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"Surely, my lady, the Prince of Wales will prove a devoted husband I cannot iine that any man would not--would not count himself fortunate to have such a wife That he could fail to love you at first sight Any man would, my lady"

In that moment I knehat he felt He lived for such a short time after that, not even thole days after the one and only night we spent together I hope Lieutenant Markov was able to understand how much I cared He deserved that--and even ot to have--

I loved him so much I love him still; I will always love him, I think, to the end of my life But I’ve spent most of the past three months convinced that my love for him meant that I loved every Paul, everywhere Every person he could ever be

Could I have loved the Paul I er and e as our connection was there, we did connect I sa daed he was by the horrible life he’d been forced to lead I also saw his brutality His capacity for cruelty When I think of the Paul in the Mafiaverse, I don’t knohether I’limpsed in him, or whether I’ll always be afraid of him

Both, I think So I know is that I can’t be near that Paul or any other, now Not until I’ve figured out what this means I need safety and solitude

Lieutenant Markov died fighting for the tsar, fighting to protect me I held his hand and watched him die The horror and pain of thatadvantage of his death, which made this a dimension no other Paul Markov could ever enter

His death isme Tears well in my eyes, but I blink theht "Yes?" I call in English Hopefully that’s the language I’ here

The reply comes in French "Are you ready for your breakfast, Your I it in, please," I answer in the sah a few of my visits)

One wo a silver tray She walks to a s out a feast: teapot, cream, bread, butter, some kind of pastry

And now I know I’m not in any of the tsar’s palaces If we took meals in our rooms, those meals were simple, by his order Also none of the servants wore a unifor black dress hite apron, and they spoke Russian or English, never French

A sky-blue robe lies on the foot of the bed I reach for it, but the own to me instead It’s velvet, thicker and softer than any other I’ve ever felt As I wrap it aroundure out exactly where the Grand Duchess Margarita is But o to the table and start eating

This turns out to be the best thing I could’ve done Not only because this pastry is a, but also because my seat at thereveals the scene outside