From Governess to Countess (Matches Made in Scandal #1)(14)
‘What I gather, is that it is decidedly not to your taste,’ Allison said, crossing the room to join him.
‘I’ve been away on active service for so long, I have no idea what my taste in interiors is,’ the Count—Aleksei—replied with a faint smile. ‘It mostly revolves around canvas tents and wooden trunks. Last night at the Winter Palace, I felt even more of a foreigner than you.’
She took the seat opposite him, the same one she had occupied yesterday. He handed her a cup of black tea into which, to her relief, he had already added three sugars. Allison took a tentative sip from her cup. The taste of the tea was odd, the contrast of the sweet and bitter one that she could, despite her reservations, grow to like. Opposite her, the Count—no, Aleksei! She tried his name out for herself, mouthing it silently as she studied him. It suited him. Strong. Forthright. He was not wearing his uniform today, for which she was—shamefully—grateful, for it was true, what the courtier had whispered salaciously last night, there was something about a man in uniform. Or at least, something about this man in uniform. Though if she was being scrupulous about it, his attraction was in no way diminished by the austerity of his breeches and short boots, the long black coat and pristine white shirt with its starched collar. There was a rebellious and endearing kink in his hair, almost silver compared to the dark blond, which stood up on his brow like a comma. The slight frown which seemed to be permanently etched into his face was bisected by a faint scar which she hadn’t noticed yesterday. He sat awkwardly in the little chair, his long legs crossed at the ankles, his shoulders hunched, grasping the delicate teacup with both hands.
‘What is it that you find amusing?’
She hadn’t realised she was smiling. ‘You look like a giant squatting on a child’s seat.’
He grinned. ‘The furniture in this room is designed to discourage use.’
‘Similar to the chairs in the ballroom last night.’
‘No one would dare sit in the presence of the Emperor—or his deputy.’
‘Arakcheev.’ Allison couldn’t repress a shudder. ‘I most sincerely hope that was my first and only encounter with that odious man, if you don’t mind me being so blunt.’
‘I don’t, it’s what I much prefer, and you’re the only person in this city who’s likely to indulge me.’ Aleksei drained his tea in one gulp, a soldier’s habit, Allison assumed, and set the cup on the tray before leaning forward, his elbows resting on his knees. ‘So! I promised you last night that I’d come clean with you, and I’m a man of my word. But before I do, I must stress that everything I’m about to tell you is in the strictest confidence.’
‘As I said last night, you can trust me, Count—Aleksei.’
‘And as I said last night, you can have no idea how much trust I’m about to place in you. The Derevenko name is a venerable one. My brother was one of the wealthiest men in Russia. He was also the figurehead of one of the most powerful dynasties in the country, with the ear and the protection of the Tsar himself. If anyone in this city got wind of my suspicions, all hell would break loose, whether I’m right or wrong.’
Allison stared at him, quite confounded. ‘I am not sure—what is it you suspect?’
‘Assassination.’
Her jaw dropped. ‘I think perhaps I misheard you. Or perhaps your English—though it is most excellent. But you can’t have meant...’
‘I suspect my brother Michael was murdered,’ Aleksei informed her matter of factly, ‘and I need you to help me to discover whether or not I am correct.’
Utterly thrown, Allison ran her fingers through her hair, forgetting that it was not tied simply back but in a tight chignon, disrupting several pins in the process. ‘How on earth can I help? I am no Bow Street Runner, I’m a herbalist.’
‘Precisely! As far as the world is concerned, my brother died of natural causes, and that is what the world must continue to think until we can prove otherwise. I suspect he was poisoned, which is where you come in.’
‘Couldn’t you have consulted a local expert? Why send halfway around the world for me.’
‘I thought I’d made that clear,’ Aleksei replied with a hint of impatience. ‘You had a glimpse of what St Petersburg is like last night. Gossip is a way of life here, everyone’s life is an open book. I need an outsider with no ties here. No one knows you. Though the reality is that my wards require neither English lessons nor nursing, no one will question your notional title of governess.’
And all would assume that her duties extended from the schoolroom to Aleksei’s bed. Allison rubbed at her temples, distractedly pulling out several more hairpins. ‘Did The Procurer know your real requirements?’
‘She did. I heard of her from a fellow officer. He did not tell me the particulars of his own case, only that he had been obliged to be scrupulously honest in his dealings with her. He’d tried to pull the wool over her eyes, and she almost refused the commission. I decided I couldn’t take that risk, and so I was brutally honest.’
‘She was not quite so truthful with me.’
‘Clearly.’ Aleksei eyed her quizzically. ‘Would you be here, if she had been?’
Her hand instinctively clutched her locket, concealed beneath the neckline of her day gown. The Procurer had given her the opportunity, but it had been her grandmother’s belief in her which had given her the strength to take it. Now it was up to Allison to make the most of it. ‘I can’t tell you how glad I am that I did.’