Somehow Max must have known her thoughts, for he said in a low, amused voice, “A nice lad, Zavier. A good Venator. ” He was standing so close behind her his words whispered over her temple. If she drew in her breath, Victoria was certain her shoulders would brush against his chest.
She continued to watch Zavier, watch the way he gestured grandly, his large arms and broad shoulders setting him apart from the willowy dandies with whom he spoke: men who could be expected to parry a few fancy steps with an epée, and perhaps throw a punch or so if caught in an unpleasant situation…but who hadn’t one iota of the power and strength in comparison to the more casually dressed Scot before them.
She looked down, turning her attention to count the people below, to give her something to focus on, willing her heart to slow its jagged pounding, and wishing Max would step away before she had to.
But he didn’t move. His voice rumbled again. “Take care with him. ” There was an edge to his words, a warning that hadn’t been there a moment before.
“Take care?”
He nodded, and she felt the movement of his head against the top of hers.
“You’ll break his heart. ”
Victoria started in surprise, but her grip on the curtains—which had suddenly become deathly—kept her from spinning around or even turning her head. Still looking down, she tipped her face slightly to the side so he could hear her cool words. “Break his heart? What on earth do you mean? Never say you are attempting to advise me on my intimate affairs, Max. The closest you’ve come to any matter of the heart was an engagement to a lover of vampires. ”
“Zavier is a good man. ” Max’s voice was calm and even in her ear. “You’re too strong for him. You’ll merely tread upon him with your silk slippers and trounce his heart, which he wears much too openly on his sleeve. ”
“You never cease to amaze me—”
“Victoria,” he interrupted, still smooth but very firm. “The man is in love with the idea of a woman Venator. Any woman Venator. Had Eustacia been a few decades younger, he would have courted her. ”
“You’re crude, Max. ”
A short, sharp laugh rumbled. “Perhaps. But at least I speak honestly. ”
“Disgustingly so. ”
“You would be better off with the likes of Vioget than that milksop Zavier. ”
“I begin to wonder why you continue to push me toward Sebastian. Is it some form of punishment?”
“Push you toward Sebastian? I wouldn’t go so far as to say that. ”
“It was you, after all, who ordered him to kidnap me last autumn to keep me out of your way. ” Max had known well enough that she’d want to be involved in destroying Nedas, but she’d had no idea how tenuous and risky his plans were, and how much her interference could have jeopardized them. So he’d arranged for Sebastian to get her out of the way.
“A task that he accepted with embarrassing alacrity—but, of course, he had his own motives for cooperating. I’m certain he found the rewards worth the risk. That carriage must have been quite comfortable. ”
Victoria’s face burned. How could he know she’d allowed Sebastian to seduce her in a carriage? Thank God he couldn’t see her cheeks; they must be red with fury and embarrassment. And how dared he say such a thing?
Did he think that since she’d seen and experienced so much more than other women that her sensibilities weren’t as delicate?
“At least Vioget can recognize your faults,” Max continued in that steady voice, as though he hadn’t just insulted her. “And, aside from that, I wouldn’t bloody care if you were to tear out Vioget’s innards and screw your heels into them. In fact, I’d applaud it. Zavier, on the other hand, the blasted fool, wouldn’t see your faults if you engraved them on his stake. He’s already anointed you and ensconced you on a pedestal. ”
“I still fail to see why you should be concerned about my affairs. ”
“You misunderstand. It isn’t your affairs that concern me. It’s Zavier’s. I should hate to see a Venator incapacitated due to a broken heart. And you will break his if you continue on this path. ”
“You’re so certain of this?”
“He’s not strong enough, Victoria. He’s an exceptional Venator, but he’s not equipped to manage his heart. He cannot see your faults; he will let you run roughshod over him…and, finally, he will bore you with his easy ways, his pathetic doggedness of wanting to make you happy—all the time knowing he could lose you to this dangerous world we inhabit. And that’s what I do not wish to see. For his sake. For ours, as Venators. ”
Tears had begun to sting the corners of her eyes, blurring her view of the party below. Burning tears of anger and grief. She blinked and took a long
, slow breath, resisting the desire to spin a slap onto his aristocratic cheek like the Society miss she no longer was. “You would have said the same about Phillip had I listened. ”
“No. ” His voice became sharper and more serious. “Phillip was strong enough. He just didn’t understand the world you live in. If he had…”
Max didn’t need to finish, and Victoria didn’t want him to. She released the curtains and slipped to the side, away from him. She knew very well that if Phillip had understood her life even a little, things would have been so very different. Her eyes stung and her throat felt as though she’d swallowed a ball.