Dearest Mother and Father,

I did not arrive in England as planned. Instead I arrived in, believe it or not, Egypt. All is not lost, however, as I have met the nicest, funniest, most handsome man I could ever hope to meet. His name is George Alexandrovich Romanov, and he's a Grand Duke of Russia. His older brother, Nicholas, is the Tsarevich, and he also has another brother, Michael, who's much younger, and two sisters, Xenia and Olga.
I know you are probably having a hard time believing this is true, as did I myself at first, but George has convinced me that it is indeed true, and all of his traveling companions have also assured me that it is.
Rather than attempting to make my way to England alone, I have accepted George's generous offer for me to travel with his party. From Egypt we shall travel to India, and then to Japan. Rufus and Sadie are still accompanying me, so there is no danger of impropriety.
I do not know when I shall return home. I hope that everyone is well. Please give them all my love.

Your loving daughter,

Bonnie Blue

I sealed the envelope and asked George where the nearest place to post it was. "I'll take you there," he offered generously. As we walked along, I talked to him about my family.

"Mother was married twice before she married my father," I told him. "Her first husband was Charles Hamilton. He died at the beginning of the war from typhus. He's my bother Wade's father. Next she was married to Frank Kennedy, my sister Ella's father. After Frank died, my parents got married, and I was born."

"Sounds as if your mother had rather dismal luck with husbands before your father came along."

"My father actually met her before she married the first time. That marriage happened rather quickly. The war had just began, and she married him right before he went off to war."

"And she never saw him again."

"Right."

"She must have been devastated."

"I have no idea. She never even talks about Charles at all, or about Frank either, for that matter." By that time, we'd arrived at the post office.

I was almost asleep that night when I heard muffled voices from the other side of the closed door. Curious, I silently crept toward the door until I was close enough to hear what they were saying.

"You can never marry her, you know." That was Nicholas. "Father would never allow it."

"Who said anything about marriage?" That was George. "She's beautiful, and I enjoy her company, just as you enjoy that of Mathilde."

"She's from the American South," Nicholas replied. "They have a completely different set of morals and standards there from those of the ballerinas of the Imperial Court. I tell you, George, she will never consent to be your mistress."

I gasped, shocked. Was it truly George's plan to attempt to lure me into his bed? If so, what could I do? Where could I go? I was all alone, except for Rufus and Sadie. How could I make it all the way to England? What if George found me? Could he force me to return to him? Frightened out of my wits, I returned to my bed to lie there wide awake and shaking for hours.

I suppose I must have somehow drifted off to sleep eventually, as I was awakened by the late morning sun shining in my eyes through the window the following day. Startled, I jumped up and made my way to the breakfast table, where Nicholas and the two Georges were just finishing their meal.

George frowned with concern when he saw me. "Are you all right, Bonnie? I was just about to send a servant to check on you."

"I'm fine," I forced myself to say. "I...just had a hard time falling asleep last night. That's all."

"Are your sleeping quarters uncomfortable?" he asked.

"Oh, no, they're fine," I replied quickly. How on earth could I learn of his true intentions without revealing that I'd eavesdropped on his conversation with his brother the previous night?