Romelle reached her quarters with a sense of relief. In the bathroom, she filled the wash basin with cold water and repeatedly splashed the cool liquid across her face.
I love them, as they love me, but I need time to think. They have each other. I'm alone. The man who truly cared for me, upon whom I depended almost for my very life....is gone...not quite a week! My God! Only seven days? A week ago, I was the happiest woman on earth. Everything lay before me. I stood before presidents and kings to proclaim my love and give my heart.
The ruby! Damn you! Why did you come into my life? A stone of love, the Tsaritsa says. How can that be true? You stole my love! You took him away! I cannot trust you. Chavadzy should have kept you. I saw him peering through you in my dream. Did he steal you? I can trust him no more than I can trust you. You both are demons of death! Beads! Red beads! I saw them in my dream. Ruby! Red ruby! Blood! Philo's red blood before the altar! Red is the color of death! Till...death...do us part.
Now Bradley...little boy of long ago...I do not know you. I loved you then, but who are you now? A man, the President's man, not my man, not my Philo. You look like him, but you are not he. I could trust him. Can I trust you? Are you in league with the ruby, with Chavadzy, with death? What...who...am I to believe?
Father, is it you? You left me once. Do you really want me to come to you? These others know you as I do not. I am jealous, Father. You have given yourself to them, but not to me. The ruby is what you gave to me, the stone of death!
Oh, God, what am I to do?
Just as she reached for a towel to dry her face, a burst of light flooded the bathroom. She rushed to the window. The heavens are on fire! Is it the end of the world?
Clouds of color roiled in a celestial cauldron.
Her thoughts were overwhelmed with confusion, tumbling like pieces of a kaleidoscope as vivid hues shot across the sky. Terrified at first, it dawned on her abruptly that she was witnessing an aurora borealis. The Northern Lights! Oh, Philo, is this the way they came to you? Are they a sign for me, as well? She stared at the awesome sight until, as quickly as it came, it faded.
With a sudden sense of peace, she went to bed.
She woke early in the morning, renewed by rest.
Finding that a hot bath had been drawn, she slipped into the tub and soaked for half an hour.
Thoughts presented themselves in an orderly fashion, one by one. She dealt intelligently with each as it came.
Philo would call this a sea change in my thinking. I can hear him saying, 'That's my girl!'
Afterward, she dried herself before the enormous porcelain stove that warmed the cozy suite.
When she had donned her traveling clothes, she looked at herself in the mirror.
I am ready to face the world.
Romelle greeted everyone at breakfast serenely.
"I can only draw the conclusion that as the aurora came to Philo long ago, so it came to me," she told them during the meal, "to light the way to some great purpose yet ahead. It was a sign that I have been set apart for a special revelation. I must, therefore, place my trust in no man, only God. All else is confusion. My mission will be revealed. It will speak to me as clearly as a heavenly choir."
Brad smiled from his place between Alexis and Anastasia, both of whom adored him. "Yes, Romy, and I'll be there to hear them sing!"
Ever the watchful mother, the Tsaritsa spooned another helping of scrambled eggs on Romelle's plate. "You must eat more, Romy. You are going to need your strength. You look lovely and rested this morning. I took the liberty of entering your room last night after you were asleep. I took all your clothes for cleaning, even the boots, and the things you are wearing now. Everything else has been packed in a trunk, with several things added for your comfort. Don't fret. You'll have lots of help in transporting it. No more wandering through Europe alone, brave girl!
"I also insist that you take the black fox cape with a hood that was given you on the train. You are going to Siberia, child. It's even colder than here. You must have it, or you'll freeze to death. You will find a very secure gusset pocket inside, made to safeguard the ruby. I have another gift for you, too....."
She turned and waved to a footman who came forward with a covered garment on a hanger. A second footman pulled the coverlet aside, revealing a long dress of white silk. A bertha collar, cut away from a vee-neck to spill over the shoulders and back, was finely embroidered with violets and heart-shaped leaves interwoven with silver thread.
"I embroidered the collar as a little project at Christmas," the Tsaritsa said, "but never got around to having a dress made. It is detachable. Last night, after you retired, I brought Madame Brissac from Petersburg to design and execute a dress to go with it. She is our finest couturière. Perhaps you will have occasion to wear it when your mourning comes to an end."
Romelle went to the dress and ran her fingers over the silk, caressing the violets on the collar as if they were real.
"Aunt Alix," she whispered, giving the Tsaritsa an embrace, "it will be the first dress I wear when my destiny is revealed!"
Olga presented her with a diary covered in lavender moiré and edged with gold. "Each of us keeps a diary, you know. Your thoughts are so beautiful, dear Romy, you ought to record them here. Someday, may it remind you of me."
Romelle kissed her. "Indeed, Olga, your name will the first word I write!"
Anastasia gave a bottle of her favorite scent, wrapped in hand-tatted lace. "All of us like Coty perfumes. Olga uses Rose Thé, Tatiana, Jasmin de Corse, and Marie loves Lilas. Not me! Unwrap it, please."
She stood back with a self-satisfied grin while Romelle unfolded the lace.
"Violette!" Romelle exclaimed. "You, too, are a violet girl!"
They embraced.
Alexis held back until the others were done. Smartly dressed in a white sailor suit trimmed with navy blue, he marched forward and saluted. "Miss Romy, I hope you will accept this as a token of my affection. I don't use perfume, but these smell very good."
With a bow, he offered a nosegay of wood violets as fragrant as a summer's day.
Romelle dropped to her knees and hugged him. "Alexis, I shall press these in Olga's diary, so wherever I go, you will, in spirit, be with me."
She stood. "Thank you, dear ones, for all you have done. Perhaps if my father comes to you this spring as he usually does, I shall return with him. We will meet again!"
The Tsar, who had left after toast and tea, entered the room. "Come, my friends, it is time to go. My gift to you is the trip to the Mongolian frontier, with a bodyguard of four Cossacks. An entire first-class carriage has been set aside for you on the Trans-Siberian Express, to which you will connect at Moscow. It is the most luxurious train in the world. I wish you Godspeed."
"As do we all," added the Tsaritsa. "We shall say goodbye here rather than at the station. I know you are anxious to be on your way."
The most difficult parting was between Alexis and Rebel. The two had formed a strong, instinctual attachment.  When the moment came, Alexis hung a collar around the dog's neck. It had been tooled from black leather and silver and featured a silver orel, the two-headed eagle of the Romanovs.
"This collar means you're in the imperial service, Rebel," Alexis said. "Goodbye, my friend. You know your job. Protect Miss Romy, and find the Golden City."
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