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PHYSIENTS WILL ALWAYS OFFER BEST STORIES AND LIVE STREAMING ALL TIME
ALLURE OF THE NIGHT
Chapter 226 Rainy midnight
Music Recommendation: Florida Rain Storm- Mother Nature Sound FX
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Rain poured on Meadow and its other neighbouring towns. Though the sounds of the thunder and the lightning striking from the sky didn’t often worry Eve, today was different. Lady Aubrey and Eugene weren’t home, and she was all alone in the quiet house.
Thirty minutes had passed since Eve stepped out of the bathing room, where she had taken her own time inside the bathtub using the bath salts.
Picking up a novel from the small shelf of her room, she sat on the bed. She had burned enough candles to keep the room bright. But every once in a while, the flames of the candles shook and shivered against the cold air that slipped through the cracks of the windows of her room.
Even though Eve was reading the novel, she couldn’t stop the thoughts of Vincent. She sighed in slight frustration. Raising her head from the book, she muttered to herself,
“I should probably get some sleep than think about a vampire, who has no interest in anyone.”
But it wasn’t like she was keen on pursuing him. She said, “Sure, he is an attractive man and is charming with his words on rare occasions, but that doesn’t have to mean I have feelings for him.”
Eve bent her upper body to place her face on her knees, which she had drawn closer. Why did her heart have to beat for the vampire, who clearly told her he was not someone she should choose? She knew that, to heed his words. The slight hint of warning from him before she had climbed the carriage didn’t go unnoticed by her.
“It is all his faults! Neither would he have told me those things, and neither would I be feeling confused,” Eve continued muttering to herself. She closed the book in her hand and placed it on the side table.
Sliding into the blanket in a comfortable position, Eve stared at the ceiling as she listened to the rainwater pitter-patter against the window and the thunderous clouds growling. When she heard one of the windows loudly hit against the wall of the house, she jumped and picked up the candle stand to see which window it was left unlocked. Because she had made sure to lock every window and doors of the house.
Eve looked around the room before stepping out of her room and descending the stairs. Entering Lady Aubrey’s room, she noticed the window open and now continued to hit itself against the wall.
Placing the candle stand on the side, she put her hand outside, reaching the window’s edge, and pulled it backwards. Locking the window, she wiped her wet hand against her dress skirt and picked up the candle stand.
When Eve turned away from the window and started the walk out of Lady Aubrey’s room, lightning struck again. But with the lightning came a silhouette that had been standing in front of the window since the window had been left open.
Eve climbed two stairs when she heard the main door knock. The knock was loud and clear against the sound of rain. It was the middle of the night for anyone to visit. She wondered if Eugene must have returned, but it wasn’t possible as it was too soon.
Walking to the main door, Eve questioned, “Who is it?”
KNOCK! KNOCK!
“If it isn’t urgent, you can come tomorrow morning,” Eve said loud enough for whoever stood on the other side of the door to hear her.
But with the heavy rain pouring that didn’t look like it was going to stop anytime soon, Eve’s kind heart couldn’t help but question if someone needed help.
When Eve opened the door, the candlelight fell on the person standing at the doorstep, her eyes widened and her face paled.
Was she dreaming again? For a moment, she couldn’t help but worry about what she saw and what her mind wanted her to see.
“What are you doing here?” Eve asked Vincent, who pointed his gun in the direction of her head.
“Thought I would reenact your dream. Was it close?” Vincent pulled his gun away from Eve and put it away.
“You have a bad sense of humour,” Eve released her breath that she didn’t know she had been holding until now. Here she was, trying to push him out of her mind, and the vampire had decided to show up at her doorstep.
“It is called a dark sense of humour,” Vincent grinned.
Vincent was drenched because of the rain. His clothes were wet, and so was his silver hair, dripping with rainwater. It was his shirt that distracted her, that stuck to him like a second skin to reveal his taut muscles and ridges in his body.
If it wasn’t for the fact that he was drenched and she couldn’t find his carriage at the front of her house, she would have closed the door on this ghost who was haunting her thoughts.
Eve’s eyes fell on the water dripping down on the ground. He said,
“My carriage broke and I decided to take a walk.”
Out of politeness and for what he had done for her, Eve stepped away from the door and asked him, “Do you need a towel?”
If Vincent was here, surely he didn’t mean to leave just to point the gun at her. But one could never predict when it came to him.
Instead of stepping inside the house, Vincent tilted his head and remarked, “Inviting a man inside the house when no one is home. How atrocious, Ms. Barlow.”
Eve clutched tighter on the candle stand in her hand and was ready to push the door close. But before the door could move an inch, Vincent placed his hand on the wooden door and stepped inside. He said, “I never said I don’t want to come in. Are you always this quick to react?”
“I told you I was going to sleep. Was there a reason why you decided to drop by here to see me in the middle of the night?”
Eve’s eyes shifted from Vincent’s shoes to look up at his eyes, which held the same amount of light and intensity as the flames in the candles. Her eyes caught a bruise on the corner of his eyes, and she wondered what had happened for him to receive it.
As the door hadn’t been closed, a gust of wind blew right into the house, blowing the candles out and turning the place around them dark.
“Give me a moment. I will get the fireplace started,” Eve moved her hand in the dark, touching the furniture, while Vincent closed the door and locked it.
Knowing Vincent was under the same roof as her, alone in the house, Eve turned flustered. As she had planned to spend her night in her room, she hadn’t started the fireplace in the living room. When her hand touched the matchbox at the mantle place, it fell to the ground. Sitting down, she looked for it with her hands touching the ground.
At the same time, Eve noticed a spark turning into a flame in front of her and saw Vincent holding the matchbox in his hand. Both of them were sitting on their heels in front of the fireplace. He stretched his hand that held the burning matchstick to the fireplace. Soon, the room turned bright.
They stood up, staring at each other. Eve breathed, “I will go get that towel.”
_____________
ALLURE OF THE NIGHT
Chapter 227 Second person
Music Recommendation: Angela- Flower Face
—
Eve returned to the living room with a towel in her hand and clothes for Vincent. But when she entered the room, her heart slipped from her ribcage from the sight in front of her.
As if it was his house, Vincent had removed his shirt and hung it on the back of the chair next to the fireplace. With his back facing her, her eyes fell on his broad back that tapered as her gaze moved lower and lower with her heart picking pace. Thankfully his trousers were still on him, and Eve sighed.
When Vincent raised his hand to run his fingers through his wet hair to comb it backwards, his arm and shoulder muscles squeezed with his movement. Sensing her presence, he turned. His coppery-red eyes had turned completely red as they met hers.
Trying to hide her growing feelings, Eve kept an expressionless face and handed the clothes and towel to him. She didn’t want to be one of those women who behaved thoughtlessly, trying to gain Vincent’s affections. She said,
“These clothes belonged to Uncle Rikkard, Aunt Aubrey’s late husband. They might fit you.”
Vincent took them from Eve. A smile tried to break through her lips, seeing him dab the towel for many seconds. She said,
“I think your hair would dry quicker if you rubbed it with the towel.”
“This is how I do it,” Vincent rolled his eyes. When a few more seconds passed, he said, “When I was small, my mother was the one to do it for me.”
Though Vincent had never vocalised it when he was small, he liked his mother’s hugs and her motherly touch in his life. He doubted there could be anyone better to take her place. She was the only person he had ever listened to. When she was gone, it left a hollow that couldn’t be filled by anyone but his growing darkness towards the world.
While his sister Marceline had quickly adjusted after his mother’s death, where the maids helped her groom, he disliked anyone touching him and learned to look after himself, becoming independent without relying on anyone for anything.
While Vincent’s hand slightly fell away from the towel, at that moment, Eve glimpsed the pureblooded arrogant vampire missing someone he cared for and loved. In the past, she never believed that vampires, colder than the werewolves, could feel such things.
Unable to hold back her emotions, she stretched her hand towards him and said, “The towel.”
“Don’t feel pity for me. People who felt it have always wrecked themselves,” Vincent looked at her with an unfathomable expression.
“Take a seat on the chair,” Eve said without responding to his words.
A curious look entered Vincent’s eyes, “Planning to be my mother?” He teased her.
“No,” Eve answered him, feeling a heaviness in her throat and chest when she added, “I am your friend.”
Vincent stared at her for a second before handing the towel to her. He took a seat on the same chair where his shirt hung. Coming to stand behind him, Eve used both her hands before she started to rub his wet hair. She asked him,
“I thought you went to Darthmore. Where did your carriage break down?” The way he was drenched made it feel like he had walked long before coming here.
“Mm,” Vincent hummed, getting comfortable and allowing the mermaid to dry his silver hair. “I did. I was on my way to Thresk Hills when the carriage broke somewhere before Skellington.”
“Did you finish your work at Thresk Hills?” Eve asked him, considering the time right now.
“I will get it done tomorrow.”
When the carriage had broken, Vincent had turned into his bat form and had flown under the pressure of the rain with the intention to head to the Moriarty mansion. But before he knew it, without realising, he stood outside the town of Meadow.
Eve moved around the chair, coming to stand in front of him. Sensing his gaze, the movements of her hands turned gentler, and she said, “It is done.”
Vincent didn’t have an answer to why he was here now when he could be soaking in his comfortable life. And the thought irked him as if annoyed with himself.
“Good,” Vincent’s eyes subtly narrowed, which Eve didn’t take note of as her attention fell on the corner of his lips.
Eve asked him, “What happened to your mouth?”
“It was pretty since I was a child,” Vincent retorted, and Eve pursed her lips.
“I thought you had the ability to heal,” Eve took the towel from him. “Did you encounter someone stronger than you?”
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Vincent rolled his eyes, “You wish,” and there was a hint of glare in them. It was only because he had provoked the Duke and wanted to get a reaction that he let the werewolf take a hit at him. He hadn’t paid attention to it, and now that she pointed it, the skin around his mouth healed. He said,
“The Council has arranged a burial for the unidentified tomorrow. You will be able to see them tomorrow afternoon in the local cemetery of Darthmore. We can take Allie with us as an outside experience education for her. Because the Council will be clearing all the bodies by evening. It will be a little harder to sneak around three skeletons.”
Hearing this information, Eve nodded, “Thank you.”
Vincent got up from the chair he had been sitting on and said, “You can thank me by offering yourself to me. I have been thirsty for quite some time now.”
Eve’s eyes fell on his bare upper body, and she tried to focus. When the pureblooded vampire took a step forward, she said,
“I think we need to set some rules before it to make things clear.”
“For someone who owes her life to me, you sure do like to make rules,” Vincent hummed.
Eve didn’t want her thoughts to twist and curl around him. She said, “You can drink from my hands and neck. Not from anywhere else,” at the same time, thunderstruck somewhere nearby, camouflaging her words.
“Hm?” Vincent cocked his head. A look of mischief entered his eyes, “I can drink from anywhere?”
_____________
ALLURE OF THE NIGHT
Chapter 228 Respectful pureblooded vampire
Eve stared at Vincent as if she had turned deaf because of the thunder that had struck a moment ago. Her eyes narrowed, and she said, “I told only my neck and hands.”
Vincent clicked his tongue, “Rude. You just said I could bite anywhere I want, and now you are taking your words back?”
Eve knew that Vincent had a better hearing ability than the other vampires. Even over the thunderous sound of the clouds, he had perfectly heard what she said and was now behaving dumb with her. She asked, “Are you not ashamed to twist my words for your benefit? Taking advantage of the person who offered you shelter and clothes?”
“No,” came the nonchalant response from Vincent, who now smiled, and the smile was enough to have her heart flutter.
“I think I am sick,” Eve muttered to herself.
How could her heart skip a beat for this vampire? Vincent’s head missed too many screws which she was already aware about, but was her screws falling off too?
“Let me take a bite and see if you are really sick or if you are only feeling hot at the thought of my lips brushing against your skin,” Vincent suggested, and Eve quickly shook her head.
Eve raised her hand straight while her fingers parted to keep the vampire away from her. She said, “What you want is my blood, so it shouldn’t matter which part of me you bite. A mermaid’s blood should circulate like a human, everywhere. There shouldn’t be much change.” She doubted she would be able to keep her heart still if he did what he did the last time he had bitten her.
“You are stalling, when you know it is inevitable,” Vincent’s eyes glowed red. He said, “There have been plenty of opportunities for me to drink from you, but I have been considerate, haven’t I, my little mermaid?”
Eve’s mouth and throat went dry. In the past, no matter how he addressed her, she often brushed it away. But she couldn’t anymore and her heart softened. It was hard to be indifferent towards him when her mind tried to conjure its own assumptions about Vincent’s words.
She couldn’t deny his words because it was true. If it were another person in Vincent’s place, they would have bitten her harshly, similar to how Lady Camille had bitten her without consideration.
[Music Recommendation: Diving- Art School Girlfriend]
With his trousers hanging low on his waist, Vincent made his way to where Eve stood. The fireplace continued burning brightly, its warm glow falling on them. The glow in the room hid Eve’s feelings.
Eve knew if she wanted, she could try to escape, but that didn’t mean she could escape the reality that Vincent would catch her. The roots of her newfound feelings for him had crawled around her feet, and even though she knew it had thorns on it, deep down she craved it.
When Vincent came to stand in front of Eve, she craned her neck to meet his eyes in the silence that surrounded them and the rain that numbed everything except for their presence that pulled them near each other. When he raised his hand, Eve closed her eyes and heard him remark,
“For someone who didn’t dry her hair properly, you seem to be interested in helping another person,” Vincent picked up a piece of her hair between his fingers, feeling the dampness, and Eve opened her eyes.
Though Eve didn’t feel his actual touch, it didn’t mean him running his fingers on the length of her hair didn’t affect her. She watched him look at the piece of her hair that he held. Pushing the nervousness away, she replied, “I did. It takes some time before it dries.”
“Mm,” Vincent hummed for a response as he continued staring at her hair. “The blonde in your hair… it is unique.” He then asked her, “Did you ever bite a vampire?”
Eve was stunned by his question. Did he want her to bite him?
Vincent’s eyes shifted from her hair to look at her blue eyes. He didn’t know why, but there was something very familiar about Eve. Deep down, he questioned if she was the one he had been looking for. But he couldn’t place her face in his memory.
With both their mother’s death, Eve had forgotten such minute details about her life as it was replaced by death. Vincent’s memory about the small girl he had met years ago had faded, turning the person faceless and almost silhouette-like.
Eve shook her head, “Not that I can remember of,” she replied, noticing the question in Vincent’s eyes evaporate and turn cold.
Vincent enjoyed Eve’s company more than any other woman from any status, and he didn’t like it earlier when she unconsciously questioned if Noah was stronger than him. The slight irritation he felt didn’t disappear. He said to her,
“Did you know that drinking blood from someone is an art in itself?” His hand let go of her golden blonde hair. “Women and men from high society, like their blood being taken.”
“Most of the people from the high society must be sexually dissastisfied,” Eve whispered, feeling her mind slightly turning blurry as Vincent’s upper bare body was too close to her, and all she had to do was raise her hand to touch it.
Eve’s reply brought a crooked smile to Vincent’s lips. He said, “Has the subject never interested you?”
“You seem more interested in it.”
“You are deflecting from the question.”
Eve turned flustered, “I don’t think this is a good idea.”
“I haven’t even done anything yet and your heart is already racing. There’s no need to be ashamed of how you felt at the night of the soiree, I know you enjoyed it as much as I did,” all it took was Vincent whispering to have her knees slightly shake. He caught her waist with his hands before she would fall. “Unless you are telling me that you are scared of wanting more and have no self control.”
Eve snapped out from her dazed state and glared at him. “I have far more self control than you think,” but her voice cracked at the end when she saw him smirk.
Eve didn’t want a repeat of Vincent biting her inner thigh as she doubted her poor, fragile heart could take it when it was so affected by the vampire in front of her.
“Fine,” Vincent let go of her waist, and a hint of disappointment appeared in her eyes.
That was it? He only wanted to scare her? Eve asked herself. But then he said, “I will honour your words as I respect you.”
Her heart squeezed at his words. Was he doing it on purpose? This push and pull, but no. Vincent Moriarty wasn’t a man who would pull a stunt as such, and he seemed like someone who went after what he wanted. He was twistedly nice to her, which drew her towards him.
Vincent stepped backwards, pulling the chair around. He said, “Your hands and neck are where I will bite you.”
He sat comfortably on the chair in front of the fireplace and looked at her. He stretched his hands towards Eve and said, “Enough of stalling.”
_______________
ALLURE OF THE NIGHT
Chapter 229 Conflicts of the mind
When she got near Vincent, she placed her hand in his hands, wondering where time would take them. She knew she was his prey, his blood source, but that didn’t stop her heart from beating more for him. She could handle him biting her wrist for just a few seconds, and when the rain would stop, he would leave.
The thought of him leaving had her purse on her lips.
Without warning, Vincent pulled Eve by her hand such that she stumbled, and her bottom settled on his lap. Her face turned red in the position she sat. She was about to get up, but Vincent held her down with his hands.
“I hope you have a good explanation of why you need me to sit on your lap,” Eve stated, staring right into his eyes.
Vincent’s hand adjusted around her waist and said, “I flew for quite some distance and have been standing all this time. Surely you don’t expect me to stand when I am tired.”
“Okay,” Eve decided not to argue with him. She brought her hand forward and in front of his face. “All yours to drink.”
As Vincent stared at the mermaid, who looked like a fish who wanted to get back inside the water and be done with him, he was far from ready to comply with her wish. A sly smile appeared on his lips, which was mixed with irritation.
It wasn’t his first time drinking blood from someone, especially a mermaid. But he had never treated her like the other woman from whom he drank in the past and gave her a choice, unlike others. He wondered if it was because of her incomparable blood or because of who she was.
Vincent said, “Don’t mistake yourself thinking I agreed with you, and everything will go according to how you want.” He pushed her hand away and brought it down.
Thanks to the thunderous sounds from the sky, it helped Eve to conceal her uneven heartbeat that she couldn’t hide anymore. Her feelings were slipping, and her mind colluded with the man she had affection for leaning toward her.
Vincent pushed Eve’s hair away from her shoulders, and his fingers brushed against her neck as he did it. Goosebumps rose on her skin, and it didn’t help that the night was cold. His other hand curled around the other side of the neck, his thumb tracing her jaw before gently pushing her chin to the side, so he could access her neck.
Eve felt anticipation build in the pit of her stomach. When his breath fell on her exposed neck, it made her want to adjust the way she was sitting. As if feeling something stirring in her stomach and seeping lower, between her legs.
“So obedient,” Vincent whispered with a hint of need.
Vincent was hungry for Eve’s blood, and the questions that had arisen in his mind about her while trying to keep on looking for the girl he had been searching for until now made him grit his teeth. Without waiting for a second more, he bit right into her neck.
Eve clutched his bare shoulders, which was just as taut as she had expected it to feel.
Somewhere embarrassed for holding onto his bare shoulders, Eve released her hands to only end up gripping it tighter when she felt Vincent’s fangs sinking deeper into her neck. Feeling his lips sucking on her neck as he sucked the blood into his mouth. A series of feelings burst in her chest and stomach, her toes drawing backwards as they curled.
Eve didn’t realise that the harder her hands gripped Vincent’s shoulders, the harder he bit her, creating a cycle where none of them let go. He let her body lean backwards while he followed her. This time Eve held him so that she wouldn’t lose balance. His hand was firm on her waist as he continued to drink from her. Her hand slid down from his shoulders to his arms.
As if to savour the taste, Vincent pulled away from her neck and ran his coarse tongue across her skin to feel her shiver in his arms. He said,
“Everytime I taste you, I think it cannot get better than the last time. But it always proves to be wrong,” Vincent whispered on the hollow of her neck and pulled back to look at her.
Eve, who had closed her eyes while feeling the current passing through her veins, slightly opened her eyes, her mouth parted.
Vincent turned fascinated by the erotic expression on Eve’s face. Deep down, he liked that he was the only one to see it. She was his mermaid, after all, and he didn’t want anyone sullying her. One part of him wanted to grant her wishes. But the other twisted part of him wanted her to stay the way she was.
Vincent drawled, “It is said that a person’s blood that tastes sweet as heaven, the scent of the nectar is sweeter than that and I cannot help but agree to it.”
With Eve’s senses heightened due to Vincent’s touch, it took a second more to understand what nectar meant and her eyes widened before she glared at him. Her face was on fire, and she hoped he was joking. She was mortified!
“Do you really need to speak in such an unfiltered way with me?”
“I was offering you some knowledge, considering your lack of experience,” Eve dug her nails into Vincent’s arms and heard him hiss.
Vincent’s eyes subtly narrowed, while Eve said, “I don’t need you to–” he pulled her body so that she sat upright and close to him.
The rain outside had slowed down, where one could hear the soft drops of water falling on the ground from the roof of the house. Vincent and Eve’s faces were close to each other. They stared into each other’s eyes with their lips parted while subconsciously being drawn to each other.
Eve could feel her heart pounding in her chest when Vincent’s eyes fell on her lips and she couldn’t help but do the same. When their lips were barely away from each other, she realised what she was doing and pulled away from him.
Ready to flee to her room, she was about to get up, but Vincent’s hand gripped her. She looked away from him and whispered,
“Don’t… I think I am falling for you.”
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ALLURE OF THE NIGHT
Chapter 230 Feelings of the two
Music Recommendation: Bloomsbury- Amelia Warner
—
As much as Eve felt a pull towards Vincent, she couldn’t kiss a man, knowing he didn’t share the same feelings as her. She couldn’t fool around like the few other women he had been with, whom she was sure was left with a broken heart.
Her eyes looked at the ground, and when her eyes shifted to look at Vincent, she wished she could take back her words. The grip on her waist loosened as if stunned by what she had just said to him. He stared at her.
His usual cold eyes now held a cloud of emotions, making her stomach drop. There was surprise, disappointment and annoyance, where she didn’t know that those weren’t entirely for her, but it was for him too.
And with one blink of his eyes, all those emotions disappeared, and Vincent stated, “It seems like you didn’t listen to what I said, little girl. I told you I wasn’t the one for you.”
Taking the opportunity of his hands sliding away from her, Eve quickly jumped from his lap. She took a couple of steps forward, with her back facing him and said,
“I didn’t choose you,” it just happened, thought Eve. The silence between them was occupied by the slight grumbling in the sky.
Eve’s face had turned red in embarrassment, and she closed her eyes to calm her emotions. She didn’t know how to deflect. She didn’t want to be part of Vincent’s amusement.
She heard Vincent say behind her, who had now stood up, “I thought you were smart enough to know not to fall for me,” there was a touch of disappointment in his voice as if he had expected her to follow his past warning.
Hearing those words from Vincent, Eve’s heart squeezed. She knew it. She knew she was supposed to heed to his warning when he had clearly uttered it for her. But her heart had wavered for him a few seconds before it. She said,
“I am a person with a heart, and there’s only this much one can bear…” Her voice trailed, and the burning log of woods crackled in the fireplace. She brought her hands in front of her, holding them. “I understand that you need my blood, and I will be happy to offer it to you, whenever you need it. But it would be better if w—”
“You don’t have to,” Vincent’s voice hushed Eve’s words and a look of seriousness entered his eyes, “Sometimes even the richest blood changes flavour and taints it.”
Eve stared at the cold dark floor that was near the dining room. She could feel her heartbreak, even though the vampire hadn’t made fun of her feelings. She knew the reality of where she and Vincent stood regarding their emotions for each other. He cared for her, but she doubted it was for romantic reasons. She felt her eyes prickle, and she said,
“Thank you. I appreciate it.”
Vincent’s eyes narrowed at the hostile air that the mermaid had wrapped herself in. He said, “You are a good woman, Eve. Better than most I have met and not someone who uses coyness to find a man for yourself. But I cannot return your feelings, nor am I the man for you.”
Her chest tightened and she nodded. She said,
“It isn’t the first time that I have had feelings for someone. Like others, it will pass too. It’s late and I am tired, Mr. Moriarty. If you do not mind, can you please leave? I would like to get some sleep now.”
Vincent stared at Eve’s back for a few seconds before picking up his shirt. Eve heard the sound of his footsteps leaving the living room. When she turned, she noticed the vampire at the door, who opened and stepped out, before closing it behind him.
Eve willfully walked towards the door. Her hand reached for the handle and pulled it open, but Vincent had left.
Deep down in her heart, where the thorn-like vines that had twisted her by Vincent’s charms, Eve had hoped he would stay. Even if it meant she would hear his taunting, sarcastic words. Closing the door, she leaned forward and placed her forehead on the door, and sighed.
Alone in the house now, Eve felt the coldness of the weather turn harsher than usual and her eyes glistened, but she didn’t shed tears.
“It will pass too, right?” Eve questioned herself, but she had her doubts about it.
What was she going to do? Not only had she harboured feelings for the vampire, but she also worked for his family. She whispered, “Why does it hurt…”
Blowing out the fire in the fireplace, Eve picked up the candle stand from the living room and climbed up the stairs to head to her room.
A person stood outside Dawson’s house, beside one of the windows with furrowed eyebrows.
It was Patrick Humphrey, who had visited an inn after finishing his work at Quintin’s mansion and turned intoxicated. He wanted to drown in his wallows for how his life had turned.
Knowing Lady Aubrey and Eugene were not in the town, and Eve was alone in the house, he had decided to pass by the house only to notice the light inside, letting him know that the woman of his dreams was awake and was having a hard time sleeping.
Patrick was too drunk and he had rubbed his eyes more than thirty times since he had tried to take a look through the foggy window of Dawson’s house. It was because, a few minutes ago, Eve had company! On hearing the door close, he stumbled to the front to find no one.
Where did the man go?! Mr. Humphrey quickly looked around the place, searching for the—He gasped when he felt something evil brush his leg! Looking down, he noticed it was a black cat.
“Shoo!” He moved his foot to get it away from him, but the cat returned to his side and meowed. After standing there for a minute more, he stumbled out of Dawson’s residence and headed toward his own house.
That night, Eve barely slept as she tossed and turned in her bed, thinking about Vincent’s words. In the morning, after getting ready, she stepped out of the house. Walking to the garden, she plucked a flower so that she could place it later on her mother’s grave.
Her mood was dull, but she tried to be polite to the people on her way to the local carriage who greeted her.
“It isn’t like I was waiting for him to confess to me,” Eve muttered. “I wanted him to stop saying and doing odd things,” she consoled herself.
[Music Recommendation: Mrs. Elton Arrives At Hartfield: Isobel Waller]
To add more to her mood, Eve noticed Mr. Humphrey walking in her direction with a bunch of flowers in his hand. To avoid him, when Mr. Humphrey looked the other way to wave his hand, Eve turned to the right and took another street.
Eve continued walking, looking around to ensure Mr. Humphrey wasn’t following. When she did reach the local carriage, Mr. Humphrey called her,
“Ms. Barlow!” The man’s voice was so loud that it gained the by-passers attention. Upon reaching where she stood, Mr. Humphrey said with a wide smile, “For a moment, I thought I lost you, but I know you always use the local carriage.”
They bowed, and Mr. Humphrey complimented Eve, “Today you look as beautiful as the sun, Ms. Barlow. Your beauty is unmatched to anything in this world.”
Eve turned to look at the sky, and so did the man, where the clouds hid the sun. She politely said, “I think it wouldn’t be right to compare me to the sun, Mr. Humphrey. When a person gazes at the sun for far too long, they lose their eyesight.”
She wasn’t in the mood to talk to him and wanted to go on her way, but Mr. Humphrey was curious about her night.
Mr. Humphrey waved his hand and offered her flowers, “These are for you, Ms. Barlow. Lovely flowers for a lovely woman. Oh, you already have a flower. Who is it from?”
Eve didn’t attempt to take the flowers from Mr. Humphrey, knowing the man would only try to claim her in front of the people. She replied, “It is from an admirer. Forgive me, but my hands are full.”
Mr. Humphrey looked down at Eve’s hands, where she carried her lunch box and umbrella. Not giving up, he said,
“That’s fine. I will give them to you in the evening.” When Eve turned, ready to climb the carriage, he said, “The rain last night was harsh, wasn’t it? With the continuous thunder and lightning, it even frightened me. I hope you weren’t scared as you were alone,” and he waited for her to say something about it.
“I am not a child, Mr. Humphrey, to be scared about it. And we live in a town where heavy rain isn’t uncommon in this part of the year,” Eve responded, and the man quickly nodded.
“Of course, even I wasn’t scared. I didn’t want you to feel alone,” Mr. Humphrey quickly covered it up, and Eve pursed her lips. He then asked, “You must have had company last night?”
Remembering Vincent right now only made Eve grit her teeth. If it weren’t for the crazy vampire’s habit of amusing himself, she wouldn’t be feeling this way and out of sleep. She snapped at the man in front of her, “Is there something you want to tell me about, Mr. Humphrey? Some of us have work to do, and I am sure the Quintins won’t be happy if you miss a day as the servants are scarce.”
Mr. Humphrey fumbled through the words, “W-what servant?” He laughed, looking left and right, but some of the people had already caught on to him. “I am not a servant there. I only offer my help to Mr. Quintin because of my kind heart.”
Eve stared at him and feigned ignorance, “I didn’t know about it,” and the man nodded. She continued, “Mr. Quintin said you stole his money and it is why you were out of job. I cannot believe Mr. Quintin would lie about such a thing.”
Mr. Humphrey coughed and cleared his throat, and before he could brush it, Eve frowned and said,
“A respectable man like yourself should quit working for him. How dare he slander your good name?”
An elderly man, who was eavesdropping on their conversation, agreed and said, “Ms. Barlow is right! You should quit working for the man!” And Mr. Humphrey felt sweat on his forehead. “I say, you don’t go to work and show them you have respect!”
Mr. Humphrey couldn’t believe things were proceeding in such a way that he would soon be out of work! After all, if not there, he would have to knock on the mansion’s door and beg for work in the high society because surely he couldn’t let the people of his town know what happened!
With Mr. Humphrey immersed in his thoughts, Eve climbed inside the carriage that left for Skellington town.
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