I felt like I’d been kicked in the chest. “The Order?”
“Your creatures are here to protect you, of course. From the lich tsar. Their commander feels they can keep you safer here than anywhere else in St. Petersburg.”
“They are not my creatures, Your Imperial Majesty.” I was shocked at myself for speaking in such a way to my empress, but all I could think of was not being able to see George.
“They serve the tsar, of course,” she replied with a hint of disdain in her voice. “But they protect you because you are the rightful owner of the talisman.”
I’d surrendered the Talisman of Isis to the tsar at Peterhof. I wanted nothing more to do with it or its dark powers of necromancy. “I cannot attend the Smolny Ball?” I asked. I could not believe the Order of St. Lazarus had anything to do with her decision.
“Not this year,” the empress said, her face softening only a little. “You must agree that it’s for the best. You are a danger to him, as well as to yourself.”
George. She would do everything she could to keep us apart. And she was right. I was a danger to him. But I wasn’t the only danger. “Your Imperial Majesty, I’ve heard alarming stories about the grand duke in Paris. Is he safe?”
The empress narrowed her eyes at my familiarity. “The grand duke is doing important work for the tsar,” she said. “The Light Court has allies guarding him closely while he finishes his work there.”
I was able to breathe a little easier, knowing this. Even if I would not be able to see him. Perhaps it was for the best. But I hated it all the same.
The empress swiftly dismissed me, and I was allowed to return to my errand. I delivered my package to Sister Anna and hurried back to class.
As I slid into my seat next to Elena in Madame Orbellani’s room, the Montenegrin princess whispered, “I hope the tsarevitch dances with me again. Do you know he has not answered any of my letters since the first one?”
I could not believe Elena would do something so foolish. “You wrote to the tsarevitch? How could you be sure the letter would reach him? The imperial guard has probably given your letters to the tsar. Or the empress.”
“She does not like me,” Elena muttered. “But she will. I know she will, once she sees how happy I can make Nicholas Alexandrovich.”
“Ecoutez, mesdemoiselles,” Madame Orbellani warned.
I wanted to tell Elena she was deluding herself, but what could I say? I’d been deluding myself as well. The empress had no love for me either. Neither of us would ever be welcome in the Light Court. I grasped her hand and gave it a friendly squeeze. “I think one day soon you will find someone else that suits you better.”
“But my parents have been hoping for a match between me and the tsarevitch for years. I have dreamed about my wedding for so long I cannot imagine anyone else as my groom.”
I didn’t know what to say. I wasn’t sure if Elena loved Nicholas because she wanted to be the next empress or because it would please her parents. Elena was a romantic who believed in the power of true love, but she was also the daughter of a blood drinker, and a shape-shifting witch. I was scared of her, but couldn’t help feeling a little sorry for her at the same time.
CHAPTER NINETEEN
I was summoned into the headmistress’s parlor that evening. Madame Tomilov looked up at me sternly. “Katerina Alexandrovna, I have heard some troublesome news, young lady. One of the staff has told me that you tried to leave the institute grounds last night.”
Mon Dieu! Who on earth would lie to the headmistress about me? “Of course not, Madame. Any of my roommates can tell you the truth. I was asleep all night.”
“And why wouldn’t this person speak the truth?” Madame Tomilov glared at me. I had never seen her mad before. Especially not at me. “Katerina, I know you were having some difficulty adjusting at the beginning of the school term, but you cannot break the Smolny rules. These rules have been put in place for your safety. I have decided your punishment will be forbidding you from attending the Smolny Ball.”
This was part of the empress’s plan. She had told the headmistress to punish me, and this is what my classmates would be told when they found out I was not going to the ball. I clasped my hands in defeat. “Of course, Madame,” I whispered, trying very hard not to cry in front of her. I was too old for such displays of emotion. No matter how upset I was.
“Very well.” Madame Tomilov picked up a pen and began writing in her ledger. “You may return to your class now.”
I stood up, wiping my eyes with the back of my hand.
Madame Tomilov glanced up at me. “It’s for your own protection, Katerina.”
I nodded and turned to go. She knew the empress had forbidden me to leave the institute. Madame also knew I had not tried to leave the grounds last night. That was small comfort. I still felt as if I’d been betrayed.
CHAPTER TWENTY
It was humiliating when Elena and the others found out I was not attending the ball. I could not tell anyone the truth, so I shrugged and scowled and pouted a lot. I hoped I would be able to spend the evening looking for the ghost again. I sat on my bed and pretended to read my Greek poetry while Alix, Elena, and Aurora got dressed.
“And where did you think you needed to sneak out to?” Elena hadn’t stopped fussing at me all day. “Of all the stupid things to do, Katerina! Missing the ball!”
“Perhaps she does not enjoy parading around in front of thousands of strangers,” Alix said. She was calmly pinning up her hair, but I could see she looked a little pale. I knew she was nervous about her first Smolny Ball.
“My dear Hessian princess,” Elena said, twirling around in her white dress and looking at herself in the tiny mirror, “that is the best part.”
I rolled my eyes. I wanted to get a message to Grand Duchess Xenia, but there was no one I trusted to deliver it. Not Alix and definitely not Elena. I had considered sneaking out to the ball anyway, but what would I accomplish? I would only anger the empress even more, and for what? Petya should have been able to get word to George by now. I had sent my brother a letter written in the same code as his, begging for more information, but had heard nothing from him. In the end, I decided it was better for me to use my time at Smolny alone to investigate the ghost in the library.
I pretended to yawn. “I hope you three do not wake me when you come home.”
“I suppose we’ll have to tell you all about the festivities in the morning,” Elena said. “Sweet dreams, Katerina.”
“Have a wonderful time,” I said.
I heard Elena say “Hmmph!” as she stomped off down the hallway, with a definitely nervous Alix and an excited Aurora following along behind her. I snuggled down under my covers and read until I was sure everyone had left for the ball.
When the school was silent, I slid back out of bed and headed for the library. I could hear people talking in the kitchen.
“It came out of nowhere, Madame,” said Masha, the school cook.
“Don’t be ridiculous. It’s a frying pan. It had to come from somewhere.” It was the headmistress’s voice. Something very bad must have happened for her to be up this late.
“Olga was washing the pots. The frying pan came at her from the other side. There was no one else here with us.”
“Get someone to clean this mess up. Olga, can you stand up?” I heard the kitchen girl moan in reply. Madame Tomilov sighed. “Masha, can you fetch Sister Anna?”
If the ghost was throwing frying pans at people, she was becoming dangerous. I slipped past the kitchen and hurried on to the library before Masha came out and the headmistress could see me.