“No, I get out of the city from time to time. The countryside is good for one's health, I hear. Sometimes I sleep in tombs and caves for old time's sake.”
Katerina's laugh was sweet. “I have missed your wit. And you must be missing the peace and quiet of your beloved Scotland right about now.”
Gareth shrugged politely. “It is good to see you both. It's been too long.” He noted the diminutive bite marks on her neck. Most were healed, but there were fresh ones as well. Even with the help of bloodnurses, she still had allowed her nearly innumerable children to feed from her. “I've never seen you look so happy, even teetering on exhaustion.”
“The lure of motherhood is strong.” Katerina's smile broadened, and a dangerous twinkle filled her eye. “So Gareth, Lothaire tells me you haven't found anyone to share your damp castle. But I think you look different.”
Gareth leaned back slightly, cautious, then remarked, “I merely found my backbone. That changes the stature of a man.”
She scrutinized him through blue eyes. “I fear you're lying to me. You have found someone.”
He hesitated, taken aback by her intuition. Then he conceded to her open persuasive face, smiling at the admission, “Yes, you are frighteningly perceptive. It's true.”
“Won't you tell me about her?”
“It's…complicated.”
She leaned forward and laid a kind hand on his knee. “It always is. You need not say anything if you don't wish it. I won't pry, although I'd like to.”
“Thank you. That means a great deal to me. Katerina, you and Lothaire have been together for as long as I've known you. Your love has crossed centuries. I've watched you the past few days. You're so comfortable with each other. No matter the noise or the chaos of your children or matters of state, you two treat each other with kindness. I ache to have what you two have.”
“If she's the right one for you, you will have centuries together still.”
Gareth almost shook his head. Adele's life could be counted in decades. “All I know is that I have something better than anything I have ever known.”
Katerina embraced him warmly. “Gareth, I'm so happy for you. Whoever she is, she has brought you back to the joy of living. I long to meet her and thank her for such a gift. Cherish it. Embrace it with all your heart.”
“I will.”
Katerina rose. “I am off to get some sleep. I can barely keep my eyes open.”
“Quickly then, before one of them wakes,” Gareth jested.
She brushed the back of her hand across his cheek affectionately. “I'm glad you're here. Lothaire hasn't been this animated in a century. Please make your stay an extended one, for his sake. And for mine. You're welcome here as long as you can stand to be away from the one you love.” She glided to the door.
Gareth called after her, “Katerina, how could tell that I was different?”
She stared over her shoulder with a sly grin. “You seem content at last.”
Gareth relished the solitude in the near silence of the city air above the Parisian suburb of Montmartre. He smiled as he touched the cobblestones at the top of a long flight of cascading steps, feeling hopeful. Lights glimmered in the buildings along both sides of the stairway. He leaned against the iron rail and scanned the area. He smelled humans everywhere, and only a few vampires.
He had been to this spot on the two nights previous, and had noticed Prince Honore in the distance both times. The lad likely thought himself hidden, but his skills were no match for the vampire who was the Greyfriar. Gareth had talked in court about hunting in the Montmartre district to cover these excursions. He lied about how he loved stalking the area around the hilltop because it reminded him of the closes of Edinburgh. There was no sense alarming anyone with reports of his wandering the northern city for no apparent reason. And he hoped Prince Honore would tire of following if there were a mundane motive behind his sojourns. Apparently that was the case, because tonight there was no sign of prying eyes.
Warm breezes ruffled Gareth's shirt and reminded him of comfortable evenings atop the palace roof in Alexandria. He wondered what Adele was doing at this moment.
“Gareth.”
He turned quickly to see a shadow move in the darkness. Flay. Extraordinary, and frightening. He hadn't detected her at all.
He said, “I think we're alone tonight.”
“We are. Your little shade isn't about.” She stepped into the starlight wearing a long swallowtail coat of navy blue, with riding pants, high leather boots, and nothing else. Her expression showed she was satisfied that she had remained hidden from him.
“Lothaire tells me his court is full of Cesare's spies.”