Oliver frowned, but did as she asked, and she slippedthe oversize garment over her dress and tucked the knife into the sagging pocket.
“Surely you don’t mean to go alone?”
“I must. Petrov was very specific.”
Oliver swore even as she brushed past him. Lagrasse and Mrs. MacDougall were still quibbling over crème patissière, but Anya hurried past the kitchen and out into the mews yard. To her dismay, Jem Barnes, one of Wolff’s Bow Street urchins, skulked out of the darkness as she entered the stables, silent as a cat.
“Oi, Princess, where d’ye think you’re goin’? Wolff left orders you was to stay inside.”
Anya cursed silently. How to get rid of him? Eclipse’s inquisitive black nose appeared over the door of one of the stalls, and he gave a soft whicker of welcome. She sent the young man a confiding smile.
“I just came out here for a few minutes alone. It’s so hot in the ballroom. I was going to talk to Eclipse.”
Jem scrunched up his face. “Funny fing fer a princess to do.” He sent a glance down at her glittering skirts beneath Oliver’s outsize coat. “Ye’ll get yer dress all dirty.” He shrugged, as if the decisions of the upper classes were ever incomprehensible. “Well, I can’t leave you alone, anyways. Wolff’d ’ave me guts fer garters.”
Anya had to admire the lad’s dedication, even if it was inconvenient. She’d just opened her mouth to tell him some story when a dark shape loomed out of the shadows behind him. Jem must have seen her horrified expression because he started to turn, but it was too late: Vasili Petrov dealt him a sickening blow to the side of the head with the handle of a pitchfork. Jem collapsed on the floor like a sack of grain.
Anya let out a shout of horror and sank to her knees next to the fallen boy. To her utter relief, he was still breathing, although he was definitely unconscious.
“You bastard!” she hissed, fury overriding her fright momentarily. “How could you? He’s no more than a child!”
Vasili gave an unrepentant shrug. “I told you to come alone.”
Anya’s heart began to pound. She got to her feet, watching him warily.
“What? No greeting for your long-lost fiancé?” Vasili sneered. “You’ve led me a merry chase these past months, Princess. Fleeing from me in Paris, then hiding here in London. I have been most inconvenienced.”
Anya set her chin. “I don’t care. Where’s Elizaveta?”
“Back at my ship. Do you have the letters from your brother?”
Anya tried to recall everything Sebastien had taught her about lying. “The ones that prove you’re a traitor? Yes, I have them,”in a just and perfect world.
His eyes gleamed with triumph. “I knew you were lying. Give them to me.”
“They’re somewhere you’ll never find them.”
Vasili’s face hardened into a mask of fury. “You little bitch. This isn’t a game.” He took a threatening step toward her, and she shrank back in anticipation of a blow.
“You can have them when you release Elizaveta,” she said quickly.
Vasili’s lip curled. “Always giving orders, Princess. But in this case, I’m neither your servant, nor your subject. I’m your master.”
“You are not.”
“I soon will be.”
He took another step, closing the distance between them. “Whatever you’ve done with them, you’ll still not testify against me if you’re my wife. I meant what I said in Paris. We shall be wed.”
Anya fought a wave of nausea. Sebastien had shownher how beautiful the act of making love could be. He was the kind of man she wanted to marry. Vasili was the complete opposite. If he attempted to consummate the marriage, it would be a grotesque violation fueled by violence and greed. She would not be subjected to such defilement. Even death would be preferable.
He made a sudden lunge forward, catching her off guard. He hoisted her off her feet. Anya struggled furiously, trying to incapacitate him, but her efforts were ineffective. He was almost twice her size and weight. He half-dragged, half-carried her to the back door of the stables. She tried to bite his forearm, but the thickness of his jacket prevented it.
“Oliver!” she shouted desperately. “Help!”
Vasili gave her a vicious shake. A carriage was waiting behind the stables, the door standing open, and with a savage jerk, he threw her up into it. She landed awkwardly across the single seat.
“Back to the ship!” he called to the waiting driver. “Go!”
