The Midwife of St. Petersburg Read Online Free PDF Page B

guess, sir. A girl with a red hat is always sweet.”
    “A brilliant deduction.”
    Konni lifted a note from the table and carried it to him on a small salver. “From Miss Tatiana, sir.”
    Alex opened it and read the brief note. “Rasputin,” he muttered.
    “I beg your pardon, sir.”
    “The magnanimous Crow sisters are bringing Rasputin to meet the guests tonight, and I am blessed to be among the chosen few. From what I’ve heard, Konni, he’s a boor. It bothers me that Tatiana is so taken by him.”
    “Yes sir, I quite understand. And all the more distressing when your military advancement is based upon marrying her.”
    Alex glared at him. “You make it sound like I’m about to take on a liability.”
    “Oh, no sir! Miss Tatiana is very beautiful.” Konni looked as innocent and saintly as ever.
    “This marriage arrangement is deceiving no one.” Alex tossed the note onto the table. “Tatiana has her reasons, as I have mine.”
    “And now, sir, there’s the duel to be fought. A very worrisome matter.” Konni frowned slightly.
    “That couldn’t be helped,” Alex said. “Yevgenyev’s malice goes beyondMiss Roskova. This is a personal grievance.” He sank into a chair and propped his feet up. Konni refilled his cup.
    “I must say, Konni, I was a little surprised to discover Miss Peshkova and her sister were Tatiana’s cousins. She’s not mentioned them before.”
    “With good reason, perhaps, sir.”
    Alex put a hand behind his head and leaned back. He’d been on business for General Roskov all afternoon, and he was not looking forward to the evening.
    Weariness, however, was not his only reason for contemplating how he might quietly escape the ball. The next two weeks could, if he allowed it, develop into a situation he wished to avoid. Alex finished his coffee and scowled at the cup. He pondered the moment of awareness that had occurred when he spoke with Karena Peshkova and marveled at how easily his plans could to be put in jeopardy by the arrival of a lovely girl with a red hat.
    “The question, Konni, is what do I do about it, if anything?”
    “You have my sympathy, sir. Ambition is a harsh taskmaster. Pardon me for saying so, but you are not the only one who wrestles with it. Miss Tatiana also seems an ambitious woman.”
    “If I were smart,” Alex told Konni, “I’d pack my bag now and make some excuse to rejoin the Sokolov twins in St. Petersburg.”
    Konni looked at him soberly from across the room, then went to the wardrobe and took out the travel bags. “I could always claim you came down with the Russian grippe, sir.”
    “English grippe.”
    “As you say.”
    Alex drummed his fingers on the arm of the leather chair. He looked up at the ceiling and considered his options.
    “I have never been a coward when it comes to women,” he said, “and I won’t start now. Who knows? By the time the clock strikes midnight, thisattraction may have disintegrated. I’ll come home from the ball with a clear mind, amused to think I even considered her.”
    “It often happens, sir. Then again, it might turn out the other way. In which case, you won’t come home amused, sir, but smitten to the core by a poisoned arrow—straight to the heart. Then, sir, there’s no hope.”
    Alex narrowed his gaze. “You’re most graphic, Konni. Yes … it could happen as you say, but I won’t allow it to happen to me. She’s just a girl. A little girl with braids.”
    “Just so, sir.” Konni replaced the travel bags and closed the wardrobe doors.
    Alex was sure he’d seen old Konni’s lip twitch with secret amusement.
    Konni disappeared into the other room, and Alex leaned his head back against the chair and shut his eyes, hoping to sleep for an hour before going downstairs.
    His plans for the future were too important to let slip from his grasp. If he must change them at all, he would do so only if he knew the military would not reward him with the future he wanted. In that situation, he