Page 60 of The Golden Rose Of Valenul

They all clambered into the carriage and, as though reading her mind, Camilla asked, “Where is Mister Tenebra? Should he not be joining us in town?”

Emillie shrugged. “I have not seen him much.”

“We also have not left much,” Ariadne pointed out, gazing out the window as they pulled away.

“Too right you are, doll.” Camilla clicked her tongue. “It has been too long.”

“I must admit,” Emillie said, “it is strange he has disappeared so suddenly after the excitement at the Jensen’s.”

Strange indeed. Ariadne watched her sister curiously for a long moment. It was strange the guard had found any interest in her in the first place and far more curious that the interest floundered so suddenly.

Unless, of course, her abrupt engagement made the difference. Had he only watched her with such intensity because of her availability? Now that she was bound to Loren, was it possible he saw her as something soiled or unappealing?

Ariadne brushed her fingers over the crimson lace necklace around her throat. It made sense the half-vampire would not find her desirable now she was no longer eligible. She had not thought of him as such a rake in the past, but now she could see it. Maybe Loren had been right. He watched too closely for someone of his status. She deserved something more.

Perhaps the General would be that for her after all—if only she could stop hearing the sounds of the whip.

Emillie watched Ariadne with a light frown as they made their way into Laeton. Her sister fidgeted with the engagement choker and looked out the window despite the constant reassurance that she was, indeed, fine. The last two weeks had been difficult for her. It had been difficult for Emillie, too, to watch her sister succumb to the pressures of the Caersan Society. Her introversion, not unlike what she had displayed upon her return from the Keonis Mountains, erupted.

Even Camilla and Revelie could sense it, and she had not seen much of either of them over the last couple of weeks. Letters were all that passed between the three of them. So when Camilla entered the manor earlier that evening to Emillie pacing the foyer, the Caersan had swept her into her arms and held tight.

“She will be okay, doll,” Camilla had told Emillie as they broke apart and started up the stairs to hunt down Ariadne in the drawing room. “We will help her through this, as we have done before.”

Now as they trundled along, Camilla leaned forward and placed a gentle hand on Ariadne’s knee. “How are you doing, really?”

Her sister turned her blue eyes up to their friend and smiled. “Fine. Tired.”

“What have you been doing to make you so tired?”

Emillie shot Camilla a warning look. They had agreed not to talk about the wedding, and she had told her friend everything she knew. There should be no reason to pry into it further.

“A lot of planning,” her sister said, dragging her attention back inside the carriage.

“On your own?”

Ariadne glanced at Emillie. “Yes.”

Their father had not permitted Emillie to help, insisting the entire process was traditionally done by the bride alone. For her to interfere could poorly influence the outcome of the engagement ball, wedding, and subsequent marriage. Still, Emillie’s face burned. She should have snuck in more often to lend her support.

“Absurd.” Camilla shook her head. “Well, the bistro I have planned for tonight will be exactly what we all need to relax a bit.”

Emillie frowned. “I thought we were going shopping.”

Something devious sparkled in Camilla’s eyes, and she shrugged. “It will be more enjoyable once we relax a bit, do you not think?”

“I look forward to it,” Ariadne cut in and smiled at both of them. It did not reach her troubled gaze. “Thank you. Both of you. This is much needed.”

As the carriage rumbled to a halt, Camilla clapped her hands and opened the door before the coachman could do so. She leapt from her seat as Madan dismounted, his brows low over his marbled eyes. He turned in place, then looked up at the sign hanging above the establishment. The Drifter’s Inn and Bistro.

“Excuse me,” Madan called up to the driver. “I believe we are in the wrong place.”

“Nonsense!” Camilla waved him off, then gestured for Emillie and Ariadne to follow her. They did so, looking around at the brightly lit street. It was off their usual route, yet still well-kempt, and the vampires who wandered by were well-dressed. “This is precisely where I wished to go.”

Madan turned to her and Ariadne and shook his head. “I must insist we leave. This is no place for either of you.”

“This is precisely why I pay Gerard to not accompany me into town,” Camilla muttered, referring to the personal guard with whom she could be rarely found. Though Lord Dodd tried to keep his daughter on a leash, she had found ways of cutting those ties.

Yet Ariadne did not seem to hear him either as she followed Camilla through the front doors of the bistro. Chatter and music flooded out as the door opened, then dampened as it closed behind her sister and friend.

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