Unlike other years where Vadim sought Belle out in the open to converse with alone, he went straight to the door this time. Much of the comfortable energy that cloaked him now lay forgotten unlike the maroon piece of cloth that never once left his shoulders in these years of visits. Today, he was all business. He knocked, waiting for a few seconds before letting himself in the half-open door where he saw Belle with her father. After all, there was nothing stopping this force, so why hide behind his cloak of gentility? Though he found it wasn't all a cloak. It had started to come naturally. "I see you have been getting ready for me. Are you ready, Belle?" Gaze on her, he showed it was only her opinion that had any claim at all.