Still, he managed to sleep through it all and hardly stirred. It was hard not to love Bohdan. Each day he cried less and less and even started to coo in my arms.
Once the ceremony ended, Mama and I rushed home before all the others and placed a sleepy Bohdan in his cradle. Papa arrived with our friends and well-wishers not long afterward. Mama stood vigil, rocking Bohdan’s cradle, as Papa tended to each guest, offering them food and drinks. Alexei, bundled up in sheepskin, was the first to give Papa a hearty pat on the back, followed by Boris.Plump-figured Marya brought tea cakes along with some of her kitchen staff. Ruslan filed in next with an icon of the Mother with Child and placed it in Mama’s hands.
“Your thoughtfulness humbles me,” Mama said to Ruslan. “We shall hang it over Bohdan’s cradle.”
On behalf of the Count and his wife, who were away in Moscow, attending the Imperial Ball, Alexander greeted Papa, and then presented Mama with a bag of gold rubles for Bohdan.
“
Spasibo
,” Mama said to Alexander.
Then he turned to me. “I’ve missed you at the kennel, Larochka.”
“Me too. How are Zola and the other dogs?” I asked. “Has Zar’s neck wound healed?”
“The dogs are fine and so is Zar’s neck,” Alexander said. “It’s Zar’s heart I’m worried about. He really misses you.”
“I feel the same way, Sasha.”
“Zar doesn’t much like being cooped up in a stall,” Alexander said.
“He’s used to sleeping at my feet,” I said. “It’s good you’ve come. I thought you’d be at the Imperial Ball with your parents.”
“My life is here,” Alexander said.
“To see the Tsar—and his beautiful palace—would be like a fairy tale,” I said.
“I’d prefer to meet the Tsar in a different setting, likea hunt. I can’t be bothered with balls, not when there’s so much work needed to build this kennel. With you as my steward I will one day breed the perfect borzoi and host hunts like the ones at Perchino.”
Hearing him talk about his goals stirred the dreams that lived inside of me. I wanted to tell Alexander that it would be Bohdan, not me, sharing in his big plans. Yet I couldn’t bring myself to say the words.
Just then, Maxim barged through the door and announced, “Are you ready for Borei?”
Papa looked to the midwife for guidance.
“Let me gather the single girls.” The midwife grabbed me first and stole me away from Alexander, and then she snagged the chambermaids, Darya and Tatyana, as well as the Vorontsovs’ house servant, Olga, who had just arrived and had barely taken off her coat. The four of us had been good childhood friends and would have likely grown closer had I not chosen to work in the kennel.
As Papa wove his hand in the air like a magic wand, the midwife handed each of us a piece of the suckling pig’s tail.
“Good luck, girls.” Darya’s smile faded into a lemony pout. “No matter how much I scrub my hands from cleaning the chamber pots, the dogs never want the meat I’m holding.”
“Nor mine.” Tatyana desperately smeared the piece of meat along her skirt.
“That leaves you or me,” Olga said. “And I’m too old to lose again.”
“If you want to win, make eye contact with Borei,” I whispered.
“Why should I trust you?” Olga asked. “Surely, you want to win just as much as I do.”
“I’d rather clean week-old chamber pots,” I said.
“I don’t believe you,” Olga said.
“Time to disperse, girls,” the midwife said to us.
I hurried back to Alexander. “You’ve got to hide me from Borei. I don’t want to become the next bride.”
“It’s just a game,” Alexander said.
“Not for me,” I said. “The midwife is intent on marrying me off to her nephew!”
“At least you’d be close by,” Alexander encouraged.
“Sasha, the midwife’s nephew is afraid of dogs!”
“That wouldn’t be a good match,” Alexander said. “Follow me!”
We wormed a path through the guests to a crowded
Once the ceremony ended, Mama and I rushed home before all the others and placed a sleepy Bohdan in his cradle. Papa arrived with our friends and well-wishers not long afterward. Mama stood vigil, rocking Bohdan’s cradle, as Papa tended to each guest, offering them food and drinks. Alexei, bundled up in sheepskin, was the first to give Papa a hearty pat on the back, followed by Boris.Plump-figured Marya brought tea cakes along with some of her kitchen staff. Ruslan filed in next with an icon of the Mother with Child and placed it in Mama’s hands.
“Your thoughtfulness humbles me,” Mama said to Ruslan. “We shall hang it over Bohdan’s cradle.”
On behalf of the Count and his wife, who were away in Moscow, attending the Imperial Ball, Alexander greeted Papa, and then presented Mama with a bag of gold rubles for Bohdan.
“
Spasibo
,” Mama said to Alexander.
Then he turned to me. “I’ve missed you at the kennel, Larochka.”
“Me too. How are Zola and the other dogs?” I asked. “Has Zar’s neck wound healed?”
“The dogs are fine and so is Zar’s neck,” Alexander said. “It’s Zar’s heart I’m worried about. He really misses you.”
“I feel the same way, Sasha.”
“Zar doesn’t much like being cooped up in a stall,” Alexander said.
“He’s used to sleeping at my feet,” I said. “It’s good you’ve come. I thought you’d be at the Imperial Ball with your parents.”
“My life is here,” Alexander said.
“To see the Tsar—and his beautiful palace—would be like a fairy tale,” I said.
“I’d prefer to meet the Tsar in a different setting, likea hunt. I can’t be bothered with balls, not when there’s so much work needed to build this kennel. With you as my steward I will one day breed the perfect borzoi and host hunts like the ones at Perchino.”
Hearing him talk about his goals stirred the dreams that lived inside of me. I wanted to tell Alexander that it would be Bohdan, not me, sharing in his big plans. Yet I couldn’t bring myself to say the words.
Just then, Maxim barged through the door and announced, “Are you ready for Borei?”
Papa looked to the midwife for guidance.
“Let me gather the single girls.” The midwife grabbed me first and stole me away from Alexander, and then she snagged the chambermaids, Darya and Tatyana, as well as the Vorontsovs’ house servant, Olga, who had just arrived and had barely taken off her coat. The four of us had been good childhood friends and would have likely grown closer had I not chosen to work in the kennel.
As Papa wove his hand in the air like a magic wand, the midwife handed each of us a piece of the suckling pig’s tail.
“Good luck, girls.” Darya’s smile faded into a lemony pout. “No matter how much I scrub my hands from cleaning the chamber pots, the dogs never want the meat I’m holding.”
“Nor mine.” Tatyana desperately smeared the piece of meat along her skirt.
“That leaves you or me,” Olga said. “And I’m too old to lose again.”
“If you want to win, make eye contact with Borei,” I whispered.
“Why should I trust you?” Olga asked. “Surely, you want to win just as much as I do.”
“I’d rather clean week-old chamber pots,” I said.
“I don’t believe you,” Olga said.
“Time to disperse, girls,” the midwife said to us.
I hurried back to Alexander. “You’ve got to hide me from Borei. I don’t want to become the next bride.”
“It’s just a game,” Alexander said.
“Not for me,” I said. “The midwife is intent on marrying me off to her nephew!”
“At least you’d be close by,” Alexander encouraged.
“Sasha, the midwife’s nephew is afraid of dogs!”
“That wouldn’t be a good match,” Alexander said. “Follow me!”
We wormed a path through the guests to a crowded
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