The Gathering Storm (Katerina #1)

"Now, Katerina Alexandrovna," Madame Tomilov said, sweeping into the room with her black skirts swishing noisily. "I have been informed of your reckless actions of this morning." The heels of her boots clicked against the wooden floor as she hurried over to the windows and threw open the curtains, letting in the bright midmorning sun.

"Please, madame, could you tell me what Dr. Kruglevski discovered about Dariya?"

"I would not presume to know," she said. "The doctor has deemed it prudent to admit your cousin at the hospital for further examinations."

"Oh! Please let me see her!" I begged. "She will be so frightened in the hospital by herself."

"Certainly not. I have already sent word to Dariya's family. In the meantime, we must discuss your inexcusable behavior this morning with your parents. I have also sent them a message, asking them to come and speak with me immediately."

"My parents are coming here?" That was unheard of, except in extreme cases of misbehavior. Which, of course, applied to me. I wondered if I should start packing up my belongings.

"You are to return to the classroom until I send for you. Do not discuss either your cousin's ill ness or your own behavior. I would prefer that you not distress the other students with this news right now. They will learn about Dariya soon enough." With that she picked up a fountain pen and began writing, ignoring me completely.

Quietly, I got up and walked down the hallway to the large classroom.

Augusta stopped me in the hall on her way to her German class. "How is Dariya?" she asked.

"They won't tell me," I said, which was partially true. It had been years since any of us had been so ill that we weren't cared for in the sick wing.

Even Princess Marija, Elena's older sister, had been tended to here at Smolny instead of taken to a hospital. Perhaps that was why she had not survived.

If I tried to stop worrying about Dariya, I began to worry about myself. I was not sure what my parents would say when they arrived and heard what I had done. I took a deep breath as I opened the classroom door.

Augusta was about to ask me another question when Madame Orbel ani beckoned me inside. She did not bother to stop the French lesson as I slid into my desk next to Elena's.

Elena smirked. "You must be mad, Katiya!" she leaned over to whisper.

"I cannot imagine being brave enough to sneak out of Smolny like that!"

"Mesdemoiselles!" Madame Orbel ani warned. "ecoutez, s'ill vous plait!" I bent my head down and pretended to study my tattered copy of Voltaire. Madame's French droning made me sleepy, and I found myself daydreaming, staring out the large half-moon window at the gray January sky. I wondered if Dr. Kruglevski had found out what was wrong with Dariya yet. If it wasn't influenza, why had it come on so suddenly? Food poisoning came on rapidly-but it seemed to me that more of the students would have been affected. At least none of the other girls had been ill enough to be taken to the hospital. If they all shared the ill ness, perhaps that boded well for my poor cousin. I hoped that she was on the road to recovery.

"Katerina!" Elena was whispering, trying desperately to get my attention.

Ignoring her, I looked back up at Madame Orbel ani, then down at my textbook, and sighed. This was going to be an impossibly long day.

But not as impossibly long as I feared. We were eating lunch in the dining hall when one of the servants summoned me to Madame Tomilov's sitting room. My parents had finally arrived. Erzsebet looked at me sadly and gave my hand a squeeze. "I'll say a prayer for you." My stomach was twisted into knots. My time of reckoning had come.

Papa was sitting in the red parlor, along with Dr. Kruglevski.

"Where's Maman?" I asked.

"She has taken to her bed," Papa said, his voice short and not a little tired. "What is this all about, Katiya? Madame Tomilov says that you left the institute without a chaperone before breakfast and walked all the way to the hospital?"

I nodded. "Yes, Papa. Dariya was taken ill. I've been so worried about her."

"And Dr. Kruglevski tells me that your good sense has probably saved your cousin's life. Madame Tomilov, I would not have my daughter punished for taking such wise action."

The headmistress was speechless. Her lorgnette fell from her shaking hand. "Your Highness, our rules are meant to be enforced, for the safety of your daughter, and all of the other girls."

I was speechless as well. I'd never heard anyone speak to the headmistress in such a manner.

Dr. Kruglevski spoke up. "Madame Tomilov, Dariya Yevgenievna is in stable condition right now, recovering from a very potent poison. If Katerina Alexandrovna had not called for me, her cousin would have certainly succumbed to the poison's very lethal effects."

The headmistress looked stricken. "Poison? Mon Dieu, not here at the institute. That is impossible!"

Dr. Kruglevski nodded. "I'm afraid it is so, madame. I have not been able to detect all the components of the poison yet, but I am sure we'll be able to come up with an antidote soon. I will need to obtain blood specimens from the other sick girls as well to make a comparison." Papa leaned forward. "Madame Tomilov, I suggest you move quickly to determine the culprit, before any more girls are harmed." The headmistress turned pale as a ghost. "What shal we do? What if it is one of the cooking staff?" She rang a little brass bell on her desk, and soon Madame Orbel ani came in.

"Oui, madame?"

"His Imperial Highness and Dr. Kruglevski believe that there is a criminal within the walls of Smolny. Possibly in the kitchen. Dariya Yevgenievna has been poisoned."

"That cannot be!" Madame Orbel ani said with dismay. "Our cook staff has been working at Smolny for years. None in our kitchen would do such an evil thing."

Papa and Dr. Kruglevski exchanged looks. They must have already discussed this between themselves. "What about the rest of the staff? Has anyone been newly hired?"

Madame Tomilov nodded, frowning. "We took on several new staff members for this school year. However, they all came with excellent references."

"They must all be brought forward for questioning," Papa said.

Of course the interrogation of the staff at Smolny revealed nothing and only upset the servants. The cook was indignant and refused to make anything but porridge and brown bread for two days. The truth about the strange ill ness spread quickly through the institute. Everyone knew that Dariya and Aurora had been poisoned. No one else displayed any similar symptoms after that.

By that evening, Aurora had begun to show some signs of color and was able to eat a little broth. The servant girls quickly showed signs of returning to normal as well. Their cold lights were barely visible to me when I visited the sickroom that night.

I needed to visit the hospital and see Dariya. But now I was forbidden even to take afternoon walks away from the institute. Papa said I was not to leave the school unless accompanied by him or Maman. I would be going home in a few weeks to attend the Anichkov ball with my parents. It was the one ball of the season where both Light and Dark Court members paid homage to the empress.

In the meantime, I feared Elena would poison someone else. I had to find a way to stop her.