Page 73 of Crimson

Svetlana was laughing, but Nikolai saw that Nadia wasn’t smiling.

Once the ballerina had moved along, he said, “Don’t worry, she was only joking. I don’t have any exes here tonight.”

“It’s alright if you do,” Nadia said. “I can see Maxim over there, staring daggers at me.”

“Well, if he says anything to you, I’ll break his jaw,” Nikolai growled furiously.

“Don’t do that,” Nadia said. “He’s no threat to you.”

But she still sounded unhappy and worried.

Nikolai wanted to speak to her further, but his father had arrived. Zavier Markov looked sleek and youthful in his dark tux. He took Nadia by the hands and kissed her affectionately.

“Congratulations, my new daughter,” he said.

“Thank you,” Nadia said nervously. “I’m honored to become part of your family.”

“The honor is all ours,” Zavier said. “Has Nikolai been introducing you to everyone?”

“We only just got here,” Nikolai said.

“Well, that’s no excuse,” Zavier said to him. “You can’t keep Nadia all to yourself.”

So saying, he took Nadia by the arm and swept her toward a group of Ministers, including Popov and Mikhailov.

“Gentlemen!” Zavier said. “Have you met Nadia Turgenev? The daughter of Samara Lebedev and Petya Turgenev, of the Paris family. She’s engaged to my son Nikolai.”

Nikolai watched as Nadia shook hands all around. Mikhailov took her hand and kissed it. He didn’t have to bend much to do it, because he was so short

“I knew your mother Samara,” he said to Nadia. “Her beauty lives on in you.”

“Thank you,” Nadia said, blushing a little.

“What a surprising announcement,” Mikhailov said, shrewdly squinting at Zavier and Nikolai. “I never thought I’d hear of an engagement between the Markovs and the Lebedevs.”

“Well it’s a new era, isn’t it?” Zavier said, giving him a cold smile. “Old grudges forgotten; new alliances forged. Families rising and falling and rising again.”

Nikolai wished his father wouldn’t be so blatant. He could see Nadia looking sharply between Zavier and the Minister.

“Let’s speak more later,” Nikolai said. “I think the performance is about to begin.”

He pulled Nadia away from the group, trying to conceal his racing heart and the flush rising up his face.

He thought Nadia would question him, but she seemed oddly silent.

“I got us a box for the performance,” he said to her. “You’ll have a perfect view.”

“That’s good,” Nadia said quietly.

Indeed, the bells were chiming to warm the partygoers to find their seats. Nikolai took Nadia up the large staircase to the entrances to the private balconies. He easily found the one reserved for the Markovs, since his family had paid for exclusive access to those seats for decades.

But as he was helping Nadia into her plush chair in the front row, right against the balcony, he felt his father’s hand on his shoulder.

“Mikhailov wants to speak to us,” he said.

“Can’t it wait until intermission?” Nikolai said. “The performance is about to begin.”

Zavier tightened his grip on Nikolai’s shoulder.