of Count Chermenensky, and the mourning wear he sported, a black silk armband against his dress uniform, had deeper meaning to him than any of ours did to us.

I wanted to cheer Petya up, so I promised I would find him a partner at the ball.

He gave me a wistful smile. “There is no one I would dance with tonight. Besides you, my dear sister.”

“You shall have it,” I said, disappointed that I could not lighten his spirits.

We rode to Anichkov Palace in the black Oldenburg
carriage. It was drawn by four spirited black horses that looked as if they’d driven straight out of hell. The night was icy cold, even with the hot-water bottles in our laps, the fur-lined coach rugs, and the warmed bricks at our feet. The streets were crowded, as most of St. Petersburg was on its way to the ball.

“I don’t want you stashing yourself away with your Smolny friends tonight,” Maman said. “I want to see you dancing with lots of handsome young princes and grand dukes.”

I rolled my eyes and stared out the window at the snow-covered city. I resolved to dance with the ugliest and the poorest men in the ballroom—if they should ask me.

Our carriage approached the northern entrance of the palace, where the nobles were to arrive. There were four separate entrances to the palace, one for the princes, one for the other court ranks, one for the officers, and one for the civil servants. The gates of the palace were draped in heavy black crepe, as were the marble corridors leading inside. Even the candelabras along the walls and the chandeliers were swathed in black gauze.

Papa took Maman’s arm, and my brother took mine. We slowly proceeded up the enormous marble staircase behind other noble families, waiting to be announced by the dance master. I noticed the Cantacuzene family being introduced. “Isn’t the princess looking lovely and spry tonight?” Maman whispered. “She looks younger than she did before Christmas. I wonder what medicinals she takes.”

Seeing the princess made me realize I was not wearing her ring that evening. The black stone would have gone well
with my gown, but I’d left it in my trinket box at Smolny. I hoped the princess would not ask me about it.

When it was my family’s turn, we stopped at the entrance to the grand ballroom. The master of ceremonies banged his large wooden baton against the floor as he stood in front of the archway and announced us to the crowd.

“Prince Alexander Friedrich Constantine von Holstein-Gottorp, Duke of Oldenburg; his honorable wife, Princess Yevgenia Maximilianovna von Leuchtenberg; his son, Duke Peter Alexandrovich von Holstein-Gottorp; and his daughter, Duchess Katerina Alexandrovna von Holstein-Gottorp.”

It sounded impressive, but we were far from the most illustrious of families present that night. Very, very far. I was able to claim Catherine the Great as my great-great-great-grandmother, but so could hundreds of others present. Even Princess Elena, the fifth daughter of a minor sovereign, outranked me.

Elena and her two ebony-clad sisters pounced on me immediately. “Katerina!” Elena said breathlessly. “There is someone we want you to meet!” The Montenegrins’ dark coloring looked beautiful against their black gowns. The elder princesses wore jet beaded
kokoshniks
, but Elena wore her hair up simply, with a few flirtatious curls cascading down the back.

My stomach twisted into knots as she grabbed my arm. I suddenly remembered Elena telling me her brother had come to St. Petersburg for the season. I tried to smile. I would not let them see my fear.

“Danilo, may I present the duchess Katerina of Oldenburg? Katerina, this is my brother Prince Danilo.” She placed my gloved hand into his.

“I am charmed,” the young man said.

Mon Dieu
, he looked more dashing than his portrait. His smile was dazzling. It took my breath away. He had an instant pull on me. I could feel the attraction that his good looks and something more stirred in my heart.

Then I remembered my nightmares of chanting and blood, and stiffened my resolve. I would not be so easily charmed, I hoped.

I curtsied. “As am I, Your Highness.” Despite my determination, I felt a little bit dizzy as he touched my hand to his lips. Every bone in that hand tingled. Every carpal. Every metacarpal. Right down to the tips of every phalanx. It must have been the heat of the room. I fanned myself just to get some air.

“Would you do me the honor of the first dance?” the prince asked. His eyes gleamed under the brilliant candlelight, and my pulse took off racing as he looked at me.

“Of course,” I said without stopping to think. I smiled, then saw the princess Cantacuzene staring at me across the ballroom. She looked very concerned. But I couldn’t believe that Danilo was the heir of the Vladiki, or that he was the dangerous prince she believed I must kill.

“Come with us,” Elena said as she grabbed her brother with one arm and me with her other. “We must find the best spot on the dancing floor. We want everyone to see us!”

“Do you have a partner for the first dance?” I asked her. “If not, I am sure my brother would be honored—”

Elena shook her head and let go of both of us. “Do not worry about me! I have the most handsome partner here tonight, besides Danilo, of course!”

Danilo smiled again, showing perfect white teeth. There were no fangs, I noticed. But would he not grow fangs until his … ascension, as the princess Cantacuzene called it? It seemed a ridiculous story, and I wondered why I’d ever thought such dark thoughts about the crown prince. Even when I knew his sisters had done terrible things in St. Petersburg, I did not want to believe he was anything but the handsome young royal he appeared to be.

I felt his closeness, the warmth from his body. It made me shiver a little. That was when I told myself he might be an even greater spell caster than his sister, without even trying. He stirred my senses. I found myself wanting to know more about him.

As the first sounds of the polonaise played, I realized Elena was no longer standing next to me. The tsar and the empress glided around the ballroom, taking the first turn of the first dance. The ballroom was beautiful, and very elegant, draped in its black crepe. There were no flowers to decorate the tables, only white candles. The room sparkled with the candlelight reflected by the thousands of diamonds worn by all the ladies. In a severe way, it was even more beautiful than usual.

As the tsar and his wife finished their first sweep around the hot and crowded ballroom, the tsarevitch stepped onto the floor with his partner on his arm. Elena. I wondered why in heaven he’d asked her for the first dance when he most likely wished to dance with the princess Alix.

I looked around for her. The Hessian princess was nowhere to be seen.

The grand duchess Xenia joined in next, dancing with her Greek cousin, Prince Nicholas, and then soon everyone was swarming the dance floor. I wondered where the grand duke George was. Why was he not dancing the polonaise?

At the far end of the ballroom, I saw my cousin Dariya, on the arm of a sharply dressed cadet from the Corps des Pages. She gave a little wave, but her smile faded and her eyes grew wide as she noticed my partner. Then she disappeared from my view behind the hundreds of dancing couples.

“Shall we?” Prince Danilo asked. I noticed that his piercing black eyes were fringed with the longest lashes I’d ever seen. All thoughts of everyone else flew from my head. I felt a dizzying rush of delight.

“Of course,” I said, taking his arm. My heart beat wildly as our hands touched.

Prince Danilo was devastatingly handsome. And he danced well. I found myself reveling in the feel of his arms around me. Dancing with him was almost like flying. I saw the faces of several people as we twirled around: I noticed Maman and Papa dancing. Papa looked as if he’d rather be shot, but Maman was very happy. Petya was dancing after all, with one of the Stroganova princesses. I could not remember her name, but she was very pretty. The princesses Militza and Anastasia were dancing with their fiancés. Uncle George looked happy and in love. As much as I distrusted the Montenegrins, I had to thank Anastasia for
helping him get over his late wife. He’d been mourning her death for far too long.

But I had better things to think of now. I looked up at Danilo and felt all my senses swimming as he smiled at me.

As the polonaise ended, I stepped back, a bit lost as Danilo moved away. His arms were no longer around me, and I wished the dance had gone on forever. Prince Danilo and I clapped politely for the musicians and wandered toward the rotunda, where a wine punch was being served. He brought us both glasses.

“Thank you, Your Highness,” I said, grateful for the cold drink. My throat was dry and I was out of breath. But I was certain that it was more than the exercise that had left me so dizzy.

“Thank you, for the wonderful dance,” he said, his voice low and hypnotic. “This is my first ball in your beautiful city, and I will never forget it.”

I strained to take in his every word. “It is unusual, to be sure,” I said. “Most are more colorful than this.”

The crown prince pulled my fingers to his lips. “Do not make excuses. The night has been perfect. And my dance partner has bewitched me.” He looked at me with his sleepy black eyes as if I were a queen.

I thought I would melt into the floor. I’d never been looked at like that before. It was thrilling and terrifying at the same time.

My heart raced until I thought it would burst. I would have sworn I could feel the heat from his kiss on my gloved hand. The fire raced up my arm and down my spine.

I shook myself as if to break a spell.

That was when I saw the grand duchess Elizabeth with her husband, the grand duke Sergei Alexandrovich, passing us in the hall. I needed some sort of distraction before I lost all my senses.

“Your Imperial Highness, is your sister here tonight?” I asked. “I have not seen her yet.”

The grand duchess shook her head. “I am afraid Alix is very unwell today and has stayed in her room resting. We went ice-skating again yesterday, and she is quite fatigued.”

“
Mon Dieu
,” I said. “Please give her my greetings. I hope to see her again soon.”

“Thank you, I will tell her,” the grand duchess said kindly. She nodded regally as I introduced her and her husband to the crown prince. Grand Duke Serge Alexandrovich, one of the tsar’s younger brothers, was a slim, wiry man with a mustache and beard. He was very possessive of his young wife. Taking her by the arm, he retreated with her to the grand hall.

“I suppose it would be presumptuous of me to ask for a second dance?” Prince Danilo said, smiling his charming smile again.

I couldn’t help laughing. He made me feel reckless. Almost enthralled. “It would be very presumptuous,” I told him. “But I shall accept, as you are new to the ways of St. Petersburg society.”

He grinned and took my arm to lead me back to the ball. Elena was now dancing with one of the officers from my brother’s regiment. She was having a grand time.

It was a waltz by Tchaikovsky, a dizzying, breath-stealing
dance, and I was elated to be flying across the ballroom with the heir of Montenegro. The rest of the world fell away from us. I was conscious of nothing except his arms around me, his hands gently holding on to my waist. I wanted the moment to last forever.

But as the waltz ended, I saw Dariya whispering with Aurora Demidova. Surely they knew by now whom I was dancing with, and the speculations would soon start. They saw us heading toward the rotunda and quickly intercepted us. “Katiya!” Dariya said. “I don’t believe we’ve had the pleasure of meeting your beau.”

Neither girl was smiling. Both looked at the crown prince with icy disdain.

“Your Royal Majesty, may I present my cousin Dariya Yevgenievna and one of our fellow students, Aurora Demidova? This is Danilo of Montenegro.” I looked at Dariya a little guiltily and added, “Elena’s brother.”

“
Enchanté, mesdemoiselles
,” the crown prince said, bowing gallantly with a click of his heels.

Dariya and Aurora both curtsied politely. “How are you enjoying St. Petersburg?” my cousin asked.

“I am enjoying it very much,” Crown Prince Danilo said, staring at me. I could feel my cheeks burning with embarrassment. “But perhaps I have monopolized your beautiful cousin for too long?” He turned his dazzling smile on Dariya.

She must not have been quite so immune to his charms, for she finally smiled. “There are so many other girls here tonight eager to dance with you, Your Majesty,” she said.

“Then I would not want to break their hearts. Katerina Alexandrovna, I regret that I must leave you now.”

I curtsied to the crown prince as he gallantly kissed my hand once more and disappeared back into the throng.