Davyd was nearly as worried if not more worried when Brigitte explained Royal's absence from her room. Running to the security office, he rewound video from the night before and saw her go into bedroom with her husband after she left Anatoly's room. A feeling of relief for several reasons overcame him. Still he felt the need to check in on her.
Royal slept until noon. When she finally woke up from her peaceful slumber, for the first time in over a year, she was not sweaty, was not hung over and was not angry.
Mouth dry, she pulled the covers from her body and made her way to the bathroom. She couldn't help but smile at her reflection in the mirror. It was not because she thought she was anymore beautiful, but because she could still smell her husband on her skin. She could still hear the soft beautiful words he had whispered in her ear the night before. She held herself tight and took a deep breath. She had promised to do better and be better. And she would keep her promise.
* * *
Victoria had the day off and planned to spend her Saturday out in the city of Prague finding a way to let her hair down.
Being prim and proper every single day with no release had gotten really old and being holed up in the Medlov's chateau only made her more anxious for some excitement. She almost understood why the mistress was such a pain.
At first, she had planned on spending the day in the courtyard only a few feet from Dmitry's study playing with Anya and in his view, waiting for the moment when his daughter would draw him out to talk to them. But when she found out that he had hopped a helicopter out of happy town, she had no need to spend unneeded hours playing with his overly-smart three-year old.
The city of Prague was alive today. After lunch at Dmitry's posh Russian restaurant, she headed down on the cobblestone streets of Prague 1 to visit Royal Flush.
As soon as Victoria entered the swank boutique, she heard John Mayer's Heartbreak Warfare and smelled expensive perfumes floating through the air. The entire shop was painted in a warm royal blue with silver and gold mirrors and pictures of different cities and designers on the wall. A huge crystal chandelier hung from the center of the ceiling above a large circular blue velvet chaise lounge and illuminated the room with reflections of crystal and gold.
Two slender women, who could have easily passed for models, stood behind the counter in matching black dresses with bright smiles. The redhead walked up to Victoria.
"Welcome to Royal Flush," she said in an English accent. "My name is Lola. May I help you find something, or are you just looking today?"
"Just looking," Victoria said, impressed with the shop. It was a mix of old world opulence and new world technology. "I'm actually Mrs. Medlov's daughters teacher, Victoria. I figured on my day off, I would just stop by and check out the boutique."
The redhead raised her brow as if this wasn't the first time that she heard the name. "Oh, you're Anya's teacher." There was visible smirk on her face. "Well, please let us know if we can get anything for you. Would you like some water or maybe a glass of champagne while you shop?"
"Sure. I'll take a glass of bubbly," she said curiously.
The redhead looked over at the blonde woman and raised her finger. "One please," she said before she moved out of Victoria's way. "Please make comfortable."
I bet ten dollars that bitch has been talking bad about me, Victoria thought to herself as she took the glass from the woman. She looked around at the racks of name brand clothes and nearly choked. $5,000 for a dress, $7,000 for a suit. Who were they kidding?
Gulping down the champagne, she looked around for the clearance rack. Oddly enough, there was not one. Snooty ass, she thought shaking her head. Within in minutes, she decided that Royal Flush was not the place for her or her budget.
Setting the glass on the counter before she left, she waved at the women and headed out the door as a group of well-dressed women in furs came through the door speaking to each other in French. As she looked back, she saw the two sales women together laughing and talking under her breath.
"Thank you for shopping at Royal Flush," the woman said, when she realized that Victoria was leaving.
"Before I leave," Victoria said, turning around. "Where can I go have a drink in a sort of party-like atmosphere during the day? This is Prague, right? You guys know how to have a little fun here, don't you?"
Lola pulled herself away from her associate and walked over to Victoria. She put her hands on her hip. "Party-like?"
"Party-like," Victoria said, wiping her nose. "From the look of you, I can tell that you know. You can't naturally be a size two can you?"
The woman smiled at the ill-formed compliment. "There is a pub not far from here off of LeBeauch Lane. It's called the Rector. You can order a drink and whatever else you need, but it's expensive. Because of the area, you're going to pay way more than market value."
"Well, I don't mind paying for that," Victoria said smirking.
"Ask for Myneau," she said in a little warmer tone to Victoria "Hell help you out."
With that Victoria headed out. She hadn't had a serious release since she got there. Customs was too much of risk to get good shit through. It would be nice to do a few lines and get some pills for later.
* * *
A breathtaking Sunset was on the horizon of the Russian Riviera by the time that Dmitry settled into
