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“The Russians are all fools. I assume that this is what the Queen’s British bodyguards think?”
Davy was conscious that his mouth was dry and his heart seemed to be pounding its way up his
throat. How on earth had he, he of all of them, been placed into this sensitive position? “I have
never heard them call the Russians fools,” he finally ventured. “But they have said that they find the
structure of the Palace inefficient, at least from the standpoint of security.”
“Which is precisely what Yulian reported to the Volya,” Vlad said, his tone of voice once again
mild. They were walking across the expanse of a great public square and Davy was suddenly, at the
sight of the giant statue of Peter the Great, oriented to where he was in the city. “When he first told us
about the plans for the Tchaikovsky ball we scarcely believed him. He described a scene of such
confusion, with so many people coming and going in costume, that it was almost as if the tsar had sent
the Volya an invitation to attend the event.”
“The Tchaikovsky ball?”
“You know of it?”
The street before him seemed to shiver, to tremble in the golden light. Is this what if felt like to
faint? He had to at least get off his feet before panic caused him to do something truly foolish, to say
something which would bring down the entire political structure of Europe with a single blast.
“Do we have time for a drink?” Davy asked.
“There is always time for a drink, my friend.”
There were cafes at each corner of the square and they approached the nearest one, pulling out
their chairs with a scrape. Vlad raised a finger to the bored waiter, without bothering to ask Davy
what he wanted. Vodka was cheap. Plentiful. The drink of the people and thus the drink of the
people’s champions. Davy steeled himself for the taste.
“We were speaking of the ball,” Vlad reminded him. “And will your Queen be in attendance?”
“I imagine so.”
“And you?”
“Of course not. Among her attendants, I’m the lowest of the low.”
“That’s good,” Vlad said, nodding to the man absent-mindedly as the drinks were placed on the
table.