ALIX TAPPED HER SHEPHERDESS STAFFagainst the flagstones, wondering how much longer this party would last. She had come out to the terrace for a reprieve from the dancing—and from all the stares. It felt like everyone in England was watching her, wondering when she and Eddy would officially be engaged.
As the queen had promised at Balmoral, there was still no formal announcement, but the month Eddy had requested was rapidly dwindling away. Alix could only assume he’d spent the time arranging things with his mistress, or whatever else he’d needed to do.
Meanwhile, Alix couldn’t stop thinking about the letter she’d written Nicholas at Balmoral, letting him know that she and Eddy were not engaged.
No reply had come.
The letter should have reached St.Petersburg within a matter of days, meaning that the tsarevich could have replied two weeks ago. Alix marshaled up one excuse after another: Nicholas was at Livadia and his mail hadn’t been forwarded, or the maidservant at Balmoral had never posted it in the first place, or the railway car carrying it to Russia had crashed in a fiery explosion.
She clung to the belief that he hadn’t gotten it, because it was far worse to think that he’d read it and disapproved of her forwardness—or, worse, that he simply didn’t care.
The terrace was growing more crowded, fairies and Greek warriors and Valkyries spilling outside in anticipation of the fireworks. This might be a good time to fetch a glass of lemonade, or to seek out May of Teck. After Balmoral, Alix felt like May was the closest thing to a friend that she had in England. Certainly shetrustedMay, which was more than she could say for most people. Just look at what Princess Hélène had done, telling everyone about Alix’s fainting spell. She’d as good as admitted it when Alix had confronted her at the photography exhibition. At least she’d had the decency to seem regretful.
There was a burst of noise near the doors that led inside. From the eager tone of the voices, Alix knew it could only mean one thing: royalty. The Prince of Wales must be approaching, or maybe Eddy.
Alix drew a breath into her rib cage and smiled, bracing herself for the onslaught of stares. But when she turned, she didn’t see Eddy or his father.
Nicholas.
It couldn’t be, Alix thought faintly. The Tsarevich of All the Russias was not at a house party in Suffolk. She had simply thought about him so much lately that she’d begun to hallucinate. Yet the figure before her looked startlingly real.
His cousin Tino—Prince Constantine, future King of Greece—stood next to him, wearing an old-fashioned doublet. Nicholas, on the other hand, hadn’t dressed in costume at all but was wearing the formal version of his Russian dress uniform. His military jacket fit snugly over his shoulders,medals gleamed on his chest, and at his hip was a gleaming saber. A real one, not like the painted wood weapons that some men were carrying tonight because the real thing was too heavy to dance in.
Alix sensed that Nicholas didn’t care all that much about dancing, and that this saber was far more than a prop—that, if necessary, he could wield it.
When he saw her, a smile touched Nicholas’s features. Alix’s heart picked up speed as he began threading through the crowds toward her.
“Alix. It’s good to see you,” he said in greeting.
“What are you doing here? I mean—” She flushed and recalled herself with a quick curtsy, which Nicholas waved away. She forced herself to try again. “I hadn’t expected to see you tonight.”I hadn’t expected to see you atall.
In answer, he held out a gloved hand. “Walk with me?”
Alix was powerless to resist. She placed her palm carefully atop his and let him lead her into the gardens, which were apatchwork of shadow and colored lantern light.
The moment was surreal, yet at the same time Nicholas’s presence was substantial and solid. It felt like the rest of the party had become a bright, elaborate dream and he was her only link to reality, the only person she could cling to.
“I’ve been traveling with Tino,” Nicholas began, as they started down a gravel path. “He wanted a grand tour before his wedding to Princess Sophie, and my father suggested I join him.”
Alix nodded distractedly. If Nicholas had been traveling, maybe her letter had never even reached him? “Where did you and Tino go?”
“We started in Ceylon, Singapore, Japan—I had a bit ofan incident with a sword there, actually.” Nicholas lifted a lock of dark hair from his forehead.
Alix gasped at the red gash beneath. Her hand itched to reach up and trace it, but she resisted the highly inappropriate urge.
“That looks like it might scar,” she said carefully.
“It’s actually quite shallow. Nothing to worry about,” Nicholas said swiftly. “Japan is fascinating, Alix. Did you know that they have an order of knighthood that dates back over a thousand years, with the same traditions and oaths since the very beginning?”
“No change for a thousand years? Sounds a bit like Russia.”
To her relief, he grinned at the joke. “Probably explains why my father sent me there.”
Alix’s steps slowed as they approached an iron railing bordering one of the parterres. “Where else did you go?”
“We came up through the Suez Canal and have been visiting some cousins. The Greeks, the Italians—and we saw Franz Joseph and Sisi in Vienna.”
“It sounds like you’ve had quite the adventure. Why, you’ve probably met more royal families than anyone I know except for Grandmama.”
