The Million-Dollar Heart (Percival and Vivienne) novel Chapter 635

Vivienne offered a perfunctory smile, the old grudges still simmering beneath the surface.

"We've got company at the moment. My father will join us shortly. Please, make yourselves at home. Dinner will be served soon," Dracon explained before bustling off.

Vivienne took a sip of her water. "Is this their idea of a power play?"

Karen shrugged it off. "If Yorick wanted to put me in my place, he'd use something more sophisticated than this."

It was clear, though, that Dracon intended to make this power move personally.

Vivienne chuckled, choosing to remain silent.

An hour passed, with neither Vivienne nor Karen receiving any attention. Dracon was off somewhere, busy, and Yorick had not emerged from his study.

Only when the servants had finished setting the table and called everyone for dinner did Yorick finally make an appearance.

Dracon hurried over to his side, along with a woman, both offering their support as Yorick descended the stairs.

"Lark, when did you arrive?" Yorick seemed genuinely surprised to see Karen.

With a slight curl of her lips, Karen's eyes flickered towards Dracon. "Been here a while. Mr. Linklater insisted we shouldn’t disturb you, so I did not."

Vivienne's gaze landed on the woman by Yorick's side, her smile laden with meaning.

Yorick glanced at Dracon, his voice tinged with reprimand. "Dracon, didn’t I say to send Lark and Vivienne to my study when they arrived?"

Dracon looked down sheepishly. "Sorry, Dad, I was too busy. It slipped my mind."

Vivienne smirked, "Wasn't Mr. Linklater just overseeing the kitchen the whole time? Playing supervisor?"

Dracon managed an awkward laugh. Vivienne was clearly hinting that he had done it on purpose.

Did she not know how to behave as a guest in someone else's home?

Yorick gave Dracon a stern look but refrained from further comment with everyone present. "Lark, Vivienne, sit by me. I'd like to introduce you to someone."

Yorick turned to the woman on his right, his smile tender.

As everyone took their seats, Vivienne spoke up first, "Yorick, no need for introductions. I know Ms. Ashford."

The woman was none other than Gillian Ashford!

Vivienne had always known that encountering Mara would inevitably lead to meeting Gillian one day. Still, she had not expected it here, at the dinner table of the former head of Vanguard Agency.

A reformed convict, Gillian's presence in such esteemed company was both admirable and shocking.

Gillian raised her glass, the cognac reflecting her half-smile. But distorted through the glass and alcohol, her smile seemed almost sinister.

"Ms. Hawthorn, I didn’t expect to see you here. Allow me to apologize for my past ignorance and offer a toast as a gesture of my remorse," Gillian said with a polished grace that was hard to fault.

They were in Yorick's home, and both Karen and Vivienne held Yorick in high esteem.

Vivienne responded coolly, "No need. It wasn’t my face you slashed. No apology necessary."