She looked like she wanted to argue further, but the exhaustion was settling in. The emotional kind. The kind that came after intensity. After surrender. After too many truths pressed against skin. Her eyes searched mine one last time. I knew she was looking for fears or doubts or cracks, but she found none of them. Because even when I had nothing, the one thing I had was certainty, and no one could take that away from me.
Chapter 15 - Elisse
“No, not there.” The guard blinked at me, clearly unsure whether he was allowed to argue with me or not. Although it seemed as if he knew better than to argue with the mistress of the house. “The light hits from the west in the afternoon,” I continued, pointing toward the far wall. “If you hang it there, the colors will die.”
He looked at Viktor, who turned to me, and then, without a word, he nodded to the guard.
“Move it.”
The painting, one of Fyodor’s minimalist, cold, painfully expensive pieces, was lifted carefully from its original position and carried across the living room while I stood at some distance with folded arms, silently assessing. It looked better now. Much warmer than before because of the new placement. It now looked like a painting displayed in a house rather than in a showroom. Ilana would be proud of me if she saw me making all these changes. I turned towards the guards again.
“Now shift the sofa two feet forward,” I added. “And I want the rug centered properly. It’s very off. How has no one noticed this before?”
“It’s not off,” Mikhail muttered under his breath from near the hallway, staring at something on his tablet. I turned to look at him, pinning him with a look, and he immediately straightened.
“It is,” I said coolly. “By at least three inches, and someone as observant as you should have noticed it way earlier, but it seems to me you hardly notice much around here, do you, Mikhail?”
He crouched, measured with his eyes, and then frowned faintly.
“You are right, Mrs. Romanov,” he replied, “It is a little off.”
Viktor watched the entire scene like it was a negotiation he hadn’t prepared for, a small, amused smile playing on his face. The two of them had been entertaining my little whims for over an hour now when I had walked inside the study and had asked them to fetch the guards because we had some changes to make around the house. To my surprise, both of them were being extremely patient as well, because I knew I was being largely unreasonable.
“This is unnecessary,” he said finally.
“So is half the security detail you have installed all around here, but are we complaining about that?” I replied sweetly, even though it did feel like a lash out. Neither of them deserved my lash out since they were simply following Fyodor’s orders, but I didn’t care. I needed an outlet for my anger.
To my surprise, my question was met with silence, but then Viktor almost smiled.
“You are well within reason, Mrs. Romanov,” he said.
“Of course I am.”
I stepped towards the large glass table and picked up the legal pad I had been writing on since morning. The list was meticulous. I had asked for six large female mannequins, sketch pads, charcoal sticks, graphite pencils, both in soft and hard grades, oil paints, linseed oil, A needs stand table, fabric samples in jewel tones, rich shades of velvet, an entire collection of the finest silk in multiple shades, wool blends, thread, and dressforms. If I were going to be trapped here, I would not be sitting idle much longer.
I would not be a decorative hostage or pace like an animal until my brothers came to rescue me. I would much rather build something and do something useful with my time. Everyone had been asking me to stop doubting myself and finally begin designing my own collection, and I already had a lot of ideas. It was about time I got to it as well.
“Have this delivered by tomorrow,” I said, handing the list to Anya, who had appeared quietly near the kitchen entrance. Her eyes skimmed the list, widening slightly.
“All of this, ma’am?”
“Yes.”
She hesitated only briefly before nodding.
“Of course. It will be done. I will send the servants to survey the markets right away.”
“And I want the spare bedroom cleared out,” I added. “Completely. I’ll use it as my studio.”
Viktor straightened.
“That room faces the secondary corridor.”
“I’m aware.”
“It’s less secure.”
“Then secure it.”
