January 1913
The ladies were met at the train by the chauffeur of the Russian royal family. He ported them to the Winter Palace that morning. When they arrived, having gone through the servants entrance, they were led to the hall where they were to meet Alix. There she was overseeing the portrait taking of Olga and Tatiana in their court gowns.
When Sybille saw Tatiana for the first time, she was mesmerized. Her heart skipped a beat, and she lost her breath. Never had she seen a woman so beautiful in all the world. She didn't even realize that Alix was speaking to them.
"Mrs. Smith?" Alix tried to get her attention. She turned to see what Sybille was looking at. "Yes, my Tatiana is beautiful. She carries with her the beauty of all the English women in history. Never have I seen someone look more English than Tatiana with her dark hair and blue eyes."
"Yes, beautiful." Sybille cleared her throat and looked away. "Forgive me for staring."
"There is nothing to forgive. Now, I wanted to introduce you to the older girls before you meet the younger children. George said that you, Francine, would teach history and mathematics. Minerva would teach English and geography, and Cordelia would teach music and languages. Is that correct?"
"Yes, we specialize in those courses."
"Understandable." The photographer came over and told Alix he was done. The royal daughters walked towards their mother. "I would like to introduce you to the new Governesses for the Small Pair and Alexei." Alix motioned to Sybille, Lisette, and Tess in turn and the ladies curtsied as she did. "Francine Smith, Cordelia Smith, and Minerva Roberts."
"Are you sisters?" Olga sked Sybille and Lisette.
"Sisters-in-law, Your Imperial Highness." Lisette explained. "Francine is my brother's widow, and Minerva is her sister."
"Oh, I am sorry to hear of the death of your husband. Was it recent?"
"A year ago." Sybille lied.
"And already out of mourning, how strange." Alix commented. "Well, to each their own." A cacophony of running feet came from behind them, and the ladies turned to see the younger siblings running towards them. "Ah, here are my other children. This is Maria, Anastasia, and Alexei." She pointed to each after they hugged her. "These are your new Governesses. Mrs. Smith, Miss Smith, and Miss Roberts. Be sure to treat them with kindness." A maid who had been standing nearby was called over. "Please have the housekeeper see these ladies to their rooms."
"Yes, Your Imperial Majesty."
The ladies and the maid curtsied to the Empress, and they followed her out. The housekeeper was an older woman named Mrs. Pavlovsky. She wandered through the Palace taking the ladies to the servants' quarters and to their room. Tess, Sybille, and Lisette were to share one room.
When Mrs. Pavlovsky left, Lisette and Tess sat down on their beds testing them out. The ladies luggage had been brought in earlier, and Sybille began putting her clothes away in one of the two dressers. They hadn't brought much; a few dresses to be hung in the closet, underclothes, and nightdresses. As she went, Sybille thought of nothing else except Tatiana.
Tess came over to help Sybille. "I saw you looking at Tatiana." She nudged her friend. "Someone is smitten."
Syb blushed. "I am beyond smitten; I finally understand what Duke meant about falling in love at first sight."
Lisette, who had been refolding her underclothes, stopped, and turned to her mother. "You are already in love with her?"
"I believe so, yes." Sybille crossed the room to her daughter, taking her hand. "Does that bother you?"
"Not in the least." Lisette smiled at her mother. "I only worry because it is not accepted in this time, and your love may go unrequited."
"It would not bother me if it did." Sybille admitted. "I understand that it is not common in this time for many people to admit to being anything other than heterosexual. If she is not into women, then I will move on. Besides, how would I be able to flirt openly with her anyway? She is a Princess and a Grand Duchess; it would not be proper."
"Who cares." Tess said. "All that matters is if you love her and she loves you. You are technically a Dowager Queen anyway."
Sybille and Lisette chuckled at her. "You always speak truth, Tess." Syb sighed and went back to putting away clothes. "Whatever happens happens, it is up to fate now."
------
That afternoon, as the ladies sat making lesson plans in the servants' dining hall, a man Tess and Sybille recognized came in.
"Welcome, ladies." The man greeted them. "I wanted to introduce myself. I am Rasputin, healer to the young Tsarevich."
Sybille stood and curtsied, as did Tess and Lisette. "It is wonderful to meet you." Sybille hated saying those words. She had despised Rasputin ever since she first learned of him when she was in upper primary school. He was a terrible man, and the ladies were determined to get rid of him. "Thank you for all you do for the Tsarevich. It is a blessing to have you here."
Tess had to keep herself from scoffing as Rasputin replied. "To me, it is the greatest honour. Well, I will leave you to your work. If you need anything, just ask me and I will endeavour to help."
"Thank you." The ladies curtsied as he left.
When he was gone, Tess piped up in English. "I cannot wait till he is dead; it is his fault that the royal family dies."
"He certainly did not help the situation." Sybille sighed. "Unfortunately, we have to be civil to him for now. We will, however, try to convince Alix against him."
"We are far better healers than he is." Lisette added. "I am sure she will listen."
"Let us hope so."
------
One morning, after her class with the Small Pair, Sybille went to the library. The ladies had been told they were free to borrow books from the royal family's library as long as they marked down that they had taken them out. She was feeling nostalgic and wanted to read Pride and Prejudice. When she opened the door, she found Tatiana sitting there.
"Oh! I am sorry, Your Imperial Highness." Sybille curtsied. "I did not think anyone would be in here right now."
Tatiana closed her book. "Do not worry, it does not bother me to share a room with staff. I know some royals prefer their staff to be unseen."
"So I hear." Sybille and Duke had never felt that way.
The Grand Duchess motioned to the shelves. "Please, feel free to browse."
"Thank you, Your Imperial Highness." Sybille moved to the shelves. "How are they arranged?"
"Alphabetically; first by author and then by book title."
"Thank you." Sybille walked to the start of the shelves, looking for Jane Austen's section. She found it easily but couldn't find the book she wanted. "Huh."
"Is there a problem?"
Sybille turned to Tatiana. "It seems that your family does not have Pride and Prejudice, or it has been taken out already."
Tatiana reached for a book beside her. "I have it here. I finished it not long ago and went onto Sense and Sensibility."
Syb crossed the room to take the book from Tatiana's hand. Their hands brushed and they both froze. They stared into each other's eyes for a moment before the Grand Duchess looked away. "Thank you. Are you an Austen fan?"
"To be honest, my parents have only allowed me to start reading them now. I am going through her whole catalogue."
"She is a wonderful writer; I suggest Persuasion next." Sybille said. "And after you finish Austen, if you want more regency era romance, I would suggest Jane Eyre."
"I will keep that in mind."
"Well, I suppose I should be getting back to work." Sybille took the book and went to mark down in the ledger that she had borrowed it.
"It would be nice to sit and discuss the books with you one day, Mrs. Smith." Tatiana suggested. "Perhaps on your next afternoon off?"
"That would be wonderful." Sybille curtsied. "Your Imperial Highness." With that, Sybille left the library. When she closed the door, she leaned against it and sighed. "I am so far gone."
------
Sybille left Tess and Lisette with the Small Pair as she went looking for the Tsarevich. She found her way to his room and knocked on the door. A maid opened it and let her in. Alix was there, on her knees in prayer beside Alexei's bed.
"My apologies, Your Imperial Majesty." Sybille curtsied as Alix stood up.
"Do not worry about it, I am simply staying with my son. He is having a bad day today."
"I understand, I just came to see if he would be up for classes today. I see now that he will not be there for them." Sybille crossed the room to Alix. "I know he is very sick, and you believe prayer to be the answer, however, I was taught many herbal remedies by a healer in Britain. I would be willing to put something together to help him."
"No, Rasputin said God does not want foreign medicines in his body."
"It would not be foreign, only herbs and roots." Sybille assured her. "I promise, no modern medicine will be applied."
"I said no!" Alix whispered pointedly. "God will heal my son, I know it."
"Very well, the offer always stands." She curtsied again. "Your Imperial Majesty." Then left the room. When the maid had closed the door, Sybille sighed. "That's one strike out."