The Unfailing Light by Robin Bridges

Author:Robin Bridges [Bridges, Robin]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi, pdf
ISBN: 9780375899027
Publisher: Random House, Inc.
Published: 2012-01-01T08:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

I followed Petya around the house like a puppy, waiting for a chance to talk to him about the Inner Circle of the Order. He was keeping odd hours, sleeping all day and staying out past the early hours of the morning. I did not know if he was working on things related to the Order or just having fun with his friends. It was the holiday season, after all. He was evasive when I asked him.

Dariya and her father and stepmother came to our house for Christmas dinner after the mass. Aunt Zina smiled at me over the dinner table and kindly asked how my heart was. Maman and Papa both looked at me curiously. Dariya too.

“It’s as healthy as ever.” I did not look at her again for the whole meal.

My uncle discussed the plans for the new medical institute with my father. They had begun construction on the building, and Papa hoped to have the Oldenburg Institute of Experimental Medicine open sometime in the coming year. I sighed, poking at my Christmas pudding halfheartedly. I wished I could be one of the physicians working at his institute. I wanted to treat patients as well, but researching cures for deadly diseases would be fascinating.

After dessert we went into the drawing room and opened presents. Papa had given me a set of Greek and Latin books, and from Maman I received another Marie Corelli romance. I gave them each a scarf that I had knitted.

Maman gasped with delight when she opened Aunt Zina’s present: a book written in French on communicating with spirits. As if my mother needed any more information on that subject. I glanced at Dariya, who shrugged as she stroked Sasha’s ragged ears. The cat purred even as it glared at me. Dariya did not seem to notice anything wrong with the rotting animal that was purring unsteadily in her lap. She had never been interested in the spiritism parties my mother held before, but now that she was considered a young woman, she was admitted to all the best social gatherings in St. Petersburg, and she’d been to several of Maman’s séances. With Aunt Zina.

I’d received several letters from Dariya over the past few months while I was at Smolny, and they’d all described fancy dinner parties and séances that she’d attended. Dariya was now obsessed with finding a rich and handsome husband. Aunt Zina was attempting to keep her allied with the Dark Court and Grand Duchess Miechen. I hoped that my cousin would find a handsome, foreign prince and move far away to somewhere much safer.

“Oh, Katiya, look at this! What a treasure!” Maman exclaimed, smoothing the black leather cover of her book. It looked ancient, but well cared for. I would have loved to know where Aunt Zina had gotten her hands on such a volume. And why was she so interested in Maman’s séances?

“This gift is for you, dearest,” Aunt Zina said, handing me a brightly wrapped package.

“Merci,” I said, unwrapping it warily.

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