Dead of Winter - James Goss [15]
‘You look like a yeti,’ breathed Amy.
Prince Boris laughed. ‘And you are?’
‘Amelia Pond,’ she said. ‘Your Grace. Sorry if I don’t get up. Maria, curtsy for the nice Prince.’
I curtsied and Amy nodded, pleased. ‘She does it very well, doesn’t she?’
Prince Boris bowed his head, solemnly. ‘I am likewise indisposed, I fear. Forgive me for not rising. I have been stuck in this bed for weeks, I regret.’ He sighed, tossing his book to one side. ‘You wouldn’t think I used to be an athlete, would you?’
‘So what you in here for?’ asked Amy. Scottish women, were, I thought, a little direct.
‘Laziness!’ Prince Boris laughed again with his deep and lovely laugh. ‘Oh, I’m wasting away along with everyone else!’ There was the tiniest rattle which you could just hear under his voice. ‘My family don’t care to look at me like this, so they’ve packed me off here to be out of the way. Which I am doing splendidly. It’s quite a relief really. No estates to look after, no serfs to deal with. I’m reading ever so many clever books. But I do miss the dancing and the hunting and…’ he paused, gallantly, ‘the company of a pretty young lady, Mademoiselle.’
‘Madame.’ Amy was firm, wheeling herself a little closer to the bed. ‘I’m a married woman,’ she said softly.
‘Aren’t they all?’ Prince Boris laughed, again with that slight echo in his chest. ‘I’ve no doubt you are, my dear. So what is your story? What are you doing among the dead?’
She tipped her head to one side. ‘Our carriage came off the road nearby, and I’m still a bit the worse for wear.’ She winced. ‘A bump on the head, but I should be up and about in a day or so.’
‘Oh.’ Prince Boris has very nice manners. ‘How sad that I shall not long have the delight of your company. I should have adored taking you horse riding.’
‘You can still ride horses?’
Boris nodded. ‘Maybe, soon. My manservant Kosov taught me to ride when I was a boy. Been with me ever since. Even followed me to this lacklustre place. He says there’s actually some improvement in my condition, can you believe it? Put it down to the fresh sea air! How he can tell, I don’t know. Bless the fellow, he watches over me while I sleep. I should be touched by his loyalty. But it is rather like having a faithful hound.’
‘One that does the ironing,’ muttered Amy.
Prince Boris noticed I was getting a bit bored of all this. ‘Ah, and what do you think of our very own pet here, the adorable Maria?’
Amy looked at me, smiling like she’d stolen sweets. ‘She’s a treasure. If I were her mother, I wouldn’t leave her alone.’ I am sorry Mother, but that is what she said! I think you are CRUEL for leaving me here!
‘Indeed,’ agreed Boris (see, even ROYALTY agrees!). ‘But she’s here for her health, aren’t you, my dear?’
‘I’m feeling much better, thank you, Your Highness,’ I muttered dully.
‘Now, now, none of that. Especially not in front of Madame Pond. You’ll call me Boris. Now, what can we do to amuse you?’ He cracked such a lovely smile.
Which is how we ended up having a chariot race. Amy objected, but Boris had soon settled her on his bed while he and I faced up to each other in wheelchairs.
‘I can’t believe you’re doing this,’ protested Amy.
‘Nonsense,’ laughed Boris. ‘A little light exercise will do me the power of good.’ He tested his grip on the wheels. ‘Capital,’ he announced.
‘Don’t let me win, Boris,’ I warned him.
He looked at me solemnly. ‘My dear, I am a Romanov. We were brought up never to let anyone else win anything.’ He turned back to Amy, bouncing his chair off the ground. ‘Come now, will you start the race like Queen Guinevere by dropping a handkerchief? Permit me to fetch you one.’
A minute later one of Prince Boris’s embroidered silk handkerchiefs fluttered to the floor and we were off, round the room and down the corridor. To be truthful, it was harder work than I had thought, my hands stiff against the squeaking wheels and the chair itself so heavy.
Prince Boris had a clear lead and was laughing loudly, a laugh that simply spurred