No, it wasn’t obvious. Nothing about this was. I opened my mouth to ask more— “Now, enough about that. I thought your papa might have sent you, but I can see now, he has not.” He set his coffee cup down. “You must go. It could not be a worse time for you to come here alone.” Why did everyone think I needed a babysitter? “I'll be fine. I know how to take care of myself.” “No one knows how to take care of themselves against D’yavol.” The Devil? “Up you go, now.” He stood with a wince and rubbed his knee. “I like living too much to harbor you.” “T can’t leave yet,” I insisted, getting to my feet. “I’m not sure why you think I’m here illegally, but I promise, I have my papers.” I knew Russia was a little medieval, but, God, did they really execute people for such a small offense as harboring a harmless girl? “Pah. I’m not talking about the government, girl, but D’yavol.” I stared at him, realizing I might be speaking to a crazy person. “I’m agnostic,” I said dumbly. He shook his head and murmured something unintelligible. My gaze found Vera in the doorway staring at me like I was a piece of furniture that had just moved itself. They were both crazy. She dropped the apron she was wringing in her hands and disappeared again. To find her sharpest meat cleaver probably. “Why is your wife terrified of me just because I look like my mother?” He eyed me as if I was the strange one. “You do not just look like your mother.” Moving to the fireplace, he pulled down a white sheet that covered a portrait above it. “Girl, you could be her.” The woman in the picture was frozen in time, leaning against a grand piano. She must have been painted decades ago, but she could be me standing here today. The long blonde hair, the almond shape of her eyes, the tall and elegant form, and the alabaster skin that would never quite tan. The similarity was so uncanny, goose bumps rose on my arms. She’d looked just like me, yet I didn’t know the simplest things about her. I stared at the portrait until the burn in my heart and the backs of my eyes faded. “She was a sight, Pl tell you that.” He rubbed his chin. “But beauty like that is a blessing and a curse .. .” His eyes settled on mine, something