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38
scrupulously. “I was not aware of the occasion beforehand.
I was simply in search of decent champagne.”
It seemed like the entire city had known about this
earth-altering engagement before he had, and Klaus was
still angry at Elijah for keeping the gossip a secret. Now
there was nowhere in New Orleans that Klaus could go
without hearing about the momentous truce, and so Klaus
had decided his only choice was to get drunk.
Vivianne shrugged and ran a gloved hand along the filmy
fabric of her skirt. “I assumed you were simply desperate to
be among the first to congratulate me. Us.”
It was a very minor slip of the tongue, but it gave him
boundless hope. “You know,” he offered impulsively, “I
could escort you on your errands today, and save you all
that trouble of trying to run into me again by chance. These
streets are not always the safest for a lady alone, anyway.”
A real smile touched her red lips, and he felt his pulse
quicken in triumph. But she wasn’t looking at him.
“Armand,” she answered, a little more loudly than he had
expected.
She lifted one gloved arm to wave to someone further
along the cobblestoned street behind him.
Armand, most likely.
Klaus resigned himself and turned around; indeed, the
lanky werewolf was making his way toward them with
amusing haste. “Vivianne,” he called as he approached, and
Klaus smirked. He may not have made much progress with