Written on the Wind (The Blackstone Legacy #2)(85)

“Poppy, that’s ridiculous.”

“Is it?” she demanded. “You spoil him with attention every time you see him. I think it’s time for a little more distance between the two of you.”

Poppy left the cardroom, taking Alexander with her and leaving that ominous threat hanging in the air. With a sinking feeling, Natalia realized there was nothing she could do if Poppy decided to withhold her brother.



Natalia watched the moonlight glint on the water as she stood on the deck of the Black Rose, alone in the darkness. The day had been awful. After returning Gwen to port, they sailed up the Hudson for the two-hour journey to West Point, but the cavalry had just finished their afternoon parade when they arrived, and it put Poppy into a royal snit. Alexander had not reappeared from the stateroom where he had been banished to keep him away from Natalia.

The thought of returning to her empty townhouse was dispiriting, and she had gladly accepted Liam’s offer to spend the night in one of the staterooms on the Black Rose. It was ten o’clock, which meant it was only five o’clock in the morning at Mirosa, too early to send a telegram to Dimitri and pour out her heart. Her greatest fear was beginning to happen. Poppy could take Alexander away from her, and Oscar wouldn’t stand up to Poppy. He would make a few gestures, but when push came to shove, Poppy ruled the household and everyone in it.

She swiveled at the sound of a door opening and was relieved to see Liam heading her way with a small silver flask in one hand and a jug of milk in the other.

“Nightcap?” he asked, holding up the flask. She shook her head, and he held up the jug. “Milk?”

She shook her head again. Liam joined her at the railing and took a swig directly out of the milk jug. He used to drink plenty of hard liquor, but in recent months an ulcer had begun eating at his gut. The doctor said it was caused by stress, and now Liam drank only milk.

“Out with it,” Liam said after he set the jug on the deck. “What’s got you so glum?”

She shrugged. Only a perfectly horrible person would be jealous about Gwen’s pregnancy, but there it was. Natalia would slip into a cold and lonely bed tonight. Tomorrow she would face a myriad of decisions with no one to lean on. And with each passing month, she grew a little older with no child in her life, just a brother Poppy might withhold from her whenever the mood struck.

“Sometimes I wonder if I should have followed him.”

Liam immediately knew who she spoke about and sent her a pained smile.

“I miss him,” she continued. “When we were together, it felt like we could fly. He was strong and funny and confident. No matter what, I always knew Dimitri would look out for me.”

Liam snickered. “Every time I saw him, he was pestering you for a manicure.”

She laughed because it was true, but what other people didn’t understand was that she and Dimitri took care of each other. They were equals, leaning on each other when needed, but usually their combined energy and talent made them soar.

And she liked giving him manicures. After all he had been through, Dimitri deserved a little pampering, and she’d been happy to provide it. Knowing that she might never again have the chance to do so triggered a physical ache in her chest. She looked at the moonlight on the water, wishing she could see all the way across the ocean, Europe, and straight to Saint Petersburg.

“I still wonder if I should go. Between a steamship and a train, I could be there in three weeks.”

“You don’t want to go to Russia.” Liam’s voice was unaccountably serious.

“Why not?”

“There’s trouble brewing in Russia. You won’t read about it in the newspapers because it’s simmering beneath the surface, but it’s been building up for years, like a valve about to blow. I still have union friends, the sketchy type who mingle with bomb-throwers and rabble-rousers. They have their ear to the ground in Russia, and it’s not going to be good for people like Count Sokolov.”

She stiffened. “Thank you, Liam, but I don’t need your advice about Russia.”

He frowned. “You don’t need to sound so snotty about it.”

“I’m heading to bed,” she said, reluctant to continue this conversation.

Because she feared Liam might be right.





33





Dimitri finally received an answer to his request for an audience with the czar, and the news wasn’t good. The family’s secretary personally delivered the message to Mirosa, and Dimitri went with Felix into his father’s old study to read the message.

This is not a matter for the Imperial Majesty, but you will be allotted fifteen minutes to present your concerns to Baron Freedericksz’s office on February 3rd at Tsarskoye Selo.

Dimitri wasn’t going to wait five months, especially since neither the baron nor the czar would be in Tsarskoye Selo in February. Everyone knew the entire royal family and its entourage would spend the winter in the Crimea.

Dimitri glanced up at his secretary. “They are hoping I have become seduced by my life of leisure here at Mirosa.”

“Have you?” Felix asked.

It wasn’t an irrational question. Dimitri looked around the careworn study brimming with old books, comfortable furniture, and a view over the valley. This was the only life he’d ever wanted, and if Natalia were here, it would be perfect.