Lost Roses: A Novel

It is 1917, and the family has been moved into an old servant’s room in the house. They don’t know if Cook is still alive. Vladi forces Sofya’s father to write letters to the ministry pretending everything is normal. Meanwhile, Agnessa is growing malnourished and ill. Luba plots various ways to escape and comes up with the idea of taking scraps of spare fabric and tying them into a rope. They hide the rope in the corner where Agnessa’s dog sleeps. Mrs. Astronovich, the wife of the owner of a local general store, arrives to bring them food. In the new household order, she is both the family’s caretaker and their jailer. When Agnessa’s dog gets up to greet her, Mrs. Astronovich discovers the rope and takes it away. Her first plan foiled, Luba plans to use Sofya’s emerald necklace to bribe Mrs. Astronovich into letting Sofya leave. The next time Mrs. Astronovich comes in, Luba explains her offer and Mrs. Astronovich accepts.

America has finally entered the war, and the Russian tsar has abdicated. Eliza continues to reach out for information about Sofya but learns nothing. A refugee arrives at Eliza’s apartment, a princess on the run.