“What happened to Alexei’s mother?”
“I don’t know,” Ann says. “Karina was always a bit … wild. She had an unhappy marriage. When she went away, Caroline and I did not ask too many questions.”
“You think she abandoned her child?”
“We didn’t know what to think. But a part of me did wonder. I saw less and less of my friends in those days. I was desperate to have my own child, and I was selfish. I forgot about my friends. But after Karina disappeared, your mother told me she still searched for the treasure — that that had become her job within the Society — and I grew worried. I told your mother to forget it. To be honest, I thought she had.”
Slowly, the princess turns to me, a sad smile on her face. “Oh, how I wish she had.” Princess Ann is one of the most beautiful women in the world, but right now she looks like she wants to cry. I know the feeling. There is nothing worse than remembering.
“Now, Grace. I need you to tell me the truth: Are you here with your grandfather’s permission?”
“Yes.” The lie is automatic now.
“Grace.” Princess Ann’s voice is a warning. She sounds just like … a mother. “If your grandfather is at the embassy right now, worrying about where you might be —”
“He’s not.” This much, at least, is true. “He’s not worried. I promise. I told someone where I was going.” If Princess Ann doubts my lie she doesn’t say so.
“Forgive me,” she says. “Motherhood has this effect on a person. I worry about my son every day.”
“Oh. Yeah. I’m sure you do.”
“Your mother said that someday we would make the two of you get married and then we’d truly be family. Did she tell you?”
I choke on my tea, and Ann laughs.
“Don’t worry, darling. We never actually signed the betrothal contracts.”
The look on my face makes her laugh even harder.
“Oh, Grace. I am so glad you called.”
It’s funny how, until this summer, I’d never really realized that my mother was a girl once. Sure, I always knew that she’d grown up in Valancia, that the embassy was her childhood home, and yet I’d never thought about the fact that my mother had once been a child.
Like me.
No wonder someone tried to kill her.
“Excuse me, Your Highness.” I turn and see a man in full livery standing by the doors. “I am sorry to interrupt, but the young lady’s escort is here to return her to the embassy.”
“I don’t have an escort,” I say, but then Dominic appears over the footman’s shoulder.
“Please excuse the interruption, Your Highness, but the ambassador has asked me to bring Grace home,” the Scarred Man says. “It is no night for her to be out alone.”
I could argue, but then I remember the bonfires and the crowds and the chaos. I remember bodies hanging from four beautiful windows, and that, no matter how high your walls are, no one is ever truly safe. It’s no wonder my grandfather has sent Dominic to find me.
I turn back to Princess Ann one final time. An hour ago I’d hoped that someone who knew the girl my mother was might be able to explain what happened to the woman she became. But that’s not meant to be, I guess.
“Thank you for the tea,” I say, because I can’t thank her for the answers.
“It was my pleasure, dear.” Ann pulls me into a hug too tight to be anything but real. When she pulls away she actually pauses for a moment, pushes a stray bit of hair out of my face and tucks it behind my ear. A motherly gesture.
It makes me want to cry.
Dominic doesn’t speak. Doesn’t smile. I’m walking beside him, trying to keep up. When he leads me through the palace gates I look for a black car with the little US flags flying near the headlights, but the circle drive is empty. I guess we’re going to walk.
The sun is nearly down, and soon the streets will be black and lit by fire. We’re walking quickly through the crowds that are filing toward the palace, over cobblestones and curbs. Tonight, the crowd is different. Most of the men wear long black capes and ornate masks. Women and young girls dance in flowing white dresses with red sashes. Most have flowers in their hair.
It’s beautiful.
And it’s insanely creepy.
Dominic holds me tight, pulling me against the tide of people flowing toward the palace. I should be happy to have his arm around my shoulder, to feel his big, steady, and intimidating presence beside me. I stumble once, but he holds me so firmly I don’t even start to fall.
“Grandpa sent you?” I ask.
He grunts something that sounds like yes, and we keep walking.
“He didn’t know where I was,” I tell him, but Dominic shakes his head.
“I knew where you were, Grace Olivia.”
Of course he did.
“How is your injury?” Dominic asks.