“Da,”she said simply.
He shook his head.
His mother came over and pulled off his sheepskin cap and kissed the top of his head. He growled and shrugged her off, but she laughed and kissed him again.
“My brother, Dmitri,” Masha said. She spoke with fierce pride.
“Is he all right?” Sophie looked at the boy. His face was extremely pale.
“Dmitri brave!” Masha declared. “He no frightened anything!”
The boy made a face as if he didn’t want his sister to boast. But Sophie could tell he was pleased she’d said it. His mother poured someborschtfrom a small pan into a bowl and put it on the table in front of him with a piece of bread. She broke the bread into chunks and he picked up his spoon with his good hand.
“He certainly knows some good places to hide,” Sophie smiled.
The boy looked up from his soup, the spoon halfway between the bowl and his lips. He smiled back.
“Dmitri does many, many things …” Masha stood straight. “He very important!”
The boy shook his head and elbowed his sister. Sophie saw him blush and he glanced up at Sophie before attacking his soup once more.
“He chop wood!” Masha said. “Quick and fast! He groom Viflyanka! He feed —”
Dmitri made a sharp clicking noise at the back of his throat. Masha put her hand to her mouth and blushed.
Dmitri frowned. “She tell woman she see wolf!”
“A white wolf!” Sophie blurted out. “I shouted, but no one believed me.”
Masha exchanged a look with Dmitri.
“I thought the wolf would attack Viflyanka …” Sophie’s words were tumbling out. She stopped and took a breath and looked at the intent faces of Dmitri and Masha. It was easy to see they were brother and sister now: the shape of their chins, the flare of their nostrils, and their serious, intelligent eyes.
Dmitri nodded slowly. “She tell woman upstairs! And I am made to clean chandeliers!”
Sophie looked at her hands. “The princess said there were no wolves, that the wolves had been taken care of.”
Dmitri leaned back. He put his bandaged hand up onto the table. His mother poured cherry cordial into three beakers, then sat down next to Masha and smiled at her children.
“What do you know about the wolves?” Dmitri spoke very quietly.
Sophie said, “Ivan told us they used to guard the palace. That they avenged the murder of Prince Vladimir.”
Dmitri and Masha looked at each other, as if wondering whether to say anything.
“Please tell me,” Sophie said. She had sensed, when they were sitting in the chandelier, that Dmitri would not — or could not? — tell her about the wolves. Had he been worried about being overheard? What was he afraid of?
Dmitri took a sip of cordial from his beaker. “The last Princess Volkonskaya brought the white wolves here. She found a wounded cub in the forest and she nursed it. For this the wolves stayed with her. They helped her to escape into the forest. They protected her as she protected them.”
“Our family called hervolchiya printsessa… wolf princess,” Masha added. “The day she left palace was sad day for us — the Starovskys. All good fortune went with her and the child.”
Sophie looked into the candle flame. As she stared into its blue center, the flame seemed to rise and float to one side.
“Terrible night,” Masha whispered. “She told my great-grandmother she come back. She said she never forget Starovskys who served her!”
“The wolves fought hard,” Dmitri said. “The next day, our family cleared the carcasses of horses … the bodies of men. They buried the prince.”
“And then dark times come …” Masha continued. “But we never forget. We watch. We wait for Volkonskys to return.”
