When Victoria rescinded her idea of having children, Sylvia frowned. “It is up to you whether you decide to start a family or not, but please don’t base your decision on Peter’s approval,” she appealed to her, reaching to place her hand over the Crest heiress’s and giving it a sincere squeeze. “He doesn’t deserve the authority to control how or when you have children. That is up to you and Vail, and if he disagrees with you, he will cause his own suffering.” She leaned forward to seek the other woman’s gaze and offered her a reassuring smile. “You should know that he [i]does[/i] want grandchildren. Vail isn’t his only son by choice. He’s infertile because of an… unfortunate injury he received from a fight with a skilled Saint not long after Katherine got pregnant. He’d planned to sire a large family just like his brother did, and I’m sure he still hopes that dream will come true through his son and other future heirs. Perhaps he’ll one day learn to lay his prejudice aside when he sees that Vail has already chosen his bride.”

Releasing Victoria’s hand, Sylvia leaned back in her seat and grinned amusedly at Lady Crest’s offer to stay up as long as she wished. “I will likely be up until dawn, since I [i]am[/i] a vampire,” she giggled. “I wouldn’t mind one bit if your brother decides to keep me company though. He’s quite a handsome man, and I just love the way those Frenchmen speak. I could listen to him whisper sweet nothings all night long.” Rising to her feet, she curtseyed to the other woman respectfully. Although she had originally found Victoria to be an entertaining novelty as the only human-turned-vampire she had ever met, the Crest heiress had quickly grown on her as a friend.

“Have a good night, my lady,” she bade her farewell. “I do hope we see each other again before I depart tomorrow.”

--

In the lounge, Vail and the other men had lapsed into comfortably casual conversation. He participated more readily, exchanging anecdotes about everything from past run-ins with the Order to different play styles of chess. It was the first evening in quite a long time in which he wasn’t plagued with worries about the Saints, the Wynters or Victoria’s health. The relaxing atmosphere was almost foreign to him, but it was a needed lull, and he found himself enjoying the company and the cigars until Lady Crest appeared in the doorway.

“I spent the last week watching over your dead body. Of course I’ll be joining you,” he told her with a half-smile, putting out what was left of his cigar and standing up from his chair. After he said a curt goodbye to James and Francois, he accompanied Victoria to her room. “Did you have a nice chat with Sylvia?” he asked her as they walked through the hall together. Tenderly, he rested a hand on the small of her back, greedy to touch her again now that she had breath in her lungs. After James’s earlier joke, he was even more curious to know what the two women had been talking about on the terrace.