Chapter 29: Family is Family

I looked from one daughter, who was sobbing, to the other, who was seething. Before I could make up my mind as to who to help first, though, Violet ran to throw her arms around me, and Amy stopped struggling in Eddie's grip.

For a split-second, I regretted that Violet had gotten too big for me to pick up and cuddle, like I would have done when she was a toddler. I had to settle for patting her back soothingly. "What's going on here?" I asked, directing my question mostly to the Moroi woman sitting near Adrian, who I recognized now from photographs as Lady Daniella Ivashkov.

"I really couldn't begin to imagine," Lady Ivashkov replied. She sighed, running a perfectly manicured hand through her expertly styled long dark hair, almost knocking loose the pink hibiscus flower she'd tucked behind one ear. "All I did was explain to the little human that I wasn't her grandmother and then the dhampir just stomped –"

"You said it so mean," Amy interrupted, angrily. "You said that someone like you couldn't be related to someone like her. You said it mean."

Violet tugged on my shirt, and I leaned down to listen. "She doesn't like me at all," Violet whispered. "I can tell. Her hands felt mean."

"Her hands?" I whispered.

"When she shook my hand," Violet whispered. "Her hands were mean."

I nodded, knowing what she was trying to say. "It's ok, baby," I said, then looked over at my older daughter, who was still almost trembling with rage. "Amy?" I said, in my gentlest voice. "Can you please take Violet out onto the back porch? Maybe you two can teach Aunt Carly how to play Cat's Cradle."

Amy nodded slowly, then swallowed hard. One of the few things that could calm my older daughter down was being put in charge of someone else's well-being, especially someone weaker and in need of help. "Come here, Vy-Vy," she said, coming closer to take Violet by the hand. "Let's go hang out with Aunt Carly." She brushed a few tears off of Violet's face. "It'll be ok."

"I'll go with you," Jill suggested, then glanced at me for approval. I nodded.

"Me too," Eddie said. "It'll be fun. Come on, Violet. Let's go, honey."

Violet looked up at me, and I smiled at her encouragingly. "Go on, sweetheart," I said. "We all love you. Don't worry about anything else."

She nodded, sniffling, then let herself be led out out to the porch.

I watched the four of them leaving, then noticed suddenly that there was a pile of take-out containers on a small table near the door. Adrian had picked up dinner, just as he had said he would, but I wasn't sure when we would get around to eating it. My stomach growled a little, to my annoyance. Being pregnant had amped my appetite up to 11, but this wasn't the right time to be thinking about food.

Once I was alone with Adrian and his mother, I said, "What, exactly, did you say to my daughter, Lady Ivashkov?"

"Daniella, please," she said, standing up. Her crisp white linen pantsuit rustled a little as she walked over to me. "I fear we've gotten off to rather a bad start, don't you think?" She held out her hand. "It's really lovely to meet you, Sydney."

Years of etiquette training forced me to shake her hand. "Hello," I said, awkwardly. "It's nice to meet you too, ma'am."

"Now, as for your daughter," she said. "What happened was, the dhampir girl told the human girl..."

Adrian interrupted. "You know their names, Mom," he said, walking closer to the two of us. "Use them."

She sighed. "Fine," she said. "Amaryllis told Viola that I was 'their' grandmother. I was just attempting to clarify that while I might be related to a dhampir, there was no way that I could be related to a human. It's just a fact."

"Her name is Violet," Adrian said. "And I'm planning on adopting her. She will, at that point, legally be your granddaughter. We discussed this in the car."

"Her name is Violet?" she said. "I thought it was Viola."

"No," Adrian said, calmly. "Violet. Like the flower, not the musical instrument."

"Oh, so they're both flowers," Lady Ivashkov said. "How cute."

"And as for saying that you 'might' be related to Amy?" Adrian continued, ignoring her comment. "For heaven's sake, Mom. Did you see her? Do you really doubt she's mine?"

"I know, I know," she replied. "I see the resemblance. I guess we don't really need a paternity test." Adrian made a face, and I realized that his mother might have been suggesting a paternity test all along. My hand curled into a fist. Few things made me as angry as being accused of lying, even in a roundabout way. But Lady Ivashkov was still talking, and I forced my expression to remain neutral. "I just know that some women might want to take advantage of a great catch like you," she said. "It's been known to happen, darling." Adrian closed his eyes and began massaging his temples, tension radiating from him. Lady Ivashkov put her hand on her son's arm. "I certainly meant no offense to your... friend, Adrian."

"Wife," Adrian corrected.

"Fiance," she retorted. "Anyway, Sydney," she went on, turning to me. "After I said that I couldn't be related to a human, the human child – Violet – began to cry. And then Amaryllis rather rudely stomped on my foot. It was quite unexpected."

I felt a smile curling at the corner of my lips despite myself. "She was sticking up for her sister," I said. My little superhero, I thought.

"I see," Lady Ivashkov said, sitting down again. "Or rather, I feel." She rubbed at her foot ruefully.

"Here," Adrian said, resentfully, and rested one hand on his mother's shoulder for a moment. "All better."

"Oh, thanks, darling," she said, in an off-hand way. I realized that she must be used to Adrian healing her cuts and bruises.

"Lady Ivashkov," I said, in my most business-like tone. "Your son is a very important person to me, and he's very important to Amy and Violet, too. I'd prefer that we all get along, but I won't stand for you insulting either of my children."

"Daniella, Sydney, I insist," she said. "And the last thing I want is to insult anyone. I really was astonished when the children reacted the way they did."

"How did you expect Violet to react?" I said. "She was hoping to meet a new friend, and you rejected her before you even gave her a chance."

"I didn't reject her," Lady Ivashkov said. "I just said that I wasn't her grandmother."

"That was rejecting her," I said, calmly.

"I really don't understand how," Lady Ivashkov said. She looked at Adrian, and he sighed.

"I think that Violet wasn't reacting as much to your words as your... feelings," Adrian said. "She's a sensitive kid. She picks up on body language and tone and things like that. She was probably picking up on your feelings at being in a family with humans. I can only assume that you're not so happy about it, huh, Mom?"

She considered that. "Hmm," she said. "Well, if she was picking up on my body language, I can try to be more cognizant of how I hold myself and how I express myself, but, well, I can't change my feelings about this... arrangement."

"You mean, our family?" Adrian said. "The marriage? The adoption? Our like, awesomely Norman-Rockwell-ish lives? What particular arrangement has you so concerned?"

"Listen, it's wonderful that you want to stay in your daughter's life," Lady Ivashkov said. "And it's nice of you to maintain a pleasant relationship with your daughter's mother. But are you two certain that you want to get married? Surely there's another way to settle things."

"Mom," Adrian said, through gritted teeth. "Are you forgetting the whole part about Sydney being the love of my life?"

"Well, you used to think Rose was the love of your life," his mother replied, then looked over at me. "No offense, of course, Sydney."

"None taken," I said, smiling icily.

"Ok, first, you don't get to talk about Rose," Adrian said. "Not after what you did to her."

"No harm came of it in the long run..." Lady Ivashkov said, but Adrian ignored her.

"Second, I was only 21 when I met Rose," Adrian said. "I was an idiot back then, and misunderstood the difference between loving a challenge and loving a person. But I wasn't wrong when I thought Rose was a great person. She is, to this day, one of my best friends. She wasn't the love of my life, but she was a... friend for life. So there." He nodded, satisfied that his point had been made, and Lady Ivashkov nodded politely, clearly not convinced. "And third," he went on. "Well, I almost hate to mention it, Mother, but since you're being like this, I feel that I have to point out that with your history, you're the last person on Earth to be doling out relationship advice."

"That's different," she replied. She set her jaw in an obstinate line, and suddenly, she reminded me of Amy at her most stubborn. "I'm not saying that I've been perfect," she said. "All I'm saying is, you might want to take stock of the situation and be absolutely certain that this is what you both want."

"Lady Ivashkov," I began, but she interrupted me.

"Call me Daniella," she said, putting a bright smile on her face.

"Lady Ivashkov," I repeated, and her smile faded. "Did you know that I used to be an alchemist?"

"Of course," she said.

"Then you must know a little bit about how I was raised," I said.

"You were raised to think that we were evil, right?" she said, smiling indulgently, the way you might when you think about the myth of Santa Claus.

"I was raised to think that Moroi were evil, yes," I said. "I was taught to hate and fear Moroi as I hate and fear the devil himself." Lady Ivashkov's eyes widened, but she didn't speak, and I went on. "I learned that while humans were made in God's image, Moroi and Strigoi were creatures of the devil. No real difference between them, either. I was taught that they were both blood-sucking mockeries of humanity."

"But Moroi are not at all like Strigoi," she said, horrified.

"I was taught that there was hardly any difference," I said. "I was taught that Moroi were more polite, more domesticated, less likely to tear your throat out... But still evil, by their very definition, because they were perversions of nature, and ugly in God's sight."

"Is that really what they tell you?" she whispered. "That we're as bad as Strigoi?" She sat back down on the ottoman, one hand on her chest, then looked over at Adrian. "Did you know that, darling?"

Adrian sighed again. "Sydney told me about it, yeah," he said. He was still massaging his temples. "She used to be basically terrified of all of us. She was even afraid of Rose."

I opened my mouth to disagree, then closed it again. The truth was that "terrified" was a good word for how I used to feel about many of the people who were now my closest friends.

"Well, she had good reason to be afraid of Rose," Lady Ivashkov said. "That dhampir is a rather violent young woman."

"Sydney would have more reason to afraid of you," Adrian replied, tartly. "You're the one who committed an actual crime and got sent to prison."

There was a long silence, then Lady Ivashkov spoke. "I guess you have me there, Adrian." She looked over at me, a sad smile on her face. "So. You might as well finish your story, Sydney. I'm curious now. Did they teach you to fear and hate dhampirs, too?"

"Yes," I said. "I learned that dhampirs were every bit as bad as Moroi and Strigoi– maybe worse, since they were such an abomination in the eyes of God, a mixing of the bloods. When I first met Rose, I wasn't afraid that she'd hurt me, exactly, but yes, I was terrified to be around her. I was worried that being so near her would corrupt my soul."

Lady Ivashkov eyed me with interest. "Do you still think that?" she asked.

"I'm marrying a Moroi tomorrow, and I have a dhampir child," I said. "What do you think?"

"I guess not," she said, smiling.

"Good guess," I said. "But listen. My point is this: if I overcame all of that to fall in love with your son, do you think that maybe, just maybe, this is real? This is sincere?"

She paused to take that in, then said, "But, Sydney, and again I assure you that I mean no offense, but are you sure that it's really Adrian that you love?"

I narrowed my eyes. "I have money of my own, if that's what you're implying," I said. "And I'm an excellent mechanic and translator and can get a well-paying job in either field."

"Oh, no, no," she said, hurriedly. "I meant... you know..." And she trailed off, apparently flustered.

"No, I don't know," I said. "What are you talking about?"

"Well, one doesn't really speak of it, does one?" she said. "But it's understood, of course. I'm sure an intelligent, educated young woman like yourself knows how strong the addiction can be."

I stared at her as her words began to make sense to me. "You think that I let Adrian bite me?" I said, aghast. "You think that that's what we're about?"

"Am I wrong?" she asked, coloring.

"And with that," Adrian said, "I think you've outstayed your welcome. There are lots and lots of nice hotels on this island. Time for you to go find one."

"Let's not blow this out of proportion," Lady Ivashkov said. "If I'm wrong, just say so..."

"You're wrong," I said, flatly.

"Ok, fine," she said. "I'm wrong. I'm sorry. Really, I'm very sorry. Sydney? Adrian? Please don't be angry with me."

Adrian got out his phone. "Full bars, good," he muttered, hitting some buttons. "Let's see. Hotels Online should have some good last minute rooms..."

"Oh, darling," his mother said. "Come on. Let's not let it be like that." There was a note of desperation to her voice. "You can't blame me for thinking that, can you? I mean, that's what humans and Moroi do."

"Oh, look," Adrian said. "A room for one in Kona. It's not too far from the airport, either. I can book you for two nights and you can still catch your flight home the next day..."

"Adrian," she said. She wasn't raising her voice or wining, but somehow I still felt that she was inches from tears. "I really didn't mean offense. I'm sorry. I just assumed. I'm sorry. So... please. Don't take it too seriously. I said I'm sorry and I meant it. I just wanted to make sure that the woman you're marrying really loves you, for who you are." She sniffed. "I didn't want you to get your heart broken again."

Adrian paused, phone in his hand. "If that's what you're so worried about, then tell me something," he said. "Why didn't you bring your boyfriend with you to the wedding? I don't buy that excuse about him being busy. I think you were just ashamed of me and didn't want him to see it. I bet that if I were marrying that Ozera girl you were trying to set me up with, he'd be here right next to you."

"That's not it at all," Lady Ivashkov said. "You don't know the story at all."

"Well, what is the story, then?" Adrian asked. "Did he refuse?"

"Not exactly," she said. "And he's not busy, exactly, either. I lied about that." She sniffed, then dabbed at the corners of her eyes. "If you must know, I never even had a chance to invite Richard to the wedding. He decided to stop seeing me weeks ago."

"What?" Adrian asked, clearly surprised. "But I thought you two were pretty serious..."

"I mentioned that you might be getting married to the mother of your child," Lady Ivashkov said. A few tears rolled down her cheek and she dabbed at them with her fingertips so as not to ruin her make-up. "Richard knew you had a dhampir daughter, but not that the mother was a human. In any case, just the thought of being an in-law to a dhampir was enough to send him packing." She gave a bitter little laugh. "I guess it's a good thing that you're not marrying a Moroi," she said. "Otherwise I never would have known what a shallow piece of dirt he was. Never mind the fact that he used to bring up the time I spent... away... all the time. Every time we quarreled, that was his ace in the hole. The 'T -word.'"

I took a few steps closer to her and looked at her more closely. I was mentally comparing her to photographs I'd seen of her, photos taken before she had gone to jail. I could see now that the years she'd spent in Terasov had taken their toll on her. It was natural that she would have aged in ten years, but it wasn't just that. There was something deeply sad about her, a hollowness to her eyes that couldn't be ignored. I thought about her saying that she had just wanted to make sure that Adrian's wife-to-be really loved him. She was dealing with deeply ingrained prejudice against humans and even dhampirs, but she was trying, in her clueless way, to be civil. Some of my anger began to melt.

"Lady Ivashkov," I said, and she opened her mouth to respond, but closed it again. "Daniella," I corrected myself, and she smiled a little. "You're not in Terasov anymore, you know. You're a free woman. And you can change things if you want to."

"I do want to," she said, very softly. She looked over at her son. "Adrian, you're all I have left in the world. If you hate me too, then... what will I do?"

Adrian shook his head wordlessly.

"Sydney," she said, turning to me. "I hope you can forgive me. I just misunderstood. It never occurred to me that you two weren't... in that sort of relationship." A few more tears fell down her cheek.

"I know," I said. "I..." I looked at her, and saw a trace of Amy in her sad face. "Let's just drop it, ok?" I said.

"Really?" she said, looking at me hopefully.

"How about we just get that dinner on the table," I said, gesturing to the stack of take-out containers. "And we can forget all about this, at least for the time-being."

"That would be lovely," Lady Ivashkov said, offering me a relieved smile. "How kind of you to suggest that, Sydney. It's just as my mother used to say, 'quality always shows.' "

I pulled a few tissues from a nearby box and handed them to her, then I looked over at Adrian. "What do you think?"

"She'll have to apologize to Violet," Adrian replied.

"I assumed that she was going to offer to do that," I said, looking over at Lady Ivashkov.

"Well, naturally, I can apologize to the child," Lady Ivashkov said. "Though I do wonder a little bit about the discipline standards in your home if the older one is allowed to stomp on people's feet..."

"Adrian and I will worry about that," I said, cutting her off. She nodded.

"And we shouldn't really be worrying about anything," Adrian put in. "This is a family vacation, and I'm getting married, for fuck's sake, Mom."

Lady Ivashkov winced a little at the curse word, but nodded. "Right," she said. "Yes, of course. I'm sorry."

"Sydney can go with you," Adrian said to her, as he came over to me. He put his arms around me, resting his head on mine for a moment. Then he murmured, "I need to lie down for a few minutes. I want to get myself together again."

I gave him a kiss on the cheek, aware that Lady Ivashkov was watching us uncomfortably. "Do what you have to do," I said. "Should we set you a place at the table?"

"Yes, please," he said. "I'm starving, after smelling that food the whole way here. I'll be out a few minutes, ok? Be sure to save me some of that fried ahi." He kissed me one more time, giving me a unconvincing smile, then went down the hall to our master suite, not looking at his mother as he left the room.

"Well," Lady Ivashkov said, once he was gone. "I guess he's in one of his moods." Her tone was light, but she looked a little worried. She had had enough experience with Adrian's moods to know that they could be a serious problem.

"I guess he is," I said.

"Well, as for the matter at hand," Lady Ivashkov said, calmly. "I could use some of your advice, Sydney. When I speak to Violet, what do you think she wants to hear? I mean, I can't lie to her. I'm not her grandmother. It don't mean that to be offensive, of course..."

"I think she's more offended that you seemed to not want to be her grandmother," I said. "She was rejected by her real father, and her father's parents died before she was born. My mother died when Violet was just a baby... ."

"Oh, I'm sorry for your loss," Lady Ivashkov said, patting my hand gently. "It must feel quite recent for you, doesn't it? I still miss my mother and she died just years and years ago."

"It um, it does feel recent, sometimes," I said, blinking away a few tears. I was a little surprised at her solicitude.

"She must have been rather young," Lady Ivashkov added. "If I may ask, what happened?"

"It was a... Strigoi," I said, the last word coming out in a whisper.

"Oh, how dreadful," she said, and to my astonishment, gave me a sudden tight hug. "I'm so sorry."

"Thanks," I said, into her shoulder.

"Well, I'm sure she was a fantastic woman, to have raised you," Lady Ivashkov said, pulling away.

"She was," I said, determined not to break down. I swallowed heavily, took a deep breath, and went on. "Anyway. So, the girls only have one grandparent left, and while my father dotes on them, he would almost certainly reject all of us if he knew about Adrian, or if he knew that Amy was a dhampir. So, really, Violet doesn't have a lot of family. Just me, Amy, Adrian, and her two aunts. Maybe she'd like to have a grandmother. I don't know. We've never talked about it."

"Would Violet really want a Moroi for a grandmother?" Lady Ivashkov asked, surprised. "I thought I'd be reassuring her by saying we weren't related. She understands what I am, doesn't she?"

"She knows," I said, surprised as well. I had forgotten for a moment that the prejudice worked in both directions, and that it wasn't unreasonable for Lady Ivashkov to expect to be rejected by humans. "And like I said, I don't know what Violet wants," I added. "But... I wouldn't be surprised if she wanted to get to know you better. Or at least, if that's what she had wanted, at first."

"Hmm," Lady Ivashkov said, considering that. "Well. Family is family, after all. And really, human or not, I'd much rather deal with you and yours than most of the Ivashkovs." She sighed. "My ex-husband is not a nice man, Sydney," she said, in an undertone. "And his family? Ugh."

"Yeah," I said. "I can sympathize."

"I bet you can," she answered, nodding. "Well. Anyway. I really must go try to smooth things over with the child. Let me go get something from my bag first, though." And she began digging through her suitcase, which had been left near the door. It was an enormous Louis Vuitton creation that probably cost more than most people made in a year, and I wondered how she had packed so much for just a two night stay. After a moment or two, she pulled out a small black velvet bag and held it up triumphantly. "Here it is," she said. "Let's go."

We walked down the hall and through the kitchen out to the back porch, hearing sounds of laughter coming from outside, but the moment we walked through the large sliding glass doors, everyone stopped talking. Violet, who was sitting in between Jill and Amy at the big glass table, looked away from us, a smile fading from her face. Amy made a loud "hmmph" sort of noise and crossed her arms over her chest. Otherwise, the only noise was the ocean, and the sound of a few coqui frogs, calling out their lonely, two-note song.

I watched as Lady Ivashkov crouched down by Violet's chair. "Well my goodness," the Moroi woman said. "I guess you and I got off on the wrong foot, huh? Get it? Foot?" She gestured to the foot that Amy had stomped on, but Violet refused to smile. After a moment, Lady Ivashkov went on. "I just wanted to say that I hear very nice things about you, Violet. Apparently, you're very smart, and very kind. I hear that you're one of Andre Dragomir's favorite people."

"He's nice," Violet said.

"Yes, he is," Lady Ivashkov said. "And so are you. And I'm lucky to have a nice person like you joining my family. Both of you," she added, looking over at Amy, who scowled. "So I was wondering if each of you mightn't like a little present?" She dug into the velvet bag and pulled out something that sparkled in the bright porch lights. She was offering Violet a diamond tennis bracelet, probably worth several thousand dollars. I was a little embarrassed on her behalf. Did she think she could buy Violet's love? "See, Violet?" she said. "It's a pretty bracelet. It might be a little too big on you, but we can adjust the buckle..."

Violet looked at Amy, who shook her head. "No, thank you," Violet said. "I already have a bracelet." She held up her wrist to show the silver ID bracelet that Adrian had gotten her.

"Oh, that's lovely," Lady Ivashkov said. "Maybe you'd like two bracelets, though? This one is diamond."

"No, thank you," Violet said, politely. "I like my silver bracelet. Daddy Adrian got it for me."

"Fine," Lady Ivashkov said. "How about a nice pair of earrings?"

"My ears aren't pierced," Violet said. "But thank you."

Lady Ivashkov paused, then took the pink hibiscus from behind her own ear. "How about this flower, then," she said. "Do you like flowers, Violet?"

"Yes," Violet said, uncertain.

"This would look pretty on you," Lady Ivashkov said. She tucked the flower behind Violet's ear, then pulled a bobby pin from her own perfectly styled hair and used it to secure the flower in place. "There," she said. "You look perfect."

"Thanks," Violet said. "I'd give you a flower, too. But I don't have any right now."

"Oh, you're sweet," Lady Ivashkov said. "I hope we can get to be friends."

"Maybe," Violet said, and gave a tentative smile.

Lady Ivashkov straightened up, then turned to Amy, who, along with all the other adults on the porch, had been watching this whole scene uncertainly. "I guess you don't like jewelry either, Amaryllis?" Lady Ivashkov asked, and Amy shook her head 'no.' "I had so wanted to give each of you a present, but now I'm out of flowers," Lady Ivashkov said.

"It's ok," Amy said. "You can get me one later."

"It's a deal," Lady Ivashkov said. She offered Amy her hand to shake, and Amy shook it uncertainly.

"I hope you don't expect me to call you Grandma," Amy said, a little scornfully.

Lady Ivashkov laughed. "Oh, for heaven's sake, please don't," she said. "Please, both of you, call me Daniella. That's my name."

Amy nodded. "Ok. And you can call me Amy, not Amaryllis. No one calls me Amaryllis."

"I know that people usually call you Amy," Lady Ivashkov said. "I just thought I'd call you Amaryllis because it's such a pretty name. I mean, if that's alright with you."

Amy shrugged. "I guess you can call me Amaryllis," she said. "And um, thank you for thinking my name is pretty."

"Of course," Lady Ivashkov said. "Because it is pretty! Well, I'm so glad we have this all straightened out." She turned her head to the side, examining Amy's face. "I see a lot of my son in you," she said. "But I also see that you're your own person, aren't you?"

"Yes," Amy said.

Violet whispered something, and Amy and Lady Ivashkov both laughed.

"Well, yes, I guess we can't share," Lady Ivashkov said. "How clever of you." She straightened up. "Well, I'm just starving! The meal on the plane was almost inedible, but what can you expect in business class these days? Sydney, what can I do to help get dinner on the table?"

"Oh, Carly and I can do that," Joanne said, standing up. "Sydney shouldn't be on her feet too much."

"Oh, Joanne," I said. "That would be great, if you and Carly want to help. There's some take-out on a table by the door, if you could just bring it out here..."

"Why shouldn't she be on her feet?" Lady Ivashkov asked, concerned. "Sydney, are you unwell?"

"I'm fine," I said, sitting down on one of the padded deck chairs. "I'm just expecting, so I get tired easily. Girls, do you want to help Aunt Carly and Joanne?"

"Expecting?" Lady Ivashkov repeated, a little louder than necessary.

"That means pregnant," Violet offered, as she and Amy got up from the table. "There's a baby in her stomach right now, only it's not really her stomach, it's in another place, called a you-to-us."

"Expecting," Lady Ivashkov said again. "A baby? That's... that's wonderful, Sydney. I couldn't be happier." She put a hand on my shoulder, and I gave her a smile. "Do you know yet if it's a boy or a girl?"

"We don't know yet," Violet said. "But Amy and I hope it will be a girl so we can brush her hair and teach her how to do karate."

None of us laughed at Violet's innocent little comment, because Violet hated to be laughed at, but most of the adults caught each other's eyes and smiled. Her comment seemed to lighten the mood on the porch, and I was glad about that.

"Good answer," Carly said, giving Violet a squeeze. Then she addressed Adrian's mother. "Mrs. Ivashkov, I'm Carly Sage. I'm Sydney's sister." They shook hands. "And this is my girlfriend, Joanne."

"Hi," Joanne said, holding out her hand.

"Oh," Lady Ivashkov said. She paused for a split-second, then offered her hand. "Nice to meet both of you," she said. "And please, call me Daniella."

"Daniella," Carly said. "Great. And do you know Jill and Eddie?"

"Yes," Lady Ivashkov said. "Hi, you two. Long time no see."

"Hi, Lady – Daniella," Jill said. "Nice to see you."

"We'll have to catch up, darling," Lady Ivashkov said. "You're looking quite well. So much better than the last time I saw you."

"You too," Jill said.

"Hello, Daniella," Eddie said.

"Edison," she said. "Good to know we have a guardian in our midst, just in case."

"A guardian?" Joanne repeated, confused. "What kind of guardian are you, Eddie?"

"Oh, that's just an old personal joke," Eddie said, smoothly.

Joanne nodded, satisfied with that explanation, and she and Carly went back into the house with my daughters and Lady Ivashkov trailing behind them.

"Omigod," Jill said, once the door had closed. "What was that?"

A/N: Hope you liked my take on Daniella... She was tough to write! But I just kept remembering her telling Rose to "not hurt Adrian too badly" when their relationship ended, and kind of went from there. Anyway, this was another chapter that was getting to be about 12,000 words or so, so I cut it off here and will put the rest into chapter 30. Ok, new estimate... 40 total chapters! (insane maniacal mad scientist type laughter)