Comfort

After work the next day, Vivienne decided it was best to return back to the estate. After everything that had happened in the city, she was ready to get far away and breathe a bit. "Miss?" Oliver asked. Vivienne had been sitting in the living room, sunken into one of the leather armchairs deep in thought. It took Oliver one more time of attempting to get his attention before she even realized he was there, standing with a tray and a glass of bourbon on top. "Oh. Thank you, Oliver." She smiled gently and retrieved the glass from him, taking in a sip. "How do you always know what I need before I even tell you?"

"Well that is my job, Miss Westing." Vivienne sighed, "Oliver, could you please just call me Vivienne?" Oliver shifted uncomfortably, pulling the silver tray to his side after she had taken the glass. "If that would please you more, I suppose I can do that... Though I would remind you, it is also my job to give you a great deal of respect and speaking to you so informally may liquidate the level of respect I believe you deserve." Vivienne stared at him for a while, contemplating his words.

"What respect do I deserve?" She asked this in a low voice, cradling the glass of bourbon. There was silence between them and a profound sense of sadness had washed over Vivienne. This came in waves and always had her entire life. Oliver opened his mouth to speak but Vivienne spoke before he could. "I mean really, what have I done in my life to deserve a large amount of respect? I get that my uncle employed you and now I do, but I mean truly. As just another person without being the one giving you a job, how have I earned your respect?"

It wasn't the first time Oliver had seen her in such a state. It laid dormant most days but her self hatred wasn't one he had experienced before. Not only with her, but with someone else as well. Oliver sighed and pushed up the nose bridge of his glasses before speaking again. "There was another that asked me these same questions. Someone I regarded with the highest opinion in the world." Vivienne stared at him intently, unsure of whom he was speaking of. "Your mother." Oliver responded, as if having read her mind. Vivienne's mouth hung open and she almost went to speak. "We were friends. Very good friends, in fact... And once in a while I had to remind her of who she was as well." Tears began to sting in the back of Vivienne's eyes. Her mother had died before she realized that her and Oliver had been such good friends. She just always knew that he had been very close with her uncle. Hearing him speak of her mother brought memories flooding back, some she had tried not to remember.

Vivienne's mother had been so full of dignity, grace, elegance. She was a once in a lifetime kind of woman. "Your mother was very smart. Clever, a wonderful sense of humor. She was beautiful in every sense of the word and was genuinely a woman with a golden heart. You are no less than that as well, Miss Westing... And it would be a sin against your mother's very heart to imply otherwise." Vivienne wiped away a tear, looking away from Oliver now. "Thank you, Oliver." She said softly with a small forced smile as she took a sip of the bourbon. "And Vivienne. Please. Enough people speak to me formally." Oliver only returned a smile. "Let's talk about something better, yes?" Vivienne asked, desperately wanting to change the subject so that she could bury her emotions once more, even though she had been the one to start this in the first place.

Oliver nodded. "What would you like to discuss?" She thought for a moment, mouth skewed in one direction as she looked off in thought. Her eyes clicked back to his. "Oliver, what do you know of vampires?" She expected him to look shocked or concerned or think that she was insane but he looked as calm and even as he ever did. Maybe there was a thing or two her uncle had shared with him. "Well there's a great deal to know, Miss.... Vivienne." He corrected himself. "Is there something specific you're wanting to know?"

Vivienne's cheeks turned pink at the thought of the other night, of Piers pressing her against the wall outside. "Are they.. Are all of them bad? I mean I know that sounds incredibly dim to be asking such a thing, but.. I know next to nothing and I just wonder because everything I've ever heard about such a creature is not a good thing.. Know what I mean?" She asked him, watching his response carefully. "Well I suppose that depends on what you define as 'bad' and 'good' in this world." Vivienne sighed, taking another long sip of her bourbon as Oliver continued. "Humans are not all good, correct? So it would seem plausible that any creature could fall prey to reckless or impure behavior regardless of public opinion." Vivienne nodded and thought for a moment, blurting out "I met one." She squeezed her eyes shut and peeked one eye out to gauge Oliver's reaction.

Oliver let a rare smirk fall across his face. "Well that was obvious, miss." Vivienne smiled. She always could tell Oliver anything. He never judged her or made her feel bad. He just gave her good advice. "His name is Piers. He seems really... nice.. and normal... I just don't want to be naïve." Oliver visibly stiffened at the name. He looked at her darkly but made no notion as to why he was disturbed. "And how many times have you seen this ... Piers?"