Imperial Russia, 1874
The train from Tver pulled up to the station on a fine June morning. Inside the carriage the cream of Russia's cavalry milled round excitedly waiting for the train to pull in and their long journey to end. They were all handsome brave boys in finely cut cream double-breasted coats trimmed with shining pewter buttons and peaked hats with a mid blue band and silver trimming. They were a fine and stirring sight as they paraded and preened. The ladies present certainly appreciated the sight.
The platforms were crowded with families eager to welcome them all back home. Wives and mothers, fathers and sons all waiting to see their loved ones again. At the far end of the platform, there was a brass band, playing arrangements of Folk-songs. There was almost a carnival atmosphere amongst the gathered crowd.
Many of the lads were looking out of the windows eagerly looking for friends and family as exuberant as over excited school-boys. There was a definite end-of school feeling in the air as they all looked forward to getting back to the city and plunging back into Muscovite society.
In the corner of the train three junior officers sat by a window, letting the tumult wash over them as they talked quietly between themselves. "Aren't you glad to be back in civilised quarters again?" asked the eldest man who had his back to the engine. His dark hair was slicked back neatly and he had a fine boned, faintly arrogant air to him.
"If I am honest I wish we'd stayed back in camp, Sasha." said another who sat opposite him, despondently looking out of the grimy window. He had short curly hair cropped short but still revealing it's natural curls, big golden-brown eyes the colour of honey in sunlight and skin as fair as a girl.
"You can't be serious, Loras. You're telling you'd pass up the chance of decent food, a proper bath and congenial company?" Sasha wrinkled his nose, as if he couldn't quite believe what his friend was saying.
"Don't listen to him. He's been the most contrary soul all spring, I can barely speak to him." The third man said. He had a strong resemblance to the first man. In fact if it were guessed that he was Sasha's brother, it would be entirely correct.
"I'm dreading the whole social whirl. I don't know if I can do it this summer, really I can't." Loras leaned against the pane of the glass, gazing out at the crowd.
"Well no one wants to do it, but it's what is expected, isn't it? Don't worry, it won't be for long."
"That's easy for you to say, Sasha. You're already a married man. For us bachelors, vacation might as well be called 'hunting season'!"
"Never thought that a bad thing."
Alexei grinned. "I wasn't complaining! Might spend a little time with Princess Kitty Scherbatskaya. The most delightful girl. So lovely young and unspoiled."
"Friends with your sister Margaery, isn't she?" Alexander asked Loras.
"Are you serious about this one?"
Alexei laughed, bright brittle and mocking. The sound was a jarring surprise from that angelic boyish face. "Am I serious about any of them?"
"Alexei-"
"She's terribly young and a tad well… idealistic. Are you quite sure that she sees things quite the same way?"
"Come Sasha, don't nag, I know what I'm doing."
Sasha looked down his nose in firm disapproval. "I hope you do, Alexei-"
Alexei gave his friend a look as if to say: 'Older brothers? Aren't they the worst?"
Loras was inclined to agree with Sasha but he knew better than to get involved in a brotherly dispute. He kept his neutrality. Alexei ignored his brother's foreboding tone, turning to Loras and changing the subject. "Perhaps we ought to head out to the country and get some shooting in. You'd like that, wouldn't you Loras?"
Loras went up the platform as soon as he left the carriage and collected his trunks, shaking hands and saying goodbye to his comrades. It would be a long three months until he saw them again. He was surprised to find he would miss most of them and the routine of the the barrack life.
"Goodbye Sasha, Alexei-" he said, embracing them both.
He swept low to bow to their beautiful yet rather formidable mother who had come to greet them at the station. She reminded him of a younger Grand-mere Olenna sometimes. Not a woman to be crossed by any means. She seemed to like him though, a fact he was infinitely grateful for.
"Loras!" she kissed him on both cheeks. "My sweet young rose, still sad?"
Vronsky hastily guided his friend away from his mother before she started to flirt unmercifully with Loras. "Maman, you're embarrassing him!"
"He knows it's just a bit of fun. You always take things so serious, Aloysha." He made a face behind his mother which amused Loras.
She addressed him once more, cupping his face in one still fine pale hand. "You should smile more. You would be perfectly ravishing if you were to smile. No matter. Perhaps some time with your family will be the ideal tonic. Put some of those famous roses back in your cheeks-"
"I would be very glad if you could call on us while we are on vacation. You know you and your delightful family are always welcome." The countess said as her servants started to pack away Alexei's and Sasha's trunks. Even though Loras didn't feel remotely social he appreciated their friendship and generosity. "Thank you very much. You are all more than kind."
Loras spotted a curly head ducking and weaving through the crowd. Despite his tiredness and ennui, he couldn't help being pleased at the sight, his spirits lifting marvellously.
"Loras! Loras, darling!" she ran and leapt into his arms hugging him tightly.
"Maggie, so lovely to see you." She was wearing a travelling costume in dark green velvet trimmed with gold braid and a small border of soft dark fur round the collar to keep away the chill. She'd shot up in height and blossomed into a fine young lady.
"I can't believe you're back from the regiment already. Mama and Garlan are waiting for us in the carriage, but I was desperate to see you."
"Dearest sister." He'd missed her so much. Her kind heart and her lightness which chased away all his unhappiness and misery. He smiled, happy to be in her presence at last.
"There it is!" Countess Vronskaya smiled indulgently at him. "The smile that could break a thousand hearts. I knew it was there somewhere."
"Dear Countess-" Maggie elegantly sank into a curtsy, allowing the brothers to pay their respects to her. "Alexei, Sasha, how lovely to see you all, and how nice of you to be so kind to my dear brother Loras." She said with her most winsome smile, enjoying their attentions.
Countess Vronskaya raised her from her position, pressing a kiss to both her delicately flushed cheeks. "No trouble at all, dear girl. Your brother is a delight. My boys are very fond of him. I do hope you will not be strangers on the vacation. You and your brother are always welcome to visit us in town or our country estate whenever you please."
"Thank you, dear Countess. Now if you will excuse us if you please, Mother is dying to see Loras! Au Revoir!-"
"Au Revoir, dear girl." The countess looking at her fondly before turning to her younger son. "I met the most delightful young lady from St Petersberg in the carriage. First time she'd been away from her young son and family. She missed them terribly. Lovely girl. I think she's still waiting for a pick-up. Over there!"
Loras and his sister headed towards the exit still chattering away. "She seems to like you very much." Margaery observed rather cheekily as they left to find the Tyrell carriage.
Loras knew the Countess Vronskaya's reputation for casual amours with handsome young men and felt himself blush deeply, his ears burning with embarrassment. "Maggie!"
Her eyes twinkled with mischief and good spirit. "Just making a suggestion, nothing more. Forget I said anything."
"Don't worry, Maggie, I will." He said. "Where's father?" Loras looked round for the unmistakable figure of his father.
"Father's still at the session with the Duma so it's just Mother, Garlan and I. You don't mind?"
"Of course not." If he were completely honest, he was kind of relieved by his father's absence. Not that he didn't love and respect his father, but they both had a tendency to rub each together up the wrong way. They tended to need the presence of one of the other members of the family to act as a buffer and stop any conflict before it raised it's head.
"Grand-mere insisted on staying home, of course. She declared it was far too cold to be gallivanting round train stations and her aged bones needed a rest. She's waiting for us all at home."
"Is she still in fine form?" Loras asked.
Margaery's smile edged toward a smirk. "Of course!"
"Are you tired?" Margaery took his arm as they walked, practically skipping by his side in high spirits.
"A little. It was a long journey, and next year might be even worse. They're thinking of sending us to the Balkans or Tashkent."
"Tashkent?" Margaery's eyes opened wide. "So far?"
"I'm on active service. I must go where we are bidden."
"Well let's hope it doesn't come to that." She said a trifle brisk as she dismissed the thought. "Let's not think of anything so unpleasant, shall we? Not today when I'm so glad you're here."
Loras hadn't been back home for a day when his father started making noises about his re-entry back into polite Muscovite society. As the family sat down at the table together for dinner that night Mace made an expansive gesture round the room. Loras dreaded it, and his heart sank. He knew only too well what was coming and stuck at the dinner table, hemmed in by familial obligation he was a captive audience to his father.
"So, son have you considered your plans for the summer? Going to make your mark on society and make an alliance to be proud of?"
Loras stared at his fine china plate concentrating on the scrape of the silverware as he ate, feeling trapped under the avid scrutiny of his father. Why must we do this now? Could it not wait one day before you start pressing the point once more?
"If it's all the same to you, Father, I would rather not-"
Mace was having none of it and pressed ahead, disregarding his son's discomfort. "You must be seen in polite society, son. All this living like a hermit and not seeing a soul isn't good for one. You should be making contacts-"
"I thought that was what I joined the cavalry for?" his voice came out sharper than he meant it to, but the subjected needled him, and his father knew it only too well, which is why he pushed so unmercifully. This was one thing he didn't enjoy about returning home from Barracks.
"Now, Loras-"
"Father-" he addressed the man with perfect politeness, keeping his temper. His father always did this no matter how he always protested. Mace always felt his lack of true nobility sorely and insisted on plunging the entire family into the social whirl in an effort to be seen as the finest family in Moscow. His ambitions for them knew no bounds, Loras knew that, and he understood it but sometimes his father's schemes irritated him intensely.
"You need to be seen!"
"What am I, sir, a prize sow on display?"
His father gritted his teeth at Loras's annoyed insolence. Loras noticed his fist clench ever so briefly but his blood was up and he didn't care frankly.
"-Loras, you may not think these things are important but some day you'll see that the family depends on these social webs to keep us where we need to be. Friendships and networks; that's what oils the wheels of society. It's not something you can opt out of. You were born to a life of wealth and privilege. The least you can do is seek to marry well and maintain the status quo."
Loras stopped paying attention to his father's lecture on his responsibilities as a member of the aristocracy. He'd heard this text before and it didn't get any more compelling with repetition.
"Are you even listening to me, Loras?"
"Father leave him be, Loras has only just come from barracks! He has all the time in the world to enjoy his summer and see people." Garlan interceded, soothing ruffled feathers on both sides. He raised his glass for a refill, which was swiftly attended to by the butler.
"All I'm asking is he squires a few princesses round, finds one suitable to marry and extend the line." Mace blustered. "I'm not asking that much of him?"
Loras objected to that, raising his eyebrows. "Willas and Garlan are perfectly capable-" he started feeling a mite defensive and on edge about the subject. "- Garlan is marrying Arch-Duchess Leonette in a month."
"I want no chances to be taken. This is important. The family's survival is at stake. You never know what could happen. Look at your brother Willas-"
The conversation ground to a halt with an awkward pause. Everyone stared at their plates not willing to meet each other's eyes. The atmosphere dropped several degrees in temperature, so thick and tense you could have stood a spoon up in it.
Willas had been only fifteen when the horrific accident at military academy had crippled him permanently. He'd needed several operations to save the knee and leg from amputation, but it was never the same again. Willas was forced to rely upon a cane or a chair on bad days to get around. The chronic pain at the beginning had put paid to his job in Prince Oblonsky's office as he needed opium to control the pain and suffered agonies when forced to sit in the same place for a long period of time.
Even now he was forced to have the knee lanced and drained when it got inflamed and swelled. He tended to stay at their southern estate which was temperate all year round and better for his crushed knee. He spent his time breeding the horses and hounds they were famed for and growing roses which were the pride of the province and highly prized for their heavenly fragrance and beauty of their blooms.
Perhaps it wasn't a dreadful life but it wasn't what Mace had hoped for his eldest son and heir, and sometimes he struggled to hide his disappointment.
"There's nothing wrong with Willas!" Loras said, annoyed by the disparaging way Mace referred to his brother.
Considering what had happened to him Willas was remarkably not bitter about his fate. He even kept up a friendly correspondence with Oberyn Martell, the man who he had collided with in the race. Loras sometimes wished he could be so selfless.
What right do I have to be miserable when Willas struggles every day without complaint? Can you compare a broken heart to a destroyed life and crushed hopes?
"I didn't say anything was wrong with him. You have to admit 'tis difficult for him to take his rightful place in society. It's your obligation to take his place and find a suitable wife."
"I am still young. I have a career, I want to get ahead in the Cavalry, Sir-"
"That's by the by."
"Why, Sir?"
"Loras-" his father started, an edge of warning in his voice.
"I want to get ahead, get promotion, rise up the ranks. I might make Major or General one day. Isn't that making you just as proud rather than marrying some green girl?"
"That's not what I meant! You always wilfully misunderstand what I'm trying to say! The important thing is-" he drew himself up pompously puffing out his chest like an aggravated pouter pigeon.
"Mace, please, we're just trying to have a peaceful dinner. Loras has just returned from the regiment." His mother Alerie intervened before the conflict could escalate any further.
"It wasn't me who started it. I was just saying-"
"Yes, dear, but does it have to be said right now?"
Mace fell silent, quelled by the steel in her voice.
"There's nothing wrong with a quiet night for once." She said in a softer tone of voice, kissing Loras's cheek as she rose from the table. "Are you all settled in your new quarters, darling? I told them to re-decorate. I hope you like it."
He looked up at his mother and gave her a grateful smile. "It's lovely, Mama. Thank you."
Her fine jewelled hand ruffled his curls, cropped short and fluffy despite the military haircut. "We are all glad to have you back with us, dear boy." She said with a warm smile. "I just hope you will be happy here. We do all worry about you so."
He rose from the table. "If you will all excuse me. Father-" he respectfully bowed to him. "Mother."
Loras heard his brother say in the background to his father: "Now look what you've done, you've antagonised him and chased him away!" and his father's indignant response but he took no notice. He was just glad to finally get away from the table and his father's scrutiny. I have three months of this to endure. How am I ever going to get through this?
"I really wish Father wouldn't do that." Margaery looked thoughtful as they made their way back to the bedrooms. "You've only just returned from the regiment and he's pushing you about going out into society."
He knew he could rely on Margaery to be on his side, no matter what. She understood exactly how he felt, without words. He put his arm round her as she rested her head on his shoulder. The servants discreetly ducked out of the way, sensing the young master and mistress of the house required privacy. Most of them had been with the family since before they were born, they were practically part of the family themselves.
Loras was surprisingly tired after his long journey. He just wanted to sleep for a week and shut out the world, but there was little chance of that happening, not with his father intent on his re-entry to society. He appreciated her quiet sympathy and understanding. Her loyalty and support even if he dared not confide the reason for his black mood and melancholy.
"You don't have to attend all those balls and soirees, not if you don't want. I'm more than capable of representing the family and he knows it."
"I should. Aloysha and Sasha invited me to their estate in the country if things get too much. But I have to try and make an effort. He is right, in a way- it is true I cannot hide from the world. It's just the way he says it."
She squeezed his hand and gave him an encouraging smile as they arrived outside his chambers.
"I missed you whilst we were at barracks. It's not the same without you here."
"I missed you too."
She kissed him on the cheek before turning to her own chambers. "Go to sleep. We'll talk later, I promise."
"Goodnight, Maggie."
She looked over her shoulder and blew him a kiss. "Goodnight, dear brother."
He opened the door of his new chambers, resolving to thank his mother the next time he saw her. The interior decorators had done a splendid job on the room, it looked cosy and lived in with a big neatly made bed, a spacious fireplace, a thick brown fur rug luxurious enough to bury his bare toes in as he used to when he was a child and used to share with Garlan, thick velour curtains round the windows to block out the cold air, even the bed-robe and slippers hanging on a stand near the hearth, waiting for him to come and dress for bed. Such care and attention to detail, little expressions of love shown. He recognised Margaery's stitching on the slippers, her favourite pattern of wool-work roses on a dark background.
He took off his formal clothes and got ready for bed, hoping that tomorrow was a new and better day and he would be ready to face it. For the first time in a long while he wanted to be happy. As he finished his devotions in front of the tiny icon his mother had bought him years ago as a small child and he'd kept as a reminder of home, Loras had a spark of hope that things might change for the better.
