An Imperial Lover by Mary Imlay Taylor

M. DE LAMBERT'S wound, though not dangerous, was troublesome, and kept him confined to his room for some time; a fretful patient he was, trying my wife's forbearance, although she was in full sympathy with his anxieties. There were no definite developments, but it was manifest that Catherine Shavronsky was at this time more or less neglected, while favors were showered upon the Zotofs, and mademoiselle's name was on every lip. In the interval she appeared once at court, and was surrounded by a bevy of courtiers, and it occurred to me that perhaps her silence toward her lover was caused by a change of heart, that the splendors of a throne had dazzled her; but Zénaïde refused to believe it. She had an unshaken confidence in Najine's loyalty, and fully appreciated the difficulties which beset the young girl. We endeavored to send her a message explaining M. de Lambert's condition, but neither Zénaïde nor I believed that it ever reached her. Meanwhile Apraxin had disappeared. It would have been impossible to obtain any satisfaction in regard to the young villain, and I was more or less relieved at his departure. There was no doubt that his attack on M. Guillaume had been actuated entirely by jealousy, and that there was no deeper motive behind it, which diminished the chances of obtaining any redress.

Madame de Brousson's woman, Jeanne, had made several attempts to penetrate the seclusion of the Zotof mansion without success, but at last she was more fortunate, and it was while M. de Lambert was still suffering from his wound that she returned one forenoon with important tidings. Mademoiselle herself had been dangerously ill, and there were whispers of suspicious circumstances attending her indisposition. She had accompanied Madame Zotof to a fête at the palace, returning with the usual gifts of sweetmeats; madame ate hers without ill effects, but mademoiselle had no sooner tasted the comfit than she was seized with a sudden and alarming illness, and madame summoned a physician in hot haste. At first he almost despaired of saving Najine's life, but after a while the worst symptoms passed off, and she recovered consciousness. The physician, after examining the fragment remaining, declared that the comfit had been poisoned. Mademoiselle was now recovering, Jeanne reported, and there was a close surveillance exercised, no food reaching her room untasted. The retainers and serfs at the Zotof mansion were in a state of profound excitement, and it was whispered that the Czarevna Natalia, Peter's sister, was endeavoring to poison Najine.