In consternation I went to see Sarah.
“What shall I do? I asked. “I can’t go to supper with the man!”
“Tell him to go away, then!” suggested Sarah, who had not taken much interest in my story. But another member of the company, who knew Russia well, held up his hands in horror.
“You can’t do that—it would be disobeying a Royal command!” he exclaimed. “When a Grand Duke puts a message in that form, it admits of but one reply. You will have to go to supper with him!”
“I won’t!” I replied, obstinately decided.
“Then you will be thrown into prison!”
“What! Thrown into prison because I refuse to sup with a Grand Duke? What a ridiculous idea!”
“It’s true, none the less. These men wield an enormous power. A mere word from them, and you would disappear and never be heard of again, and Grand Duke V—— is the worst of the lot. You must remember that this is Russia!”
I was now terribly frightened. I looked for Sarah again, but she had disappeared.
“What shall I do?” I inquired of Pierre Berton, who had always been most kind to me.