Women also put on a fine showing, exchanging the universal head-kerchief for akokóshnik, a tall headdress richly decorated according to the means of the wearer, Parasha having pearls and gold ornaments on hers. The festive dress was sleeveless, known as asarafán, and was made in soft materials and numerous colors, as Katherine saw from watching the many women passing by outside the window.
A Sunday here was like a Sunday in England, a day of relaxation after a long Mass, and Katherine was counting on today’s being at least two hours long, as she had heard some were. Afterward the young people would play games, as the children had excitedly informed her, while the adults visited and gossiped. How English that sounded! But Katherine didn’t expect to be around to watch or join the festivities. She hoped to be far away before her absence was discovered.
It would have been easier, not to mention less painful, if she could have had a few more days to recover before making her escape. But the moment she had noticed the horse kept in the animal shelter next to the house, one of several in the village, she knew she had the means to get away. After hearing that no one, absolutely no one in the village missed going to church unless they were bedridden, she knew Sunday gave her the only opportunity she was likely to get. She wasn’t about to wait a full week until next Sunday, when it was possible that Dimitri would be back.
Parasha had told her it took about as long to reach Moscow as it did to reach St. Petersburg, Novii Domik being between the two though far to the east. Dimitri had already been gone three full days, not counting today. Also, he hadn’t waited on the carriages transporting his servants, which would take five days at the least to drive one way. He had ridden ahead, could cut down his traveling time considerably if he was really in a hurry. She wasn’t taking the chance.
There was also the possibility that Princess Sonya would remember that she had promised to keep Katherine here until Dimitri returned. At present, in view of her condition, what Katherine was attempting would be thought impossible, no doubt the reason why no one had been sent down to guard against her escape. Once she had time to recover, even just a few more days, there was every likelihood that someone would be sent to watch her, or worse, she might be installed back in the big house, perhaps even under lock and key, and lose this opportunity altogether.
This was her chance, probably her only chance, with the village deserted, everyone congregated in the little church, and no one there aware of the true situation: that Dimitri actually wanted her kept prisoner at Novii Domik for the remainder of summer. That was her trump card; for now, they were all ignorant of why he had brought her here. His aunt might even say good riddance when she learned that Katherine had vanished.
She moved cautiously toward the little shed, keeping her eye on the church at the end of the road. It was distinguished from the village houses only by the belfry with a large blue onion-shaped dome atop it, characteristic of every other church Katherine had seen since arriving in Russia, except that this one, being small, only had one dome, whereas some she had seen had as many as seven or nine, all painted different bright colors, or intricately carved or shingled.
The steady drone of prayers, she hoped, would mask any sound the horse made. But then everything was down to hope now: that she could get away from Dimitri’s estate without being seen, that she could remember the way back to St. Petersburg without getting lost, that no one would bother to come after her, and that she would be safely ensconced in the English community in St. Petersburg before Dimitri even knew she was gone.
She wouldn’t even mind seeing him again, once she was safely out of his power and they were finally on equal ground. But all she really wanted now was to return home and start forgetting him. It was better that way. Itwasbetter that way, wasn’t it? Of course it was.
Liar! What you really truly want is for him to come after you, to beg you not to leave, to swear he loves you and wants to marry you. And you’d do it to, ninny that you are, marry him in a minute, no matter how many good, solid reasons there are not to.
Katherine was almost thankful for the agonized wrenching of her muscles while she readied the horse and mounted him, for it got her mind back on track. Getting away now was all that was important. She needed Dimitri to see her as his equal, and he wouldn’t until she could prove who she really was. And she couldn’t do that here. She would worry later about his reaction and what he would do about her escape.
Riding the horse slowly away, she had her first taste of what the ride was going to be like, and all she wanted to do was scream, she hurt so badly. Never in her life had she experienced anything like this pain. If she had a gun, she wouldn’t be riding away from Novii Domik but toward it, for at the moment she wanted nothing more than to find that bastard Semen and shoot him. He could have gone easy on her. He could have tempered his strength instead of putting it all into each stroke of that blasted cane. But no, show off for the Princess, follow her orders to the letter, that’s what the dolt had done. Katherine was surprised he hadn’t broken every bone in her back.
She had to circle around the big house to get to the road, and she did this swiftly, giving it a wide berth. Once on the road, she set off at a gallop, which was actually easier on her than a slower canter, but still had her wincing and groaning every few seconds, loudly now, for there was no longer any need for quiet. She kept up that pace off and on for four hours, or what she assumed was four hours, for she didn’t have a watch, until she passed the estate where she had spent the last night on the way to Novii Domik and where Dimitri had returned the next day to get drunk.
She intended to stop at the other places where they had stopped before, for she had no money and would need food, and the servants knew her. They weren’t likely to deny her a meal, even though she was now alone. They might think it strange, her traveling alone, but she could spin a tale if she had to. But she wouldn’t spend the night at any of those estates. She didn’t dare. It would be too easy to get trapped if someone did come after her. And there were plenty of forests where she could bed down for a few hours’ sleep safely away from the road and any pursuers. Her pursuers might even pass her by, and that would serve just as well.
Right now she didn’t need to stop, had enough food to last until tomorrow, and wanted to put as much distance as she could between her and Novii Domik. She was also afraid to stop, afraid that if she got off the horse now, she wouldn’t have the will to get back on, or the ability for that matter. She would wait until night, when she could rest and recuperate a little before facing another day of endless pain.
Katherine almost pulled the horse to a halt when it dawned on her what she had overlooked in her perfect plan. Night. She had forgotten that there was no night at this time of year, or very little of it. And there was no way she could keep on riding, even if she didn’t have a bruised, swollen back. She would have to stop, but she wouldn’t have the cover of darkness to help conceal her in the forest. She would have to go further into the forest, further away from the road, just to hide. A total waste of time, but what other choice did she have?
Several hours later, she finally left the road and found a sheltered spot in which to collapse, and she literally did just that, falling off the horse when her muscles refused to help her dismount gracefully. She didn’t even have enough stamina left to arrange her limbs in a more comfortable position, but lay exactly as she had fallen, mindful only of keeping the reins balled tight in her fist, since she couldn’t secure the horse properly, before she simply passed out.
Chapter Twenty-eight
“So you are the little pigeon who flew the coop.”
A nudge against Katherine’s foot accompanied this statement so that she would be sure to hear it. She opened her eyes, disoriented, and saw him standing at her feet in an arrogant stance, hands on hips: her golden giant. Here? So soon? Her heart plummeted, then in the breath of a second, rose giddily.
“Dimitri?”
“Ah, so it is you.” He grinned down at her. “I wasn’t at all sure. You are not exactly what I expected someone of Mitya’s—ah—acquaintance to look like.”
Her heart sank again. He wasn’t Dimitri, and yet he might have been his twin. Well, not quite. The same body and height, yes, exactly. The same golden hair and handsome countenance. But the forehead was perhaps a little broader, the chin a little more square, and the eyes were the giveaway. She should have noticed right off; they were not the dark velvety brown she was used to but a clear, stunning blue, sparkling, merry.
“Nikolai?”
“At your service, pigeon.”
His good humor was annoying under the circumstances. “What are you doing here?”
“That question would be better put to you, yes?”
“No. I have a very good reason for being here. You don’t, however, unless you were sent after me—”
“But of course.”
Her eyes narrowed a fraction. “Then you’ve wasted your time. I’m not going back.”
