When Yurovsky came to take the morning roll call, the cleaning girl leaned her head into her hands so he could not see her face.

“She has a headache, poor soul,” Nicholas told him. “She has taken powders but must lie down and rest as soon as you are finished with us.”

Yurovsky’s gaze traveled around the room before he spoke. “The kitchen boy, Leonid Sednev, is being sent away today. He must visit his family.”

Alexei cried out, “But who shall I play with? Please don’t make him go.”

“I believe there is an emergency,” Yurovsky continued. “He will return soon.” He left the room abruptly, seeming distracted, as if on urgent business.

Alexei was on the verge of tears, his lip trembling. “I don’t want Leonid to go. Tell him not to.”

“We’ll play with you,” Maria said. “Nastya and I will build a den for you. It will be fun.”

“It’s not the same,” he pouted. “Girls don’t know how to play.”

Everyone was anxious and out of sorts. Maria’s mother took to her bed, her father smoked incessantly, and the cleaning girl hid in the bedroom while the rest of them tried to distract Alexei. The minutes ticked by even slower than before.

* * *

When they went to bed that night, Maria wondered if the rescue might be imminent. That could be why Tatiana had not returned. She packed a bag of items she did not want to be without: her photo album, her sketch pad and pencils, a couple of favorite icons, and the gold Fabergé box, then she put her camera beside it. If anyone came in the night to save them, she could grab her bag and take it with her.

The firing sounded closer now and there seemed to be more traffic in the street. She heard the murmur of men’s voices rising through the summer air but could not make out what they said. From the breathing of her sisters and the cleaning girl, she could tell none of them were sleeping, but they did not talk either. Perhaps, like her, they were listening and waiting, trying to work out what might happen next.

Maria woke with a start to a knock on the door and realized she must have nodded off after all. Dr. Botkin turned the handle and looked in.

“You must get dressed. We are being moved elsewhere, for our safety, as the Czechs are approaching. Yurovsky said not to worry about luggage as it will be sent on later.”

Maria’s spirits sank. When Botkin had started speaking, she had hoped Tatiana and Malama’s rescue plan was under way, but instead it seemed they were being moved by Yurovsky. She supposed they were being sent to Moscow, as Peter Vasnetsov had said they would be. But how could they go without Tatiana? The cleaning girl was whimpering like an injured dog.