The Judgement Of Divinity (TMOE #2)

Chapter 27: Among normal people (pt 3)

On one hand, Lucius found it unfair that Damien considered her too strange to be around people, but on the other he also understood his reasoning. Any immortal with seemingly horrifying resources should not be approached without caution.

"What did she say?"

Lucius flinched, and turned his head to look at Damien, whose cold gaze had been dyed with dread.

"Nothing of your interest." Lucius beamed at him with a gentle shrug. "We've never spoken before, but she's a member of your organisation so I wanted to get to know her better."

"That's not necessary," Damien answered before Lucius had ended his sentence. "She's rarely around, and any matters she's involved in will only concern me."

"But she's so pleasant to be around." The corner of Lucius' mouth quirked. "It was nice talking to her."

Damien didn't look quite so amused.

"And what was this pleasant conversation about?"

Lucius arched his eyebrows, having no intention to give Damien even the slightest hint of information.

"Mainly my breasts, as ladies do." He tilted his head. "And as I said before, it should be nothing of your interest. Even less so, your business."

Damien looked as though he didn't know what to think. He didn't seem particularly flustered, possibly because it was a very Catherine thing to do, but there was also no way he believed that had been the actual topic.

Lucius' gaze fell to the ground.

Or was there? Lucius hadn't spent enough time with ladies of the upper class, and Eliza knew he was a man. Did ladies discuss those topics? Was that a thing?

He raised his head. Eliza. He'd been held up by Catherine long enough to have no idea if she and Samueli had succeeded with their heist.

"Excuse me," he said to Damien before walking off to look around. To his relief he found Samueli rather quickly. To his horror he did not find Eliza, and Samueli was surrounded by a number of wealthy people.

To his surprise though, it seemed like they were actually having a pleasant conversation, and as Samueli noticed Lucius approaching the others turned their eyes in his direction as well.

"Oh no," Lucius whispered under his breath as he confirmed one of the men to be Lord Clausson. If Frey was indeed a cockatoo on his father's shoulder, he would have realised Samueli's unlikely presence there already.

"Ah, Lady Cromwell," Lord Clausson acknowledged with a nod before looking over Lucius' shoulder. "And Lord Hargreaves. What luck to have you both here at the same time."

Lucius wanted to turn his head and glare at the man who'd apparently followed him.

"I was just speaking to Mr. Faal here," Lord Clausson continued before he could do so, redirecting Lucius' attention to Samueli, who pinched his lips together. "I hear he's an old friend of your family?"

"Yes..." Lucius tried to find any hint in Samueli's expression to indicate where Eliza was, receiving none, however, he focused back on the conversation. "Yes, of course. You could even say he's been a father figure to me growing up."

Unless the two-faced manipulation was a hereditary trait, it seemed like Claus hadn't noticed anything off about Samueli, and before he could go on Lucius directed the attention elsewhere.

"I met Frey earlier. Is it really all right for him to be running off on his own? I thought he would spend the evening with you."

"Well, we keep an eye on him." Claus shrugged and nodded his head over to the lady next to him. With a closer look, Lucius would not have needed an introduction to see that she and Frey were related, though much like her husband she looked surprisingly young for being Frey's parent. "These types of gatherings tend to overwhelm him though, so he's retreated to his room for a while."