Tale of a Vampire

Chapter 12

At night Diana had dinner in the saloon. She hoped James would be there but he was nowhere to be seen. Her heart sank in more sadness again for she was feeling he meant the words he'd tell her the previous night. It meant he was serious, then. Constantine couldn't but notice how absent his daughter was. At first he thought she was that way because of Lord Byron, who had spent great part of the day in the palace but then he noticed that she was simply sad. Diana wasn't absent because she was thinking about a man, she was absent because she was sad. It cost him to acknowledge so, nothing would hurt him more than see his daughter unhappy. Diana looked distant, oblivious to anything around her, and when he paid better attention, he eyes were swollen. She must have been crying after Jack was gone and obviously, it was not because of Jack for she had just met him. He decided to distract her.

"Why aren't you eating?" He asked her as he realized she was just playing with her food.

"I am not hungry." She told him. Her blue gaze was a bit lost and the glitter of her stare wasn't there. Constantine had a clue why was that, the master wasn't there as usual, however he refused to give in. "Father..." Diana called him and he looked at her waiting for what she had to tell him. "Lord Byron is coming here to visit me tomorrow."

Constantine smiled faintly. Diana was letting a man come to visit her twice in a row. He had been right when he thought she might like him. There wasn't much of an enthusiasm in her voice or a glitter in her eyes but they were about the same age, they had the same interests and maybe that would be enough for her to fell in love with him. In reality none of that mattered, for marriages were arranged between the parents but he had promised her dying mother he'd let marry for love. He knew he was about to break that promise, he had his reasons for it, but maybe he wouldn't have to force her to do so. Maybe Diana would come to that decision alone and that would make him feel better.

"It makes me very happy Diana." He told her. "Lord Byron is a great man. He has studied in the best university and he helps his father running the family business."

"I know all that." She said in a low tone and with her eyes down on her full plate. Constantine took a deep breath. It broke his heart to see his daughter so sad and broken.

"Don't you like him?" Constantine went on. "I thought you did...I mean...you let him come to visit you..."

Diana's lips trembled. She wanted to cry but instead she bit her lower lip, her eyes down on her plate, unable to face her father. She just nodded. "He's nice. Yes." She said. Her voice choked. Constantine grabbed her hand in support.

"He will make you happy." He told her. Diana felt like getting up and ravish the china on the table and runaway from there, after. How could they? How could they pretend they all knew what was best for her? She was the one knowing what was best for her, not other people.

"I don't know if I will marry him." She affirmed.

Constantine stared into her blue eyes and she stared back at his defiantly. "I thought you liked him." He said instead of telling her what was inside his mind. He would make her marry him whether she wanted it or not, he was just giving her some time to adapt and hoping she'd fall in love with him meanwhile.

"I do." She said. "I just don't love him." She clarified. "I love another man and I will never..." She gulped for her eyes were now flooded with tears, blinding her vision. "...never love another man."

"Love comes with time Diana." Constantine said almost irritated. "Do you think your mother and I loved each other when we got married? I loved my cousin and your mother was in love with some boy from her village. Our parents decided we ought to be married with one another and..." Constantine smiled. "...first time I saw your mother my heart skipped a beat, she was so beautiful. With time we learned how to love each other, and how I loved your mother! God called her too soon."