Katherina Andreievna huddled beneath the brightly
embroidered comforter. Her heart pounded wildly，
and a lump of apprehension grew in her throat.
The last guests had left the estate more than an
hour before. At any moment， Count Pavel Pavlovich
Ostrov would open the large oak door， crawl into
bed beside her， and demand his full rights as a hus-
banct
For the first time since the announcement of her
engagement almost three months ago， Katherina felt
a stab of uncertainty. The decision to marry Pavel
Pavlovieh had been hers alone. Indeed， her mother
had tried desperately to talk her out of the match，
but Katherina had been convinced that they would
have a good marriage. The count was kind， intelligent，
and jovial Katherina had always felt at ease with
him， and even though be was thirty years older than
~he， she was sure he had a great deal of affeelSon for
her. In her younger years， she bad rejected the pro-
posals of at least three rich and handsome young men，
~~hom she judged empty-headed. Now， at twenty-
ave， she could no longer afford to be too choosy.
During the months of her engagement， life had
~een a flurry of uninterrupted activity. Her marriage
:o an influential member of Russia s Council of State
vas the most important social event of the season in
~lovgorod. Any doubts Katherina may have had were
~uried under the avalanche of details. Only now， as
he lay shivering， waiting for the an~val of the strang-
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