Summary

In the chapter “1926: Adieu” the Count stood in his old suite. He considered how he had always put his faith in meteorological conditions. He used an example of how he had been run off an icy road by a young Hussar on the way to a party.

Here, the narrative changes to the present tense and the point of view shifts to the second-person point of view to relate the story of how the Count believes the temperature directly affected the outcome of one particular party.

You are on your way to a party when it begins snowing. You are mesmerized by the snow, but are run off the road by a troika being driven with the horse at a full gallop. That officer appears at the same party you are attending. He seems to have an eye for the Princess. Instead of...