She bit her tongue in glee as she waddled through the house, her cane tapping against the floorboards. "Аннет! У нас есть посетители!" she barked, waving the cane in the air. Somewhere above them, the floorboards creaked, and they heard someone running down the stairs. "Let us go to the parlour," Alyona said in a heavy accent. "Annette vill bring us tea."
Fleur nodded, glancing back at Ferris. The house was dark and dusty, deep red curtains hanging past the windows and painting and statues lining the walls.
Ferris looked around, looking a little skeptical. They entered the parlor and Alyona settled down into an overstuffed armchair, gesturing enthusiastically. "Sit, sit!"
Ferris also sat, but looked kind of uncomfortable. "Do you want jewelry? I have jewelry for my beautiful granddaughter. Stay put... I will grab it for you," Alyona said, standing up.
Fleur waved her hands quickly. "No, no, that's quite alright. I suppose we were just wondering about someone you may have known."
Ferris spoke up. "The necklace that you gave Fleur. He has been pursuing it." Her face grew drawn and cold, and she squinted at Ferris, not pleased
Fleur unhooked the necklace, leaning forward. "I know you might not enjoy talking about it, but.. It's important to me."
She looked over at Fleur and her face softened. "Ach... I don't know how you got tangled up in this, my sweet," she said, looking down at her folded hands. "I didn't even know he vas still around."
Her lower lip trembled, and she looked down at her hands. "Ve... dated vhen I first came to this country," she began. "He... supported me. Gave me ze money to survive."
She rubbed her knuckles, frowning deeply. "He... zat necklace was made for me by him. It was supposed to be a profession of love, you understand?"
She was tearing up, looking down at her knees. "But I didn't like what he vas doing. So one night, I left. I took everything I could, including ze necklace. He pursued me, but I managed to disappear completely."
