“Our location has proven our salvation more than once through the centuries,” Pruzinsky said. “We have either been too small or too well protected or too inconvenient to be bothered with.”

“How fascinating.” Gray resisted the urge to point his finger and shout “Aha!” He had read the same thing, nearly word for word, in the encyclopedia where he’d found his information. Information anyone could find with minimal effort. Now that he thought about it, hadn’t the book Pruzinsky replaced on the shelves last night been a volume of the encyclopedia?

“You must miss it,” Beryl said.

“One always misses one’s home.” Just the right touch of longing sounded in Pruzinsky’s voice. Oh, he was good, whoever he was. “Especially at this time of year.”

“Do tell us about Christmas in your country, Count.” Beryl glanced at Gray with a look that said she was as skeptical of what he was saying as Gray was.

“Oh, I daresay, you don’t want to hear me reminisce about Christmases long past.”

“Oh, but we do.” Beryl fluttered her lashes at him. “I can’t imagine anything more fascinating than hearing about Christmas in another land.”

“Very well.” Pruzinsky thought for a minute. “We are quite a merry people. The weeks leading up to Christmas . . .”

Pruzinsky proceeded to spin a tale every bit as elaborate as those told by Mr. Henderson and, no doubt, with just as little substance. His story of Christmas festivals and jolly villagers and gifts distributed by Father Christmas sounded more to Gray like a fairy story spun from sugar plums and gingerbread than anything that might conceivably be legitimate. Beryl was obviously thinking the same thing. She smoothly turned back the subject from Christmas to the country itself. Again his details were straight from the encyclopedia. By the time they reached the pond, Gray had no doubt the man had never seen the verdant valley and snowcapped mountains of the country that no longer existed.

Beryl surveyed the frozen expanse. Benches placed along the perimeter of the pond provided restful spots to sit and enjoy the peaceful setting in the summer and places to perch to attach skates in the winter. She nodded. “It looks solid enough for skating.”

“We should do more than look if we are to allow anyone on it.” Gray took a tentative step on the ice and bounced slightly. He had skated on this pond as a boy and knew how it looked when it was frozen solid and when it wasn’t. It had the right appearance and he heard no telltale sounds of cracking. Regardless, it was best to be sure. “I’ll go out a bit farther.” He glanced at Pruzinsky. “I say, would you be a good chap and walk around to the other side and check the ice.” He pointed to a bench on the opposite side of the pond.