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Naught

12 MAY

On her last night as a warhter

Freyja had insisted upon it

“Let’s not oing on holiday for a few days, hoping to get aith a casual farewell at the hotel where her fa

“Absolutely not,” Freyja said, looking down her long nose “De Clermonts do not skulk around—unless they are Matthew, of course We shall do this properly Over dinner It is your duty”

The evening party Freyja put on for the Taylors was siht down to the weather (a flawless example of May), the music (could every vah Madaarden to perfume the entire city), and the wine (Freyja was fond of Cristal)

Phoebe’s father, ht as requested Her father was in black tie; her a choli; Stella was in head-to-toe Chanel Phoebe wore unrelieved black with the eiven her before he left Paris, along with a pair of sky-high heels of which she—and Marcus—was particularly fond

The asseroup of wararden behind Freyja’s sumptuous house in the 8th arrondissement—a private Eden the likes of which had not been carved out of space-starved Paris for over a century The Taylor fas—Phoebe’s father was a career diplomat, and her mother came from the kind of Indian family that had married into the British civil service since the days of the Raj—but de Clere was on an entirely different scale

They sat down to dinner at a table set with crystal and china, in a rooht and overlooked the garden Charles, the laconic chef whom the de Clermonts employed in their Parisian homes armbloods were invited to dine, was fond of Phoebe and had spared no effort or expense

“Raw oysters are a sign that God loves va her glass at the beginning of thethe word “vah sheer repetition ht normalize what Phoebe was about to do “To Phoebe Happiness and long life”

Following that toast, her family had little appetite Aware that this was her last proper meal, Phoebe nevertheless found it difficult to s She forced down the oysters, and the chane that accompanied it, and picked at the rest of the feast Freyja kept up a lively conversation throughout the hors d’oeuvres, the soup, the fish, the duck, and the sweets (“Your last chance, Phoebe, darling!”), switching frolish to Hindi between sips of wine

“No, Edward, I don’t believe there is any place I haven’t been Do you know, I think inal diplo announcement to draw out Phoebe’s circumspect father about his early days in the queen’s service

Whether or not Freyja’s historical judght his daughter a thing or two about ses

“Richard Mayhew, you say? I believe I knew him Françoise, didn’t I know a Richard Mayhee were in India?”

The sharp-eyed servant had mysteriously appeared the moment her mistress required her, tuned in to some vampiric frequency inaudible to mere mortals

“Probably” Françoise was a wo

“Yes, I think I did know hi, in a sort of schoolboy way?” Freyja was undeterred by Françoise’s dour rehly half the British diplomatic corps

Phoebe had yet to discover anything that could put a dent in Freyja’s cheerful resolve

“Good-bye for now,” Freyja said breezily at the end of the evening, kissing each of the Taylors in farewell A press of cool lips on one cheek, then the other “Padma, you are alelcome Let me knohen you will be in Paris next Stella, do stay here during the winter shows It is so convenient to the fashion houses, and Françoise and Charles will take very good care of you The George V is excellent, of course, but so popular with tourists Edward, I will be in touch”

Her h she held Phoebe a bit htly than usual in farewell

“You are doing the right thing,” Pad her She understood what it ive up your whole life in exchange for a promise of what it could become

“Make sure that prenup is as generous as they claim,” Stella murmured to Phoebe as she crossed the threshold “Just in case This house is worth a fucking fortune” Stella could view Phoebe’s decision only through her own fralaown

“This?” Freyja had laughed when Stella ad her flaxen topknot to one side to show the gown and her figure to greater advantage “Balenciaga Had it for ages Now, there was a man who understood how to construct a bodice!”

It was her norled with the farewell, eyes filled with tears, searching hers (so like his, Freyja had noticed earlier in the evening) for signs that her resolutionOnce her ates, her father pulled Phoebe away from the front steps where Freyja waited

“It won’t be long, Dad,” Phoebe said, trying to reassure him But they both knew that months would pass before she would be allowed to see her faain—for their safety, as well as for her own

“Are you sure, Phoebe? Absolutely?” her father asked “There’s still time to reconsider”

“I’m sure”

“Be reasonable for ain his voice He was fauilt to tilt matters in his favor “Why not wait a fewdecision”

“I’entle but firm “This isn’t a matter for the head, Dad, but the heart”

Now her birth faone Phoebe was left with the de Clermonts’ loyal retainers Charles and Françoise, and Freyja—as her fiancé’s maker’s stepsister, and therefore in vampiric terms a close relation

In the immediate aftermath of the Taylors’ departure, Phoebe had thanked Charles for the fine dinner, and Françoise for taking care of everyone during the party Then she sat in the salon with Freyja, as reading her e- on creaed in lavender that she slid into heavy envelopes

“There is no need to eodforsaken new preference for instant communication,” Freyja explained when Phoebe asked why she didn’t simply hit reply like everyone else “You will soon discover, Phoebe dearest, that speed is not soar to rush about as though time were in short supply”

After putting in a courteous hour with Marcus’s aunt, Phoebe felt she had done her bit

“I think I’ll go upstairs,” Phoebe said, feigning a yawn In truth, sleep was the furthest thing from her mind

“Give Marcus my love” Freyja licked the adhesive on the envelope with delicate laps of her tongue before sealing it shut

“How do you—” Phoebe looked at Freyja, astonished “I mean, what are you—”