She hurried into the bedroom she shared with her sisters. Only Olga was there; the others must be in their parents’ room. Olga leaped to her feet.

“What happened, Mashka? Are you hurt?”

Tears flooded Maria’s eyes. She longed to confess, but couldn’t. Olga would tell Tatiana, and Tatiana would say, “I warned you. It’s your own fault since you ignored me.”

“Did a guard molest you?” Olga asked, putting an arm around her shoulders and peering into her eyes. “You can tell me and I will understand. I know what these men are like.” A shadow crossed her face and suddenly Maria understood that something similar had happened to her sister. She should confess. Olga would comfort her.

But she found she couldn’t speak. Her throat was still tight, as it had been at the crucial moment in the bathroom. She shook her head. If she told Olga, that would make it real. There would be consequences. But if she didn’t tell, she could pretend it had never happened and that way, eventually, she hoped she would be able to forget.

Chapter 5

Ekaterinburg, July 1918

NEXT MORNING, MARIA LAY HUDDLED IN BED. SHE couldn’t face getting up for breakfast and told the others she hadn’t slept well, which was the truth. It was sore between her legs, her lips were raw, and she felt a deep sense of shame. She saw now that she should have shouted for help; of course she should. Ivan had been jailed for merely kissing her, so this guard would have been jailed too, then she would not have to see him anymore. Instead, she must walk past him every day, because she could not avoid using the bathroom.

She decided to wait until one of her sisters was going and accompany her, so she was never alone in that corridor again. She must not give Bolotov a chance to repeat his assault.

That first day she was relieved to find he was not at his post, but the following morning, when she went to the bathroom with Tatiana, he was there with his sly wolf features. She shuddered, sick to her stomach at the sight of him.

“Good morning, Maria,” he called, his voice low.

Tatiana reprimanded him. “How dare you address her with such disrespect! Do that again and I shall report you to Commissar Yurovsky.”

She swept past full of scorn. Maria turned to see his response and he winked at her behind Tatiana’s back, grinning as if they shared a secret. It was hideous. He was insufferable. She couldn’t believe those lips had pressed against hers, his fingers had touched her beneath her skirt, his stubbly chin had rubbed her cheek. Every time she thought of it she wanted to retch.