No, I ... I understand, at least in so far as you husband is concerned. My most recent memory has revealed to me just how much my James hid from me. I suppose the difference is that I never had any illusion that I was somehow more clever than that foolish man.

[ she shakes her head. But no, this isn't the time for that. Because to have been denied and deceived about a connection in blood...? Elda frowns a little deeper, flipping to a new, blank page of the notepad, taking the pen in hand. ]

The loss of a child is a horrifying prospect. It's one that we vampires are - honestly, I'm lucky that I don't know it personally, but so many of the young wives experience that, if they experience birth at all. That's more than enough to make one blind. And once one is set in a paradigm, well, that can allow things to continue as they are.