The Rest Falls Away

the damage to a minimum. In fact, she found it a pleasure to see the annoyance on his face when she sweetly dodged his queries.

It was when Aunt Eustacia began to ask questions that Victoria had more difficulty.

'Max tells me you have met Sebastian Vioget,' her aunt commented one afternoon when Victoria had managed to slip away from Grantworth House before Melly dragged her off to another tea. It wasn't that she didn't like sharing biscuits and gossip with her peers; it was that she'd done so much of it in the last week that Victoria felt ill at the thought of more lemon curd and clotted cream slathered on various baked goods. Not to mention the fact that her stays were feeling uncomfortably tight.

And how was she going to fit into a wedding gown if she kept eating five or six rounds of tea during daily visits?

'What makes Max think I've met him?' countered Victoria innocently.

Aunt Eustacia gave her an indulgent look that told her she would allow her to play the game of splitting hairs. 'You recognized him at Rudolph Caulfield's home, so Max assumed you knew him.'

'I did recognize him, but that doesn't mean that I have met him. What do you think he was doing there?'

Her aunt clasped lace-edged hands in her lap and looked directly at Victoria. 'I thought perhaps you would have the answer to that.' The indulgent look had vanished.

'I truly don't know why he was there. I was as surprised as Max must have been. Unless Max had expected him… ?'

Her aunt watched her for a moment as if to gauge the veracity of her statement, then seemed to make a decision—obviously in Victoria's favor, for she said, 'Sebastian Vioget is very powerful and he could be a valuable ally to our cause. If we could trust him.' Aunt Eustacia was looking at her with such scrutiny that Victoria felt her face grow warm. She felt as though her aunt was waiting for her to say something, but Victoria did not know what… and she knew that anything she said at that point would be inadvisable.

But Victoria, at least, had no reason not to trust Sebastian. The information he had given her had been correct—as far as she could ascertain.

It wasn't that she did trust him. It was that she didn't not trust him. That splitting-hairs problem.

'Why don't you trust him? He's not a vampire.'

Eustacia swept at her a look that reminded her of the sharp swipe that Max had used to behead the Imperials. 'No, he is not a vampire. But the mere fact that he was at Rudolph Caulfield's home, in the midst of this transferal of the Book of Antwartha, has given both Max and myself reason to wonder at his involvement. Victoria, what do you know about Sebastian Vioget? Have you had any interaction with him?'

Victoria opened her mouth to speak, then closed it. Sebastian had warned her about divulging where she'd gotten her information… but how could she keep such information from Aunt Eustacia? Especially when asked so directly?

She struggled, knowing that her aunt was watching her, and knowing that the fact that she'd delayed answering her question had already given her aunt the information she sought. So she made the decision.

'I visited the Silver Chalice to try to find information about the Book of Antwartha, and I met him at that time. He made it clear to me that I was not to tell anyone we'd spoken, so I did not.'

Aunt Eustacia nodded once. To Victoria's relief, she asked for no further details. Instead she commented, 'If you should have occasion to meet him again, it would not be remiss if you were to attempt to establish some level of cooperation. It could be to our benefit.'

With that, Victoria knew she needn't put off visiting the Silver Chalice any longer.

She would go tonight.

Chapter Fifteen Miss Grantworth Acquires the Headache

It wasn't quite as easy getting to the Silver Chalice as Victoria had envisioned it.

She'd forgotten that her fiance was taking her to the theater that evening. And she'd rather been looking forward to seeing the latest rendition of Master Shakespeare's The Taming of the Shrew.

She told herself that the odd squirming feeling in her middle had nothing to do with the fact that she would see Sebastian again… it was because she hoped Phillip wouldn't question her when she claimed the headache immediately at the end of the play.

That way she could see the program, but then be required to return home immediately instead of arriving late at a posttheater ball or taking a stroll through Covent Gardens. The curtain rose at seven thirty and the theater normally let out by eleven.

If Barth were there with his hackney by midnight, that would give Victoria plenty of opportunity to pay a visit to the Silver Chalice and return home in time to get several hours of sleep before her wedding gown fitting.

Perfect.

And it actually worked according to plan. There weren't even any vampires at the Drury Lane Theatre, nor did even the slightest chill skitter across Victoria's neck during the trip there and back. In fact, there had been a dearth of vampires since the fights at Redfield Manor, and Victoria began to wonder if she and Max had fairly cleared out a good portion of Lilith's army. Perhaps the vampire queen had gone into hiding and was licking her wounds, or, better yet, perhaps she'd left the country.

'Are you certain there is nothing I can do for you?' asked Phillip as he led her up the walk to Grantworth House. He was clearly disappointed at having their evening cut short, but he'd handled it with grace and concern, as she'd known he would.

'Thank you, darling, but a bit of rest and Verbena's peppermint tea is all I need. I am sure to be fresh as a daisy tomorrow,' she told him. 'And I had best be so, for Madame LeClaire is attending me for a gown fitting.'

Jimmons had opened the door for them, and Phillip followed Victoria over the threshold. 'Now that, my lovely, is something I would pay dearly to see.' His smile, warm and crooked, told her that he knew it was only a matter of time before he would have his desire fulfilled.

Glancing about as if to assure himself that Jimmons had retreated, Phillip took her shoulders, and under the gentle pressure of his fingers she stepped toward him. Her breasts brushed the buttons of his coat, the folds of her skirt jutted around and between his trousers, and one foot slid between his.

Another guiding movement from his fingers, and she came closer and had to draw in her breath because they were close, touching at hip, thigh, and foot. And then mouth. Warm, slick, tender, he kissed her.

If she'd truly been suffering from a headache, Victoria was sure it would have flown as easily from her head as all other thought actually did.

'I know you aren't feeling quite the thing,' he murmured near her lips when they paused, foreheads heavy against each other, 'but I can't resist.' His nose slid against hers as he dipped to kiss her again.

When he finally set her away from him, just as carefully as he'd drawn her near, Victoria opened her eyes. She had to blink in order to focus, and was deliciously pleased to see that his normally half-lidded eyes were even droopier. He looked as though he wanted to slip back into her arms with the same ease and comfort of sliding into a feather bed. But warmer. More inviting.

'Good night, Phillip,' she heard herself say as he stepped away, still holding her hand. Her palm, then fingers, then the very tips of them, slid through his grip as he released her. The door was behind him. Still looking at her with those half-closed eyes, meaningful and determined, he reached for the knob, turned it, and slipped out into the night.

'Well, if that wasn't a kiss of true love, I don't know what is.'

Victoria spurt to see Verbena standing at the bottom of the staircase—lud, she hadn't even heard her approach!—with a decidedly wistful expression on her face. 'Love's not necessary to a well-matched marriage,' Victoria said firmly, 'but it certainly doesn't hurt. Now, is Barth here?'