Laughing, a sound that seemed rather rusted, Nicky pulled back. A sheen of tears watered his good eye. “Clearly I’m not.”
He was still as handsome as a saint, though he’d grown painfully thin. As if the muscles of manhood had withered from his imposing frame. Svetlana gently touched the strap of his eyepatch. “What happened?”
“A souvenir from being a Russian nobleman. Turns out we’re no longer welcome in our country.”
“But how did you survive? We were told you and Papa were shot.”
Nicky’s mouth twisted with disdain. “Sergey seems to have spun all sorts of lies. Treacherous cur. Mama told me he threw himself under a train.”
Behind him, Mama gave a slight shake of her head for Svetlana to keep quiet. Some secrets were best left unsaid.
Nicky held Svetlana’s hands. They’d never been an overly affectionate family, but time had softened them, it seemed, for they held tight to one another. Perhaps afraid to let go and find the other gone.
“The Bolsheviks captured what was left of the White Army standing guard and shot us next to the Neva River. Papa died instantly when he tried to defend his men. A bullet scraped the side of my face, knocking me backward into the river where I floated downstream. A goat herder found me and hid me for over a year. I searched for you and Mama and Marina all over Paris, but it seemed hopeless, so I took a ship to England with other white émigrés.”
A smile lit his tired face. “In London I was reading a newspaper article about collecting lost items from Imperial Russia for an exhibit at the Royal Victoria and Albert Museum. Imagine my surprise at the organizer being none other than the Duchess of Kilbride, the former Princess Svetlana Dalsky.”
“An astonishing story.” Tears filled Svetlana’s eyes and fell unchecked down her cheeks. “I cannot believe you stand before us.”
Marina clapped her hands and jumped up to hug them. “Isn’t it wonderful?”
Mama’s arms circled around them. Tears flowed down her cheeks. “All of my children together at last. Never shall we part again.”
She motioned to Wynn, who stood by the door quietly observing. “I said
Svetlana’s heart overflowed with joy as her family’s arms wrapped around her, locking her safely in their embrace. They had journeyed far and been lost to one another only to find themselves together again at last, this time stronger through the forbearance of their struggles.
Wynn’s arms circled her waist from behind, drawing her close to his chest so that she felt the steady beat of his heart. That’s what he had always been for her, the steady beat that gave her courage. A beat she would never have to do without again.
“I thought Russians were averse to displays of affection,” he whispered into her ear.
“Shh. It will ruin our hard-earned image.”
“Hate to tell you, Princess, but you shattered that for me long ago.”
Svetlana smiled. “
The End
Discussion Questions
Why do you think Wynn has complicated feelings toward his title, and how does his chosen occupation reflect these feelings?
What does Svetlana learn about herself over the course of the story? In what ways have her altered circumstances forced her to change?
In 1917 heart surgery was not part of medical practice. In fact, it was said that, “Surgery of the heart has probably reached its limit set by nature. No new methods and no new discovery can overcome the natural difficulties that attend a wound of the heart,” and that “The surgeon who operates on the heart will lose the respect of his colleagues.” Given that this was such a radical procedure, would you have allowed Wynn to perform heart surgery on you?
After Svetlana and her family escape Russia, they must embrace new places and traditions in order to survive. If you’ve ever had to uproot your life, how did you cope? Were you resistant to your new home or did you welcome it?
What do Svetlana and Wynn admire about each other? In what ways do their personalities complement one another?
Do you think Wynn made the right choice to operate on Harkin or should he have consulted other medical advice first?
Dancing is Svetlana’s passion and the only way she can truly express herself, just as Wynn finds his calling through surgery. If they were never allowed to dance or be a physician again, might they have found true contentment in other ways? Or does the heart long only for its true passion, never settling for less?
Svetlana states time and again that Russians are not known for their optimistic outlook, citing the miseries penned by Tolstoy and Pushkin to be a true reflection of life. Do you think this contributed to her denial of happiness and love? Or was the Revolution more to blame?