“I could do that,” she said, “or I could continue to call you Oleg the Terrible.”
“An inspired choice as that is also one of my titles.”
They stopped sniping at each other as Pavel approached.
His brother spoke to Tatyana first. “My lady, I hope the dinner is to your satisfaction so far. There will be dancing in just a few minutes, so you will not have to sit next to Oleg the entire evening.”
Tatyana smiled, and it transformed her face. “Pavel, you are so very thoughtful. And I am enchanted by this party. The room, the food, the wine. You have made me feel so welcome. The Poshani musicians were an inspired choice.”
Oleg wanted to punch his brother’s face in. Tatyana shouldn’t be smiling like that at anyone but him. Nevertheless, he supposed he was going to have to share her a little bit even if it was only for a dinner.
“Lady Tatyana…” Pavel seemed a little awkward. “Thank you. I do not entertain often.”
“I would never have guessed.”
Pavel was nearly beaming.
He had barely started coming out of his shell a century after Truvor’s death—but Pavel was an absolute genius in the area of international shipping logistics, which made him a brilliant governor.
Unfortunately, he was also awkward, socially introverted, and blunt, which made him a problematic governor for a border region at times.
Pavel really needed a woman to loosen him up, but that was none of Oleg’s business.
“Brother.” Oleg broke into Pavel and Tatyana’s mutual admiration society meeting. “Do you have a moment to speak privately?”
Pavel immediately went into business mode and seemed to relax. “Of course.” He glanced at Tatyana. “If Lady Tatyana will excuse our absence.”
“Please.” She waved a hand. “I am more than entertained, and Rumi is with me.” She turned to her closest confidante. “We have been enjoying the music, have we not?”
“Yes, thank you.” Rumi smiled at Pavel. “I will keep the terrin company while you and Oleg speak.”
Tatyana’s Poshani family refused to use any title with Oleg, which he knew his wife encouraged. It was a sure way to tweak him and reinforce her first loyalty, which was always to her own people.
“Come,” Pavel said. “There is a smoking room just this way.”
Oleg followed Pavel, and as soon as the door was shut, he knew the room had been soundproofed because the music completely disappeared.
“She’s having a good time,” he said. “Thank you. Being of the Poshani, I expect she finds all these formal events tedious.”
“Because they are.” Pavel sat on a low sofa. “So that simply means she is intelligent.”
Oleg chuckled and sat across from his brother, stretching out his arms across the back of the sofa.
A fire was crackling in the hearth, and there was a bar cart near the door, but neither Pavel nor Oleg was a heavy drinker.
“Tell me about your grandson.”
“I have many,” Pavel said. “Which one?”
“Yury,” Oleg said. “Askeli’s son working in Moscow.”
Pavel narrowed his eyes. “He’s smart and ambitious. I was sorry to see him leave my territory, but there was more room for him to advance in Moscow. It’s bigger.”
“And in Saint Petersburg, Yury will always be Askeli’s son.”
Pavel nodded. “There is that too.”
“Leadership potential?”
