“A souvenir from being a Russian nobleman. Turns out we’re no longer welcome in our country.”
“But how did you survive? We were told you and Papa were shot.”
Nicky’s mouth twisted with disdain. “Sergey seems to have spun all sorts of lies. Treacherous cur. Mama told me he threw himself under a train.”
Behind him, Mama gave a slight shake of her head for Svetlana to keep quiet. Some secrets were best left unsaid.
Nicky held Svetlana’s hands. They’d never been an overly affectionate family, but time had softened them, it seemed, for they held tight to one another. Perhaps afraid to let go and find the other gone.
“The Bolsheviks captured what was left of the White Army standing guard and shot us next to the Neva River. Papa died instantly when he tried to defend his men. A bullet scraped the side of my face, knocking me backward into the river where I floated downstream. A goat herder found me and hid me for over a year. I searched for you and Mama and Marina all over Paris, but it seemed hopeless, so I took a ship to England with other white émigrés.”
A smile lit his tired face. “In London I was reading a newspaper article about collecting lost items from Imperial Russia for an exhibit at the Royal Victoria and Albert Museum. Imagine my surprise at the organizer being none other than the Duchess of Kilbride, the former Princess Svetlana Dalsky.”
“An astonishing story.” Tears filled Svetlana’s eyes and fell unchecked down her cheeks. “I cannot believe you stand before us.”
Marina clapped her hands and jumped up to hug them. “Isn’t it wonderful?”
Mama’s arms circled around them. Tears flowed down her cheeks. “All of my children together at last. Never shall we part again.” She motioned to Wynn, who stood by the door quietly observing. “I said all of my children.”
Svetlana’s heart overflowed with joy as her family’s arms wrapped around her, locking her safely in their embrace. They had journeyed far and been lost to one another only to find themselves together again at last, this time stronger through the forbearance of their struggles.
Wynn’s arms circled her waist from behind, drawing her close to his chest so that she felt the steady beat of his heart. That’s what he had always been for her, the steady beat that gave her courage. A beat she would never have to do without again.
“I thought Russians were averse to displays of affection,” he whispered into her ear.
“Shh. It will ruin our hard-earned image.”
“Hate to tell you, Princess, but you shattered that for me long ago.”
Svetlana smiled. “Spasibo.”
The End
Discussion Questions
Why do you think Wynn has complicated feelings toward his title, and how does his chosen occupation reflect these feelings?
What does Svetlana learn about herself over the course of the story? In what ways have her altered circumstances forced her to change?
In 1917 heart surgery was not part of medical practice. In fact, it was said that, “Surgery of the heart has probably reached its limit set by nature. No new methods and no new discovery can overcome the natural difficulties that attend a wound of the heart,” and that “The surgeon who operates on the heart will lose the respect of his colleagues.” Given that this was such a radical procedure, would you have allowed Wynn to perform heart surgery on you?
After Svetlana and her family escape Russia, they must embrace new places and traditions in order to survive. If you’ve ever had to uproot your life, how did you cope? Were you resistant to your new home or did you welcome it?
What do Svetlana and Wynn admire about each other? In what ways do their personalities complement one another?
Do you think Wynn made the right choice to operate on Harkin or should he have consulted other medical advice first?
Dancing is Svetlana’s passion and the only way she can truly express herself, just as Wynn finds his calling through surgery. If they were never allowed to dance or be a physician again, might they have found true contentment in other ways? Or does the heart long only for its true passion, never settling for less?
Svetlana states time and again that Russians are not known for their optimistic outlook, citing the miseries penned by Tolstoy and Pushkin to be a true reflection of life. Do you think this contributed to her denial of happiness and love? Or was the Revolution more to blame?
Setting takes a large role in The Ice Swan, from revolutionary Russia, to war-torn Paris, and finally to peaceful Scotland. How are each of these places significant to Wynn and Svetlana? How does each location help them to grow, not only as individuals but as a couple?
Most often we read about rags to riches stories, but The Ice Swan provides the reverse. Svetlana begins as a princess with the world at her feet only to be cast down into a basement begging for food. What kinds of challenges might a person in this position face, physically and mentally? Would they truly be able to say that money doesn’t buy happiness?
Acknowledgments
First off, I want to thank Netflix for suggesting the show Road to Calvary after I finished watching Seyit and Sura. It’s like you know me so well and make sure I’m always aware of the newest and best foreign period dramas to be absorbed by. The Russian Revolution and the sad fate of the Romanov family were nothing new to me, but this show gave me insight into the catalyst of those horrific years, how it affected the Russian people, and how the country was forced to pull out of the Great War in order to fight its own civil war. Thank you for broadening my horizons and sparking the voice for Svetlana’s plight as one of the millions displaced from their home.
Netflix is not alone in deserving my gratitude. Fiddler on the Roof, Downton Abbey season 5, and War and Peace are wonderful visual tellings of this turbulent region and what it meant for people caught in the grinding wheels of prejudice. For a more in-depth study of Russia’s history and how each event piled atop one another like stones until it built into the crushing boulder that was the Russian Revolution of 1917, Orlando Figes’s Natasha’s Dance was an invaluable resource and one I cannot recommend highly enough. Be warned, it is a heavy read, but well worth it.
Thank you to Rick Barry who was oh so patient in helping me understand the Russian language, the difference between ovich and an ovna, and offering suggestions to my vocabulary list. Without you my Russian characters would sound, well, not Russian.
I wouldn’t be sitting here typing this list of thank yous if it weren’t for Linda, my agent, who still puts up with me after all these years and never stops fighting to see me succeed. You’re one in a million, lady.
To my team at Thomas Nelson, who are just as excited about these crazy stories as I am and work so hard to polish them into a diamond. Amanda, Jocelyn, Jodi, Kerri, Margaret, Laura, Matt, and everyone else working behind the scenes. Stories would not be what they are without your zest and commitment, and I’m so excited to be a part of your publishing family!
Last but certainly not least, to my family. Daisy, for your unwavering companionship and never-fail bark to alert me that the Amazon guy is here. Again. We’d be lost without your vigilant protection. Miss S for the rainbow of color you explode into our lives. And to Bryan, my constant. Love y’all.