Dancing With Bears - Michael Swanwick [77]
With just a twinge of regret, Zoësophia mentally subtracted the dog-noises and stood listening to the soft creakings of people moving about the mansion above. Avoiding them all and slipping out without being seen would be no more difficult than playing chess blindfolded—and blindfold chess was a game at which she excelled.
Less than ten minutes later, Zoësophia let herself out through the main entrance. She didn’t even consider leaving via the secret though frequently used passage in the basement.
A lady never left a house by the rear door.
The Pearls had been excited at first. But then the day had slowly drawn on and the afternoon had grown late and Zoësophia and the ambassador had not returned. They played cards and then board games until they grew bored. They sang songs until they grew even more bored. Olympias played the virginal. They ate oranges and teased a kitten with a piece of yarn. With every familiar activity their boredom grew, until finally it was a tremendous force latent within them like the superheated steam and molten lava inside a volcano. Inevitably, there came a moment when they had all had just about enough and that force threatened to well up within them and explode.
“I am so horny I could—” Aetheria began.
“We’ve already played that game,” Nymphodora said glumly. “Russalka won. Though what Olympias said was almost as disgusting.” “Well, I would,” Russalka said.
“So would I,” Nymphodora agreed. “Only it’s icky to admit it out loud.”
“— scream,” Aetheria finished.
All the Pearls brightened. “Pray do,” Euphrosyne said encouragingly.
She did. But after the laughter and applause died down; and the Neanderthals came stampeding in, ready for anything, and then reddened with embarrassment at being fooled so; and the laughter from that died down as well…their boredom returned with redoubled intensity.
“It’s time we did something,” Russalka said.“Since Zoësophia’s not here, I’m nominating myself leader. Does anybody object? Don’t any of you dare. It’s unanimous then. We’re going with my plan.”
“What plan?”
“You have a plan?”
“Why didn’t you tell us you had a plan?”
“Whatever it is, it’s got to be better than gin rummy.”
“Yes, I have a plan, and it has nothing at all to do with cards, and instead of me explaining it to you, let’s just put it into action. All in favor? Don’t bother saying aye. I’ve already made up my mind. Aetheria, would you call the boys in?”
Aetheria screamed again.
The Neanderthals stampeded into the room again, as always ready for anything and yet this time prepared to be laughed at once more. They stopped at the glares of the young women and, when the Pearls advanced upon them, shrank back.
Russalka stamped an exquisite foot. “You will take us immediately to the Terem Palace.” She pouted in a manner that had cost her long hours in front of a mirror to master.
The Neanderthals shuffled uncomfortably.
“Ahem. Well. I dunno if we’ve got the authority to do that,” Herakles said hesitantly. “Ma’am.”
“I am quite certain you do not. But in the ambassador’s absence, authority for our well-being passes to the treasurer, am I right?”
“Yeah, but Zoësophia ain’t here.”
“Then it passes to one of us.”
“I don’t—”
“Authority passes to somebody, right?” Russalka said testily. “And that somebody isn’t you, is it? It is not. Which leaves us. It’s only reasonable.”
Herakles’s face twisted as he followed her chain of logic, and then twisted again as he sought an alternative to it. But there was none, and he was incapable of disobeying legitimate authority, so at last he sighed in resignation. “I guess I got no choice. We can leave immediately.”
“Oh, don’t be an idiot!” Russalka said. “Of course we can’t. First, we must get dressed and made up.”
Though this was her first time walking them, the streets of Moscow were perfectly familiar to Zoësophia. She had come to Russia knowing everything about the city that was known to the Byzantine secret service (which was a great deal more than the government of Muscovy suspected), and her subsequent study of maps and books had