The man’s voice cut across. “If she knows nothing” — he frowned — “why is she still your guest?”
Why was the general so interested in their arrival? Sophie thought. And who was the associate who had given him the information? She looked at her friends, but Delphine shrugged and Marianne shook her head to show that they, too, were unsure of what was happening in front of them.
Ivan stepped out of the shadows, glancing at Sophie anxiously.
“Ivan!” the general cried. “The war veteran! Our noble hero!”
“That’s enough, Grigor,” the princess snapped. “He has helped me.”
“Don’t worry, Ivan!” the general said. “I am here now! The princess will beproperlylooked after.”
Ivan glared at the man. “Ihave looked after her properly — and our guests.”
Sophie wanted to agree, but her voice seemed to have stuck in her throat.
“But it’s just a joke.” Then the general frowned. “Forgotten something, hussar?”
Ivan stood to attention and saluted. The action was swift and assured, but his eyes were dead.
The general nodded and turned to the princess. “You have it? I’ve come a long way, and I don’t want my journey to be wasted.”
“I have all the paperwork,” she said. She tilted her chin up, a defiant expression on her face.
The man roared with laughter. “Anna … Anna …” he cried. “Do you think I’ve traveled a thousand miles for paper? No. You’d better have something more substantial to show me.” He leaned toward her. “The diamonds, Anna. You promised me diamonds.”
“You didn’t give me enough time —”
“Ah yes!Time!”
Sophie edged closer to Marianne and Delphine. She wanted to tell this man to stop, but even as she formed that thought she felt powerless. She knew she wasn’t brave enough to make him stop, and even if she tried, he would simply ignore her and carry on.
“You sound like a dying man on a battlefield!” The general smiled callously. “Faced with a rifle and certain death, they all cry out for more time!”
Sophie knew he was wrong. What about Prince Vladimir Volkonsky? When faced with those soldiers in the gallery, he hadn’t asked for more time. He had been happy to give his life, to save his family. But against words likefamilyandlove, the general would setpowerandmoney. She knew there was no point saying anything to this man whose gaze swept now across the faces of the girls. In his cold eyes, Sophie saw the expression of some ancient, ruthless god who blighted lives for amusement. Trying to change his mind would be like trying to change the course of an avalanche with a teaspoon. She took all of this in very quickly, just as she had understood the nature of the wolf at the lake.
“I should have given the job to Galina Starova,” the general hissed. “Far more reliable. Far more ruthless.”
Galina Starova? What wassheto the general? Sophie looked at Marianne, but neither she nor Delphine appeared to have heard what the general had said. Hadsheeven heard it?
“Let’s find a quiet corner,Princess…” General Grekov spat the title. “We can discuss business matters more easily in private.”
He linked his arm through the princess’s and steered her up the broad staircase toward the White Dining Room.
“Bring me food, brave hussar!” he called out. “Traveling makes me hungry!”
Ivan’s eyes were fixed on the retreating form of the princess.
“I can’t hear you, Ivan!” the general jeered.
“Yes. Sir!” Ivan cried out. He looked toward the girls, his kind face pained. “Why did she bring him here?”
“Didshe bring him here, though?” Sophie whispered. “It looks more as if he just decided to arrive.”
Marianne added, “He doesn’t look like the type who would wait for an invitation.”
The general’s voice floated down the stairs. “Little English girls?” It had a sickening singsong tone to it. “No plotting! Come in here and sing for the grown-ups!”
The girls walked slowly back up the stairs, candles flickering around them.
