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Chapter Fifteen
The Winter Palace - Ella’s Apartments
5:20 PM
They were being insulted on at least two levels, perhaps more.
The first slight came in the fact that their “welcoming dinner” was in fact an annual event whose
true intent was to celebrate the summer solstice. The details had been planned long before they
arrived, and the presence of the Queen of England and Alix would be but one small facet of the
celebration.
The second insult came in the form of a gown which had been delivered to Ella’s apartments on
the morning of the dinner, with a note attached saying it was for Alix to wear. The dress was silver
brocade and encrusted with great stones – pearls and rubies, even the occasional diamond – and it
was so heavy that Alix’s knees had buckled when she had lifted it from its box. Fortunately her
excitement over the grandeur of the outfit, coupled with the fact that Nicky would be publically
escorting her to the dinner, had kept her from noticing the implications of the gift. Her grandmother
and sister had not been so deluded. Alix may have made no formal appearance before the imperial
family, but evidently at some time during her singular outing with Nicky or her days confined to her
sister’s apartments, her wardrobe had been judged and found wanting. This dress was a none-toosubtle
indication that, in order to save face, the Romanovs had taken it upon themselves to attire her
suitably for her first state occasion.
“Don’t get too proud,” Victoria said when Alix, with the assistance of Emma, had finally
managed to struggle into the dress and emerge from the dressing room to parade before the others.
“I’m breathless,” Alix confessed. “Both by the value and the heaviness of the stones. I feel as
if I am all but pinned to the ground.”
“This is the weight that comes with being an empress,” Ella said. “If you truly want Nicky, you
may as well get used to it.”
“Precisely who sent this gift to you?” the Queen asked.