“It was a gift to me. And now I am giving it to you. Is this not what friends do?” The princess’s gray eyes looked cold. “You would make me feel unhappy if you don’t accept it.”
“But —”
“One day you will give me something in return,” the princess said. She sounded very certain.
“I don’t have anything to give,” Sophie replied.
Delphine looked across, suddenly interested.
“It can be our secret,” the princess whispered as she slipped her hand across Sophie’s, hiding the ring. “And as for thinking you have nothing to give me … you have more than you think, Sophie.” She paused, a calculating look in her eyes. “The Volkonsky diamonds are quite distinctive, don’t you think?”
Sophie looked at the gray diamond on her finger. She felt quite overwhelmed to be wearing something so beautiful and precious.
“Of course,” said the princess, “there are other Volkonsky diamonds. You might have seen them?”
“I’ve never seen any diamonds at all,” Sophie said truthfully.
“Are you sure?” The princess’s expression turned sour, as if Sophie had disappointed her in some way. “You shouldn’t lie to me.”
“I’m not lying,” Sophie said.
“There are no diamonds in London?”
“Yes, of course there are, but I’ve never seen any,” Sophie said. She had a sudden sense of shame. Perhaps the princess had picked her as a guest thinking that Sophie had the same kind of background as most of the other girls at her school. There really must have been a mistake, then.
“I think if you want to know about diamonds,” Sophie muttered, “you should ask Delphine.”
The princess’s eyes flashed with the same sudden anger Sophie had seen in the ballroom. “I’m not interested in Delphine’s diamonds,” she said, then looked as if she was considering something. “Ivan told me that you had spoken to the boy.”
“I’m so sorry.” Sophie had known it couldn’t last. She had upset the princess. “He looked so cold … I just thanked him …”
“Don’t speak to him,” the princess snapped. “He will tell you lies about the Volkonskys. Like all the old servants who stayed here, he’s just a dirtydomovoi.” The way she said the last word was horrible. As if she had mentioned something disgusting.
“Domovoi?”Sophie asked.
“In Russian folklore,domovoyeare evil spirits,” the princess said. “They live in people’s houses and cause trouble. They are meant to help with the chores: look after the horses, clean the stove.” She leaned closer. “But they are not like us. They are not to be trusted.”
“He’s a spirit?” Sophie asked.
The princess laughed, but there was no warmth in it. “Oh, he’s not a spirit! But he creeps around the palace just like one. You must be careful. Adomovoiwill come to your bed at night and suffocate you! You have to ask them, ‘For good? For bad?’ And then they are forced to tell you your future.”
“But does he have anywhere to sleep?” Sophie felt upset that this boy was thought of so badly by the princess. She remembered the way he had waited for them, the frost on his shoulders, his hand on Viflyanka’s bridle. He hadn’t struck her as someone who would do anyone any harm. What was it he had said to her?Voy Volkonsky?
“Where does he sleep? Probably under a step.” The princess laughed again. “Or inside the stove …” She looked at Sophie as if she were deciding what to say next. “I should have got rid of him when I returned to the palace,” she said slowly. “But Ivan seemed fond of him.”
“Why did you bring us here? Why us? Miss Ellis …” Sophie’s words dried up. She thought she had seen the princess’s expression change, just for a second.
“I thought you would like it.” The princess’s voice was calm. “I thought we might be …friends.” A blue vein ran down her cheek, like a thread of cotton.
“I’m so pleased you invited us,” Sophie blurted, then immediately felt stupid.
“You like the Volkonsky Winter Palace?” The princess spoke very quietly.
“Yes!” The word came out on a rush of breath.
“But it is so neglected,” she mused, looking up at the water stains as if she couldn’t quite believe what Sophie had said. “There is nothing here that would interest you.”
“But everything about the Volkonskys is interesting!”
