Masquerade [Kuskovo Estate]

[Noémi Jourdain]

The gown she had purchased from the GUM was perhaps the most expensive and elegant thing Noémi had ever owned. It was soft as the distant heavens against her curves, detailed with small vines and flowers, and complemented by a graceful mask as delicate and mysterious as the features that lay beneath it. Her hair lay in simple gold-brown curls against her shoulders, pinned behind one ear to display a tasteful earring. Those were her own, passed down through her mother, but they were sentimental, not precious. A reminder and touchstone amidst the finery.

Inside, her heart was fluttering.

Raffe was quiet in the car beside her, watching the scenery pass the window. He’d been hesitant when she’d assured she could cover the cost of his outfit, but did not pry into where she got the money for such extravagance. Used to thrift, neither of them had been inclined to spend much beyond what they thought might be expected for such an evening.

She’d picked the suit, and he’d picked the mask, a pale polished wooden one fashioned into leaves. If he seemed nervous, and she couldn’t imagine he wasn’t, it did not show. Tucked inside the curve of his hands was a potted rose, bright in ruby bloom despite the season. It was with nervous realisation of how out of their depths they both were when she confided she did not think it was the kind of party to which one was expected to bring gifts. He’d chuckled in half-amusement, but only shrugged, and said that everyone liked flowers.

The starlight snap of paparazzi did little to settle her composure, though she ascended the steps to the estate with aplomb. She was used to being behind the camera, not in front of it. Inside she tried not to stare at the luxury, or the people. Not from awe so much as the dreadful feeling of being an impostor among them. The mask felt like a thin veil. She was not usually so anxious, but the balance of heart and head was precariously off-kilter, and she did not want the scene she was afraid might unravel should Dima misinterpret her presence. A sensible woman might have pleaded illness and avoided the possibility. But her heart longed to glimpse Nikolai.

From the low buzz she was sure he was already here, though she could not yet see him. It felt like a weight of gravity. One she had to resist for the sake of discretion.

Fortunately it was Grisha who spotted their arrival, and not his brother. He gave a curious double take before coming over to welcome them. The youngest Vasiliev son was perhaps the only man here aside from Raffe who was not in a formal tuxedo, and he meandered the crowd as though it were the casino floor and not the height of formal refinement. He was in black on black, no jacket at all, the silk shirt open low to display the top of his tattoos, with hands slung in his pockets when he was not patting arms or reaching to kiss cheeks. His mask covered only half his face, in swirls of black and silver. He grinned, brows aloft as he rounded on them. Noémi saw the moment he recognised her for sure, for a surreptitious glance marked Dima’s direction. She caught the edges of a horned mask in the crowd, but he was turned away. She discreetly turned her own shoulder.

Grisha’s greeting was generic and warm. He’d never cared much for airs and graces. Neither did he betray the scandal of their familiarity, beyond a whisper in her ear as he kissed her cheek. “Best not let Sofia see you,” he warned.

Neither of them had noticed Raffe was still carrying the rose until Grisha pointed it out with no small amusement. Raffe declared it an anniversary gift – a traditional one, apparently, but Grisha waved away the detail and offered to take it from him with assurances that he was sure his mother would adore it, though it was actually his father who was the avid gardener these days. He said it all with an entertained grin but did nothing to make Raffe feel foolish. Then he made a gesture for one of the waiters to bring them drinks, and added with a wink that he hoped they enjoyed the evening before he departed to see to other guests.