As she made her way home, the Lady Victoria noticed a carriage parked outside her mansion. “Oh no…” She sighed as she knew Lord Spencer was here. She reluctantly made her way into the house and closed the door gently behind her. She had hoped to make a quiet enough entrance and sneak past everyone and get upto the study without anyone noticing. Except she could not escape a vampire’s ears. “Hello Victoria my dear…”She froze in her tracks on the second step up. She slowly turned around to come eye to eye with Lord Spencer.

“Lord Spencer…” She greeted him somewhat coldly. She then glanced to his hand where he had one of her father’s journals. She immediately felt her heart in her throat. “Where did you get that? Nobody is allowed in my father’s study.” Only she had the key so how did he get in? “Oh, this was left on your nightstand…its very interesting what your father did…if you want, I can tell you more about The Order.” He offered but his eyes held a hidden agenda as they stared her down. 

“You were in my room? Looking through MY things?!” She snatched the book off him. “How dare you! Get out of my house!” She pointed her arm toward the door angrily.

“Your room will soon become my room, my dear. On our wedding night. So, you had best get used to me being here and running things from now on. You’ll be grateful of the help, you’ve never had to run an empire before.” Spencer put his misogynistic view across. “You need not worry your pretty little head about anything…only satiating my…thirst…” He leaned in toward her, she felt his whiskey breath upon her cheeks. He could almost smell her blood hidden beneath that sot blanket of snow-white skin. She glared into his eyes. “You don’t scare me, Spencer.” She asked with a cold tone.

“You should be my dear. You would do well to remember your place…in the pecking order...” His hand grasped hers, it felt slightly cold to the touch. But the underlying vampire human hierarchy notion was there. His grip on her hand started to hurt. “Now…be a good girl and come sit with your mother and I. You don’t know how much time she has left..” He tilted his head and his tone grew sinister.

“Are you…threatening me Christopher?” She felt her pulse quicken as he led her into the main lounge where her mother was surrounded by a few other men in suits. Men she didn’t recognise but were all quite muscular and intimidating. “Oh, my dear, you would know if I were intimidating you…” Spencer whispered in her ear as he stopped by the furniture. She felt compelled to sit down on the ornate golden and ivory couch opposite her mother. Lady Diana looked fearful. The room felt tense. On the table was a teapot and cups. One had been poured and Diana was holding her tea cup. 

“Tea?” He asked her as he motioned for the maid to come over and pour one. Victoria didn’t feel like drinking tea right now, but she was given one. She was presented with a cup, that the maid shakily handed to her. There was a certain chill in the air. “Now, My Lady Diana. Shall we discuss your daughter’s impending nuptials to become Lady Spencer and the consequent…handing over of your late husband’s estate to me…?” Christopher Jr asked as he sat next to Victoria and gave her a sideways glance. Victoria noticed that there was a paper on her desk that looked like a contract.

“A Pre-Nup.” Spencer declared. “I have to protect my assets in case my…future wife doesn’t uphold her vows.” Spencer sipped a tea that had whiskey poured into it. “Sign it.” He insisted as he waited for her to pick up the quill. “No.” Victoria defied him. 

“My dear…you have no ide how to handle the affairs of man’s world. It falls to me to look after you, as my father had promised yours that if anything should happen to him..” Spencer sighed.


“I’ll learn.” She insisted back. A few quiet moments passed.

I’m not a patient man, Victoria.” Spencer picked up the quill and forced it into her hand. “Sign it.” 

“No!” Victoria put the quill back down on the table. He could not force her to do it. If he wanted to marry her, it would be without a pre-nup.

“SIGGN IIIIT!” Spencer suddenly shouted and it caused Victoria and her mother to jump out of their skin. Lady Diana even spilled her tea. Victoria started to hyperventilate somewhat as she thought he would strike her. She readied herself for a slap. Spencer quietly stood up and fastened his waist coat button. “Be sure it is signed before the wedding. I trust you wil see to the organisation of the ceremony, Lady Diana?”

“Y-yes leave it to me, Lord Spencer.” Diana gulped. “Good! No expense spared. I wish to marry the most beautiful woman in London.” Spencer announced and flicked Victoria’s chin up, as he took his leave with his man servants. She gave him a deathly glare as he left. As soon as the door shut, Victoria stood up. “Why do you sit there and take that?!”

“Stop it Victoria! You don’t know what he is! What your father sacrificed to keep us safe from people like him!” Diana started to clear up and knocked the teapot on the floor and began to get hysterical. “Mother! Stop! I can protect us now!” She held her hands tightly.

“No you can’t! Don’t be silly!” Diana shook her head and fell back into the seat in despair.

“I can get help, seek out allies.  I’ll train hard every day to be as good as Daddy!” Victoria pleaded with Diana. “Maybe the Hygrace clan will hear us out because of father’s truce with them?” She suggested as Diana teared over. “He upheld their end of the bargain. They upheld theirs by not killing anyone.” She knew now that Vail would not have totally killed that girl last night as she read further into her father’s diary. 

“Don’t go near the Hygrace family. We cannot trust [i]anyone[/i]. We don’t know who killed your father!” Diana stood up and walked to the in house bar. She poured herself a gin. 

“Well drinking yourself to a slow death isn’t helping! Daddy’s gone but I’m still here! Am I not worth sticking around for?!” She asked her mother. Diana sighed. “Yes! That’s why I am throwing you the best wedding you will ever have. Because who knows how long we’ll last with things like that roaming around without your father to protect us now…”

“Mother….do you even HEAR yourself? I am not marrying that man. I cannot trust him!” Victoria protested. “I fear he…might be a Wynter member.” She sat down and sighed. “I need to track down daddy’s friend. I’ll be going out again tonight to look for him…”
[hr]
[h3]The New Inn[/h3]
Dressed in her father’s white shirt and black trousers and a long black tailcoat this evening and hair tied up into a high ponytail but with curls for a tail, the ladies inside this particular tavern noticed the Lady dressed rather masculine. “Oh…is she dressed…like a [i]man[/i] now? How absurd!” The ladies giggled at Victoria’s expense as she walked past them, ignoring their judgemental comments and headed for the counter. She slammed a gloved hand down on the bar for attention. She wanted to look like nobody should mess with her. Not today. Feeling confident with a holy dagger on her persons and now a crossbow under her tailcoat to boot. No Saint or Vampire was going to hurt her without a god damn fight. 

“Have you seen this man?” She held up a sketch of Gerald Alabaster. The bar keep shook his head and Victoria sighed. Time to move on. She left the New Inn and headed for the next tavern across the street. She hadn’t noticed she acquired a shadow…