Page 51 of A Swirl of Shadows
The countess inhaled deeply and let out a blissful sigh.
“They are just simple little treats—sugar, butter, cinnamon, and nutmeats.” A pause. “Though a few include some rather exotic spices.”
“Oh, I’m really not hungry.” The lady’s pudgy fingers were already tugging at the scarlet silk bow. “But it would be rude of me to refuse.”
Arianna watched as the lady bit into a chocolate bonbon filled with a vanilla and rum-flavored crème filling . . .
And let out a little moan of pleasure.
“Do try this one,” she murmured, pointing out a patty topped with chopped almonds and dates. “I used three different kinds of Indian pepper to spice the sugar, which gives the buttery chocolate a piquant bite.”
Lowering her voice to a conspiratorial whisper, Arianna added, “Napoleon found it very seductive.”
“Mmmmm.” Countess Litta looked up with a lidded gaze. “Seductive, you say?”
For all her show of hedonistic ennui, the lady was not to be underestimated. As she chose another confection, Arianna smiled. “I have heard that nobody knows more about the Imperial Court than you.”
“That is true,” said the countess before biting into a salted caramel topped with a sprinkling ofsel de mer.
“Some things puzzle me, so might I ask you a few questions?” Before arriving at the countess’s apartments, Arianna and Sophia had agreed that Arianna would do all the talking.
A languid wave indicated for her to go on.
She made a few innocuous queries about protocol before moving to the real reason for buttering up Countess Litta.
“By the by, that is the Tsar’s favorite,” said Arianna, pointing to a bonbon covered in coconut shavings. “We formed a close friendship in Vienna, as he became very fond of my chocolates.” She expelled a mournful sigh. “So I’m deeply distressed to have heard rumors that there are people at court who wish him ill,” said Arianna.
“There is always some sort of intrigue going on at court,” replied Countess Litta.
The bland reply didn’t surprise her. The countess was far too canny to answer directly.
“Indeed,” agreed Arianna. “But Prince Orlov’s name has been mentioned more than once.” She allowed a sliver of silence before lowering her voice. “And in London, the prince’s late brother had a very unsavory reputation. You know what they say about apples from the same tree not falling far from each other.”
Countess Litta dusted a few crumbs of chocolate from her fingers. Her tongue peeked out from between her rosy lips and slowly licked away a few glittering grains of sugar.
“A family is like a tree,” she murmured. “If the fruits are bad, perhaps the rot comes from closer to the roots.”
Arianna went very still, trying to parse themeaning of what she had just heard. “It is my understanding that the prince’s father and mother are deceased,” she replied. “So, is he not the head of the family now?”
The countess shrugged. “Families are complicated.” She had emptied the box of chocolates and casually brushed it off her lap. “Surely the same is true in Britain.”
Arianna knew that she would get no further answers for the moment.
She rose and dipped a gracious curtsey, with Sophia quickly following her lead. “If you found the confections to your taste, I would, of course, be happy to bring you more.”
“You are welcome to come again, Lady Saybrook.” The countess fixed her with a shrewd look. “And tempt me with your divine sweets.”
With that, the audience was over.
“What an odious toad,” muttered Sophia, once they had passed into a different section of the palace,
“Information is one’s lifeblood here in the Imperial Court,” answered Arianna. “One doesn’t give away such a precious commodity for free.”
Sophia repressed a shudder. “And yet it seems your tasty bribe was repaid with nothing but habble-gabble.”
Arianna blew out a frustrated breath. “I confess, I’m puzzled.” She drew them to a halt by a bank of windows with a view of the river. In the distance, a glimmer of winter-soft light flashed off the famous angel atop the gilded spire of the Peter and Paul Cathedral, where in several weeks Tsar Alexander must appear at a holy ceremony wearing the missing medallion.
Or suffer the consequences of the legendary curse.
