There was an air of intelligence about the Lady Victoria that made Vail feel wary of her. Sipping at his drink, he eyed her discreetly as she went on to press him for details about how their fathers had known each other. Though the men of the era they lived in often looked down upon women as lesser members of society, he’d been around long enough to know better than that. In the past, he’d crossed paths with plenty of women whom, by any definition of the word, were quite smart. They always shared a curious glimmer in their eyes, eager to learn, but stifled by the culture they lived in. He could tell with just a glance that Victoria was among them. That meant he needed to be careful about what he said to her.

Even then, he had to wonder if simply guarding his tongue was enough. The Lady’s watchful gaze didn’t slip past him for a moment. It was clear that she was observing him for some reason—probably to see through any lies, he guessed. The thought brought him some amusement in the midst of his guardedness, and a hint of a smile tugged at his lip. He concealed the expression by lifting his glass to take another sip, unable to help but think that this woman was something special. He supposed he should have expected as much from the daughter of Lord Alexander though. His father had told him that the former head of the Crest household had been quite a dangerous force as well.

Putting his own observations of Victoria aside, Vail knew he couldn’t let himself get tangled up in the snares of the trap she was laying down. Whether she believed he was a member of the Order or an enemy that needed to be slain, he needed to keep her from finding out he wasn’t human. His hazel eyes danced over the other people in the ballroom. If there were any Saints among them, he would be killed in a heartbeat. For the sake of keeping his word to his father, he couldn’t let her know who she was talking to.

“Perhaps,” he answered her question with a shrug. “To be perfectly honest, my father never told me very much about their encounters. He’s always been a man of few words, so I’m afraid I don’t have much more to say about their history.” He studied her blue eyes, noticing the captivated look they held as she gazed up at him. It seemed that his lingering around her for this long was beginning to have an effect on her psyche. He ran his tongue across his teeth, drawn instinctively to the thought of coaxing her away from the crowd while she was vulnerable. Though it was tempting, he restrained himself. To feed on this Lady would be to invite conflict with both the Crests and the Wynters. He couldn’t do something so foolish.

“I’m sorry if I’ve disappointed you,” Vail finally said, breaking the spell as he turned away from her again.