The Midwife of St. Petersburg by Linda Lee Chaikin

below. Tatiana’s bedroom door was shut. He tapped. There was no response. From down the corridor he heard movement in one of the rooms. He walked there and found the door ajar. He saw enough to know that this was the room assigned to Karena or her sister. Tatiana stared into the open box in her hands, so entranced that she didn’t hear him enter as she removed its contents.
    “Not very hospitable of you, darling.”
    Her breath caught, and she whirled. “Alex!”
    “Yes, and you should be grateful it isn’t one of your cousins.”
    “I wasn’t stealing it!”
    “I didn’t say you were.” He came up beside her, carefully removing the pendant from her hand.
    “Alex—oh, you can’t think I’d take it from them!”
    “No, I don’t.” He lifted her chin gently and studied her eyes.
    She shook her head. “They have so little. I’d never take from them. I—I was just looking at it.” She placed her trembling palm against his hand. “I want you to believe me,” she whispered.
    “I do, Tatiana.” It was a deliberate act of his will to believe.
    She let out a sigh of relief. Tension fled from her face. “Thank you, Alex.”
    He caught sight of a red hat by the wardrobe.
Karena …
He frowned.
Why can’t I get her out of my mind?
    Tatiana stepped back, oblivious to his moment of frustration, and brought her handkerchief to her eyes.
    He looked down at the pendant and examined it. “Exceptional.”
    “Yes. Very.” She sank onto the edge of the chair. “That’s what made me so curious. Jewelry of this value would be hard for the Menkins to come by.”
    “Then the pendant isn’t your cousin’s?”
    “Oh no. Karena has very little. The Peshkovs are not wealthy. Uncle Josef—Mother’s younger brother—is a wheat farmer. You saw Karena’s gown tonight. Quite dull, actually. I had to give her and Natalia silk stockings. They’re country gentry. But I love them dearly, of course.” She stood, making jerky movements with her hands. “That’s why the pendant is so curious to me.”
    “If it isn’t your cousin’s, whose would it be?”
    “Well, they say it belongs to their mother, Madame Yeva, from theMenkin side of the family—the Jewish side. Natalia says she borrowed it from a safe and brought it here to wear to the ball. Karena was very upset about that.”
    “Then Madame Peshkova doesn’t know Natalia
borrowed
it?”
    “No, and Karena made a terrible fuss and refused to allow her to wear it tonight.”
    “Undoubtedly wise. Other than its value, why are you so taken with it?”
    A flash of resentment showed in her eyes, then diminished. “I’ve seen two other pieces like it, and I can’t understand how Madame Yeva would have come by it.”
    Alex kept silent. He thought he could see down the path Tatiana was taking. He knew almost nothing about the Peshkov family of Kiev and even less of Madame Yeva and her Jewish roots.
    “Why didn’t you go to your cousins and ask to see it again?”
    “Karena made such a fuss over Natalia having it here, as I’ve said.”
    He looked at her. “So what were you planning to do?”
    “To
borrow
it for just an hour to show it to Fyodor and see if he agreed it’s part of the countess’s set.”
    Alex’s temper flared. “A grave mistake. It is none of your affair.”
    “And if it is part of Countess Zinnovy’s set?” she asked defensively.
    “Regardless, you would embarrass your cousins and cause a furor. Just imagine if you rouse Fyodor’s suspicions. Once he gets riled, he’s like a hound. Do you want Karena and Natalia to be questioned and persecuted by someone as powerful as he? It would lead to trouble all around.”
    She lowered her eyes. “I see what you mean … I hadn’t realized the consequences. I was merely curious and thought he could explain.”
    He studied her for an uncomfortable moment. “Let me handle this, will you? Say nothing whatsoever to Fyodor, or anyone else.”
    “Yes, Alex, of course I will.”
    He placed the