"To avoid what happened before, I have arranged more staff here until the wedding," the elder minister said, just as the sound of carriage wheels came to a halt outside the mansion.

Ruelle’s attention briefly flickered towards the window.

The minister continued, "I hope you will accept it, Lord Azriel. After all, this is an important step."

"That is understandable," Lord Azriel replied, rising from the couch with the fluid grace of nobility. The minister followed, before they headed to the door—

"Make it two weeks. The wedding."

The elder minister paused and looked back at Lucian. His expression did not change and he replied,

"I only offered more time, as arrangements must be made and the matter announced."

"It is too long," Lucian returned.

"A short wait rarely harms a union," the minister replied with his eyebrows slightly raised.

"Restriction tends to make temptation far more... appealing," Dane chipped in with a sly smile, his eyes flicking to Ruelle’s neck briefly.

"Then it is for the best that Peyton oversees Miss Belmont. The consequences of breaching the treaty are already well understood," Minister Carnifex answered. "Given what such bonds entail, let us settle for twenty days."

The minister then turned to look at Ruelle as if assessing her. He informed, "I will have the midwife sent early tomorrow to the Slaters’ mansion. Good day."

Ruelle’s cheeks flushed slightly as she offered a polite bow.

Lord Azriel and the minister left the room, their footsteps fading.

"Twenty days is quite short to arrange a wedding, brother," Dane hummed, sitting one leg crossed over the chair while idly turning a toffee between his fingers. "Not to mention, from what I’ve heard, wedding gowns take longer than that. A month and a half, at the very least."

"There is already a gown, if time is the concern," Ruelle said as she remembered it. "It has not been used and it should still be at the tailor’s shop..." her voice trailed off when she caught Lucian staring at her unblinkingly.

"You won’t be wearing it," Lucian said, his fingers pressing lightly against the armrest before easing again.

"But it would save time," Ruelle doubted she knew any tailor who could prepare the gown on such short notice.

"I won’t have you in something that was meant for someone else," Lucian remarked and Ruelle’s heart skipped a beat. His fingers closed over hers, firm enough to keep them from moving. "I know a seamstress who prepares dresses quicker than usual. Maude will arrange the visit for tomorrow."

Ruelle stared at Lucian for a moment before she nodded. She replied, "I will ask the tailor to give it to someone so that it can be used." They could drop by Brackenwell tomorrow. Someone who wouldn’t be able to afford it would be grateful for a wedding dress.

Now that she thought about it, she had been engaged to another man while Lucian had stayed single. She wondered how he had felt about it then.

Her heart fluttered at the sheer weight of his gaze. The knowledge that this man, corrupted heart and dangerous and impossibly striking, wanted her.

Then someone cleared their throat and Ruelle looked away.

Peyton stepped forward and informed, "I believe it would be best for Ms. Belmont and Mr. Slater to keep distance during this duration to avoid any trigger."

She said it as if proximity to Lucian were a spark laid too near to dry hay. Ruelle noticed a flicker of annoyance cross his features for a moment. He responded,

"I wasn’t aware a woman’s chastity was under threat with a simple hold of hands."

His voice remained calm but something in it had gone sharp. And despite the words, he gingerly pulled his hand away from hers.

Ruelle felt the emptiness where his warm hand had been.

"For someone who doesn’t bear a mark, you seem to be unnecessarily strict, Peyton," Dane commented with a hint of amusement. He uncrossed his legs, standing from his seat. "We aren’t going to tattle-tale on you if you don’t do your job."

Peyton’s expression didn’t change. "My duty is not subject to convenience, Mr. Slater. Your reassurance is unnecessary," her voice mechanical. She turned her attention back to Ruelle. "Now if I could know where Miss Belmont’s room is so that I could be assigned next to hers."

The minister’s assistant then added, "Also preferably not in the same corridor as his." She glanced at Lucian.

Lucian’s eyes narrowed.

It then dawned on Ruelle that Lucian and she wouldn’t be sharing the room for the next few days.

"It isn’t a treaty condition to comply." A muscle worked beneath Lucian’s jaw.

Peyton seemed utterly unfazed. She replied, "Mr. Slater, you seem to be under a misunderstanding with the thought that we are keeping your beloved away from you. The soul bond will begin to cement in the next few days and so will the pull."

Ruelle felt a slight breeze of anger, and she placed a hand on Lucian’s hand before he could break the woman’s ribs. His gaze seemed to break away from the woman and fall on her. She offered him a smile, before turning to Peyton and said,

"Let us go take a look at our rooms."

The sooner the days passed, the sooner the minister’s attendant would leave. The thought became her anchor as Ruelle got up and made her way towards the doors. In a way, she wanted to respect the treaty as it had pulled her out of the castle and also the bid in Sexton.

Before leaving, she took a glimpse at Lucian and caught him watching her.

Soon Maude appeared in the corridor and led them to their rooms.

Ruelle’s own room was more than she could imagine. High ceilings with windows that let one view the garden and the front of the mansion. A bed too big. The room smelt like sweet flowers. Peonies, maybe.

"The bath has been drawn, Miss Ruelle. The water is warm enough to step in," Maude let her know as the woman stepped away from the bath. "Your trunk isn’t here yet, but I have laid out two dresses for you to wear."

Ruelle nodded, managing a smile. "Thank you." After a moment, she asked curiously, "Maude?"

The housekeeper’s eyes found hers immediately. "Yes, Miss?"

"Did you meet me before Brother Dane’s birthday?"

"I have, Miss."

That meant she had met Lucian’s mother too. It was a shame... that she couldn’t remember anything. She wondered why she didn’t have any memory of the place or the people.

"I see," Ruelle murmured.

Maude offered a bow before stepping out of the room, closing the door behind her.

Peyton had not entered the room, as if giving her the needed privacy. The woman was a vampire, she could always listen.

"Wedding in twenty days..." She murmured. It would be a lie if she said she wasn’t happy, but she was equally nervous.

It didn’t take long for her thoughts to drift to what happened to Caroline.

She wondered how her sister was doing. If Lucian’s hunch was true, then Ezekiel had murdered June and the other women. The gentleman who had been kind to her family. The one who had loved her sister enough to marry her and now frame her for his crimes. She sighed.

After a while, Ruelle changed into a fresh dress that kept her warm and she stepped outside her room. Peyton was there standing directly in front of her door.

Ruelle offered a smile that turned awkward. She said, "I think you should have a chair brought here if you intend to guard my door."

"I am used to standing guard, Miss Belmont. You don’t have to worry about it," Peyton replied. She began to follow when Ruelle started walking, positioning herself two steps behind.

Ruelle found it strange, having someone follow her even within the safety of these walls. She asked, "If I may ask, how did you come to work for the minister?"

She had never thought of a woman working in the courthouse. And seeing the woman’s attire, Ruelle could only guess that she had combat skills with the way a dagger hung next to her waist.

"The minister picked me up from the street when I was in a brawl. He thought I could be put to use."

Ruelle gave a nod, continuing to walk. The woman appeared to be in her mid-thirties or perhaps younger. They were still walking when a painting inside a room caught her eye.

She stepped inside the room and came to stand before it. The atmosphere was familiar and the theme was identical to what she’d seen in King Septimus’ castle. A lone tree surrounded by snow. But there was something else. A figure standing next to the tree.

’Do you know how to hide from a vampire? You look for the closest thing that will camouflage your heartbeat,’ a voice echoed in her head and she took a step back.

"Is something the matter?" Peyton questioned in a serious tone, and Ruelle turned to smile, shaking her head.

"I was just trying to get a better view of it," Ruelle replied before turning back. She didn’t want this person going back to inform the minister that she was insane.

And while she continued to admire it, she heard footsteps approaching the room and in entered Dane.

"Brother Dane, did you and King Septimus buy the painting from the same painter?" Ruelle asked after catching sight of him.

Dane walked to where she stood with his hands in his pockets. He stared at the painting and hummed.

"I wouldn’t say buy. More like stolen art."

Ruelle turned to look at Dane with question in her eyes. She asked, "Stolen?"