The Diamond Horse by Stacy Gregg

Author:Stacy Gregg [Stacy Gregg]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
Published: 2016-08-22T04:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 9

The Madness of Ivan

Anna poked her head round the corner of Ivan’s bedroom door.

“Can I come in?” she asked cautiously.

Ivan was sitting up in bed. He did not reply, but she entered his room anyway, tentatively walking to his bedside and sitting down in the nearby chair.

“I wanted to see how you were feeling, Brother,” she said quietly.

“You mean you want to see what he did to me?” Ivan snarled. He turned his face round so that the right cheek was exposed. Anna could see a deep crimson incision that ran from temple to chin.

“Go on! Take a good look!”

Anna winced and turned away. “Ivan, I’m so sorry.”

“Hah!” Ivan sneered. “You’re not sorry yet. But you will be.”

“What do you mean by that?”

“I mean I am ordering the serfs to have your tiger shot,” Ivan said.

“Oh, please, Ivan, don’t!” Anna felt her pulse racing. “He only attacked because he thought you were threatening me. He is very protective of me.”

“Is he?” Ivan sneered. “Well, you will need to find a new protector. The tiger must be destroyed!”

“For goodness’ sake, he only scratched you, Ivan! He could have killed you but he didn’t!”

Ivan’s face grew purple with rage.

For although the tiger had claws powerful enough to kill, the cut he had made was only skin deep. Boris had held back; he had only scratched Ivan to warn him away from hurting his mistress. All the same, it had been enough to cause Ivan to scream like a baby. When the housekeepers who had gathered at the commotion began to beat the tiger with brooms, Boris gave another roar of fury, as if to say, “Leave me alone! He started it!” Then he leapt off the young man and bounded away, heading out through the gardens, past animals screeching wildly in their gilded cages as he ran by.

On the palace steps, the housekeepers shouted at each other as they scrambled to help the young Lord Orlov.

“Give him room to breathe!” Katia pushed them all away. Ivan was still screaming, his hands clutching at his face. Anna saw Katia’s look of horror, and then she heard the head housemaid exclaim under her breath. Two words, spoken in French, which Anna had heard many times before.

“Le Balafre.”

***

Anna ran down the wide corridors of the palace to her bedroom. From her wardrobe she pulled out her thick silver fur coat, fur hat and fur-lined boots and hurriedly got dressed. Then she ran through the corridors once more and headed out across the front steps and down the long winding driveway that led to the stables.

“What are you doing, Lady Anna?” Vasily asked when he found her in Drakon’s stall, saddling up the grey stallion.

“I have to go,” Anna told him. “Ivan is going to have Boris killed! I have to make sure that he gets as far away from the palace as possible!”

“Where will you go?”

“The forests of the taiga,” Anna replied.

“It is too dangerous! There are tigers and all manner of wild creatures out there.

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