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“Bravo, Davy,” said Trevor. “So they can. We have no idea who took the picture but
presumably it was developed somewhere here at the palace. These people don’t leave for any reason
at all, including birth, death, and everything that comes between. We simply must find where the
photography is developed and see if the negative still exists.”
“I shall do it, Sir,” said Davy.
“And I shall go with him,” said Tom. “Four eyes are better than two and we may have to study
the expanded image within the dark room.”
“Good lads, for I” – and here Trevor paused to check his pocket watch – “am within minutes of
my two o’clock audience with the Queen.”
The Winter Palace – Ella’s Parlor
2:02 PM
“I am dreadfully sorry, Your Majesty,” Trevor said. “And may I extend my condolences to you
as well, Your Imperial Highness.”
He stood before the settee which held the Queen and a morose-looking Alix while Ella walked
back and forth behind it, staring down at the rug and wringing her hands.
“We do not understand how this might have happened,” the Queen said, perhaps slipping back
into the royal “we” through agitation and perhaps simply speaking for both herself and her
granddaughters. “You say she was found dressed in a stage costume? Why on earth should that be?”
“We do not know for certain,” Trevor said, “but we imagine that the gypsy king costume is
some sort of message. Perhaps things will become clearer when we have had the chance to interview
the dancers and know whose costume it was and how the assailant might have come to possess it.”
“I can save you the effort,” Ella said, still not meeting his gaze as she continued to pace. “The
Gypsy King is a role played by Konstantin Antonovich in one of the sketches planned for the ball. I
have seen him wear the costume in rehearsals many times. Everyone has.”