Dhampirica

XXVII

"IS SOMETHING WRONG?"

Lady Esther broke eye contact with Yvanna to glance at Lord Riccardo. "No," she replied, returning her attention back to him. "Not at all. My apologies, Ric. I just thought the name was familiar." She smiled and took a seat beside him.

Realizing that she probably looked at odd sight standing up as well, Yvanna decided to sit back down. She ignored the penetrating stare Royce was giving her, instead focusing on the table of interest.

"Is that so?" Lord Riccardo mused, and Yvanna could almost see the surreptitious smirk which threatened to show on his face. "Well, no matter. Why don't we order something to eat?" His gaze drifted over to the seat beside him. "Sit down, Dante."

Lord Dante, who was still on his feet and watching the whole exchange, lowered back into his chair. His expression remained puzzled, though after a moment, he appeared to shake himself out of it and tune back into the conversation. "So, where did you two meet?" he asked them.

"We've crossed each other's paths a few times at Council meetings, but we were never formally introduced until recently," Lord Riccardo explained.

"Yes, indeed. I've lived in Michigan all my life, you see. Ric and I came across each other by chance while he was traveling there a month ago," Esther added. "He invited me out for dinner and I suppose you could say we hit it off ever since."

Lord Dante frowned. "You're from Michigan? Isn't it going to be difficult maintaining a long distance relationship?"

"Dante–" Lord Riccardo began to chastise, but Esther quickly interjected: "Oh, I would normally agree. However, I was already in the process of moving to Chicago by that time. I've bought an apartment in the city. Now, I'm just about unpacked."

Michigan?  Yvanna thought. She faintly recalled a conversation she had with Lord Riccardo, where he mentioned visiting the state. He said he had met some "interesting people". And now her mother was sitting right beside him. This could not be a coincidence.

"Your background", he had asked her many nights ago, "What is it?"

Dread pooled in the pit of her stomach. No coincidence at all. He had planned this. He had seen Lady Esther, known who she was, and made the connection between her and Yvanna. But why was he doing this? To punish her for failing to seduce Lord Beltran? To keep her in line? It wasn't as if her mother cared about her. She had discarded Yvanna the moment she was born. And even though she called her once a year, it was merely to check if she was still alive. She had never once acknowledged Yvanna as her daughter, never even once mentioned that she was her mother – though Yvanna knew the truth deep down. If Lord Riccardo thought Lady Esther would acknowledge her now, he was sorely mistaken.

In that moment, Yvanna's gaze connected with his. There was a calculating glint to his dark eyes, as if he knew exactly what she was thinking. His lips parted and then he said, "As glad as I am to have you so close by, I do worry about you moving here. Chicago has been rather dangerous as of late. There's been far too many noble attacks. I mean, my own son was kidnapped, along with Yvanna over there."

As if her name was a magnet, their eyes all suddenly converged upon her. Lord Riccardo watched her with that ever-calculative gaze, Lord Dante with scrutiny, and Lady Esther with... unmistakable recognition. Yvanna's heart hammered so loudly in her chest, she was afraid everyone could hear it. She was certain Royce could.

Realization lit in Lord Dante's eyes like a match to a candle. "Do you two know each other?" he asked, though it seemed that everyone already knew the answer to that question.

Lord Riccardo cocked his head to the side. "It couldn't be..." he murmured, feigning innocence to an irritatingly talented degree. It was as if he had been waiting for someone else to say it. "Yvanna is your child?"