Damien had moved to talk to the councilmen who worked in Valeria when Penny decided to slip away and go join Sylvia who was talking to an old woman who was a vampire, telling her own tale of how things were decades ago while comparing the current party where they were celebrating Senior Bingley’s birthday. The elderly vampire wore a black gown with a diamond necklace that sparkled under the light every time she moved.
“How about you, dearie?” asked the old woman who appeared to have lived for centuries and not decades. She was a decently looking plump woman who appeared to be healthy, “I hear from Sylvia that this is your first time here in Valeria. How are you finding it so far?”
“I am quite enjoying it so far. It is a lovely place and my company has been great,” Penelope answered the lady politely.
“Oh, Sylvia is a wonderful girl,” the words the woman spoke came out slow and clear for them to understand, “The boy, Alexander, he can be very grumpy but not that I can blame him,” she said her voice turning softer, “But Sylvia is a good company. She brings me flowers every Friday so that we can go to visit my late husband.”
“I am sorry about your husband, Mrs. Kieth,” Penny bowed her head that had the woman wave her handoff.
“It has been over a hundred and fifty-nine years and two months and the four weeks,” Mrs. Keith said, her voice shaking at the end as if remembering her time with her husband and the emptiness after it, “It has been very long. Sylvia has doubts when I told her to get along with Elliot.”
“Not again, Mrs. Keith,” Sylvia protested with the old woman.
“Oh, hush you,” Mrs. Keith called Penny using her hand to come closer so that she could let a little secret out, “I told her to get along since I first saw them together. I don’t know if I saw it right, it must have been the angle but it felt like they were about to kiss each other. Everyone needs someone in their lives. What about you, Penelope?” the woman looked at her, waiting for her to speak but went on anyway, “Do you like Alexander? He is a good man”
“No, Mrs. Keith,” Penny coughed not knowing how Damien would react hearing this.
“You got it wrong, milady. It is Damien Quinn who Penelope likes,” when Sylvia cleared the air, Mrs. Keith looked like she was trying to concentrate on something, “It is Lord Alexander’s cousin.”
Mrs. Keith waved her hand again, “I know who he is,” she looked at Penny closely, “Why him?” hearing this, Penny wasn’t sure if it was some kind of a test where she had to answer smartly. Her eyes darted towards Sylvia who subtly shrugged her shoulders, “Were you always looking for that kind of man?” Mrs. Keith asked her another question.
She wondered why the lady asked the sudden question who was now waiting for her to give her an answer to why she liked Damien. People usually started with ‘He is a good man’ but looking at how Mrs. Keith was looking at her, something told her the lady wouldn’t buy it if she used the generic words.
Penny smiled softly, she shook her head saying, “No. He wasn’t the kind of man I thought. Damien, he is rough around the edges because he chooses to be it makes it easier to know what he thinks and wants without hiding anything. He might not be good all the time not to all the people but when he is, he is someone I can depend on without a thought. Someone, I know who won’t turn his back away from me. Someone I can trust…”
Mrs. Keith gave a hmph sound putting Penny in a state where she wondered maybe perhaps the elderly vampire wasn’t fond of Damien maybe? A slow smile appeared on Mrs. Keith’s lips. Coming forward, she patted Penny’s back where Penny could still feel the strength in the woman’s hands even though she was old.
“I am happy for you. Damien can be difficult at times, he often would tear down all the portraits which were there in my living room so that he could step outside the house because I was asked to watch over him and Alexander,” Penny’s eyes turned wide. Tearing portraits? “I used to paint them so it was fine. I didn’t mind painting them over and over again and the process went on until he finally decided to give up when my dog died,” Sylvia had by now excused herself as she was called by Lord Alexander to report on one of the matters
“I can only imagine what he must have put you through. Was he the same when he was little?” Penny asked the lady.
She had heard only the version about him and his mother or him and his sister when they were little but to get a look from another person, her eyes shined in the excitement of knowing something about Damien.
Mrs. Keith laughed, a light airy laugh as she said, “Actually, he was a very quiet and good boy except for his passive-aggressiveness. I think it was only after he grew up he changed so much. I didn’t get to see him for a long period of time. Especially after his mother passed away. I am glad to hear that he has found someone,” the woman looked into her eyes, “Even pretty,” Penny didn’t know how to respond back, therefore, she only smiled at Mrs. Keith.
Just as Mrs. Kieth moved her hands to make her coat right that she wore, Penny caught sight of the woman with a stone on her ring finger. The stone was white in color but there was something in there that caught her eye. It was a small green frozen leaf-like which was in the crystal. She wondered where she had seen the leaf before.
