Vadim sucked in a breath, almost wincing, though he tried to hide in behind his princely smile that was already faltering. How many hours did he have left before midnight? The sun already dipped far low in the sky. After sunset, a few more hours. That was all he had. Swallowing hard, he let Belle's hand slip out of his. The door to the manor stood in front of him and after a second of staring at it, he pushed it open, almost dashing inside and slamming it shut. Instead, he held it open for Belle to enter first. "I..I can't say for sure tomorrow, or the day after. Whenever we might go to the garden again...together. Just another day," he reiterated. No, he should be honest or this young girl he'd stolen away would be distressed. "You may go into the garden and whenever in the house you wish, but until the next month, I will not go with you!" With that, he spun away, striding toward the beautiful carpeted stair that led to the upper floors of the manor.