Once Upon a December
Chapter 1
There was no doubt about it; Violet had been taken completely by surprise at Rose's luncheon and for the first time, since she could remember, had she found it hard to keep her head straight at the dining table. Isobel had of course sent her teasing looks all through lunch, and had not let up as they drove home. Violet couldn't expect much else, and even though she had grown used to her's and Isobel's teasing back and forth, this time was different. She didn't care for her glances, or the vulgar and improper assumptions she and Mary had sent her way. There had been no such thing going on between her and the Prince. It was all very respectable, as it should be, and even if Violet had ever had impure thoughts, she was merely a young woman of 22, and of course the minds of such young girls tend to wonder.. Don't they? Anyway, when she was in Russia, Rosamund was still a baby and she was happily and newly wed to her husband, Lord Grantham with whom she was very much in love with, and that was the end of that story. Or at least that is what she kept saying to herself.
When Violet was finally in the privacy of her own sitting room, her mind drifted back to 50 years earlier in the snow covered landscape surrounding St. Petersburg. Patrick had spent the last month trying to convince her to join him for the wedding, and she had hesitated strongly, since Robert was only two and a half and Rosamund still an infant. She couldn't bear to leave them for such a long time, but even though Violet for once showed her more human and even maternal side, she was also a pragmatic and a true lady, who found the outlooks of the family very important, and she knew that meant being at her husband's side, wherever he might go. Violet sipped her brandy, and as she felt the warmth of the fireplace on her face, she was taken back to the hot ballroom that night. She had looked at the dancing couples, which included her husband and the Russian Princess, and she had begun to feel the discomfort of her corset, in the hot room. She found it hard to breath and tried the best she could, not to get dizzy. As the orchestra played glories waltzes by Strauss, and the glittering gold chandeliers reflected themselves in the glistening floor, a tall dark man approached her with a fan in his hand. "I thought you might need this, Lady Grantham" He said and bowed slightly when he handed her the fan. His accent was thick and his voice hard, yet to Violet it sounded like velvet. She thanked him and gave herself a few waves, but when she spotted her husband's happy face on the dance floor, she gave the man a rare embarrassed look and stuffed it into her réticule. "I'm sorry. Thank you very much, your highness. I think I'd better hide it though, I wouldn't want to insult Lord Grantham" She said with a hint of mischief in her voice. He smiled at her, and for a moment they simply stood side by side and watched all the couples dance. Suddenly, the heat didn't bother her so much.
The sound of the wooden clock brought her back to the present. She had been staring at the fire for so long, and lost track of time. Prince Kuragin and his company would no doubt be staying for more than a few days, and Violet had a feeling she would need sleep to face what was about to come. She wasn't sure if what she felt was excitement or fright. After all there were stories of her time in St. Petersburg, which she had kept to herself for 50 years, and would like it to remain so. However, after being confronted with a time of her life, she hadn't in her wildest dreams thought she ever would, she wasn't sure she could keep her secret. Especially not now, that both Mary and Isobel would surely dig deep to get some answers. The problem was, that she wasn't sure if she was ready to give them. Even to herself.