Music Recommendation: In the court- Nathan Barr
In the Moriarty mansion's dining room, every family member sat at the table having their breakfast in silence. At the head of the table sat Senior Mr. Moriarty, while right next to him on his left and right sat Lady Annalise and Vincent respectively. Marceline sat next to Lady Annalise, and next to her sat Charles, while Allie chose to sit next to Vincent. The butler entered after pulling open the dining room doors and stepped inside. He bowed and informed,
"Mr. Henry Quintin is here."
"My apologies for not informing you sooner about my arrival here," the person named Henry apologised and bowed his head. The man wore the finest clothes from his closet, and his hair was neatly combed. "Good morning, everyone."
"Good morning, Henry," Senior Mr. Moriarty greeted him. "What brings you here?"
"Come sit with us," Lady Annalise politely invited him to join them.
"Thank you, milady," replied Henry, before coming to take a seat next to Charles. "I wanted to appreciate how much I enjoyed the ball that was held last night and thank you for inviting me to attend it."
"That's all thanks to Marceline," stated Lady Annalise, and she continued, "My daughter has been kind enough to not only bring a rare present but also to make sure the arrangement of the ball was up to the mark. Also thanks to my daughter Allie who has learned to play the piano forte."
When Henry's eyes met Marceline's, he offered her a bow, "Thank you for hosting a memorable ball, Lady Marceline." He then turned to Allie and praised, "It was a beautiful piece. I look forward to hearing you play again."
Marceline sweetly smiled and fluttered her lashes before nodding to the human.
The man continued to praise, "Everything was just beautiful. As beautiful as you, Lady Marceline."
Alfie appeared at the door, carrying a bouquet of red roses in his hands, and he asked Henry, "Where shall I keep this, Mr. Quintin?"
On catching sight of the flowers, Lady Annalise remarked, "Those are beautiful flowers, Henry. Are they from your garden?"
Henry looked bashfully and responded, "Yes."
Lady Annalise leaned towards Marceline and said, "It looks like he brought them for you."
Marceline smiled, her lips coyly curling. This was expected because she had already received some flowers from other people. Whenever she hosted a ball or attended up, she always received gifts from men who were trying to court her. But most of them were the ones she didn't care about.
The young vampiress was ambitious in nature and was looking forward to getting flowers from men of high social standing like Henry Quintin or the Duke. And not from the ones that were below her social status.
"You can keep it at the side," Henry answered to the butler's previous question. Charles nodded and said,
"Yes, after the breakfast is done. You must have freed yourself from your busy schedule to come here, Henry. Lucky you, the other suitors are yet to arrive."
"Or maybe the other suitors are just not interested," came Vincent's remark before taking a bite from his food.
Marceline softly laughed and replied, "If that was true, then Mr. Quintin wouldn't have come here now, would he brother?" Her voice was sweet and low, which went unheard by their guest. "You should accept that there are many who want to sit next to your sister."
"That is true," Lady Annalise agreed to Marceline's words. "Marceline has had four suitors who came to visit her since this morning."
"Unfortunate men..." Vincent murmured to receive a stare from Marceline.
Senior Mr. Moriarty chuckled as he was used to these mornings, as Vincent and Marceline liked to bicker as subtly as possible while verbally poking into each other's eyes. He spoke to Henry, "Have you heard from your parents, Henry? How are they doing?"
"Very well, Mr. Moriarty. Two weeks ago father wrote to me that they will be returning soon," replied Henry.
Senior Mr. Moriarty nodded before returning to his meal, while the guest turned to look at where the flowers were placed in worry as if it would disappear.
And while the Moriarty family continued having breakfast with their guest, Eve had just arrived at the mansion.
She carefully walked in the hallways while making sure not to hurt her already injured foot. Before she could head to the piano room, the butler appeared and greeted her.
"Good morning, Ms. Barlow. You have been invited to join the Moriarty family to have breakfast with them."
She frowned before murmuring, "I have already finished my breakfast."
"Miss Allie is still in the dining room and the orders have come directly from Master Vincent," the butler informed her.
Eve's jaw clenched in frustration and she nodded, "Okay."
Alfie offered her a polite smile and said, "How about I ask the maid to keep your belongings in the piano room?" He called a maid walking by and handed Eve's lunchbox and her umbrella to be kept in the piano room. The butler then led her toward the dining room.
Unable to hold back her thoughts, Eve asked the butler, "I thought it went against the rules of the high-standing families for a governess to have a meal at the same table as them."
"You are right, Miss Barlow. But you must already be aware that the rules don't apply when it comes to Master Vincent. He is the one who sets the rules inside the mansion and the others follow it," while saying this, the butler held a pleasant expression. From the corner of his eyes, he observed the woman walk but didn't inquire about it.
Until now, Eve had never visited this side of the mansion. In appearance it was much grander than the front side of the mansion. When they came to stand in front of the dining room's double doors, the butler pushed it open. Stepping inside, he bowed and informed,
"Miss Genevieve Barlow is here."
Though Eve was yet to enter the dining room, she felt dread filling her mind.
"Why does the name sound familiar?" Questioned Lady Annalise.
The smile on Marceline's lips disappeared, and her expression turned grim before answering, "That is because that's the governess's name."
The butler had stepped away from where he had been standing, making way for Eve, and she finally stepped inside the spacious dining room. Two chandeliers hung up in the ceiling, candles burning in them even though the curtains had been pulled apart from the large, transparent windows to allow light to pass through.
Eve noticed everyone's eyes on her, and she offered a bow to them, "Good morning."
"Ms. Barlow, take a seat," Vincent raised his hand and pointed to the seat next to Allie.
Everyone stared at Eve walk around the dining table. Their guest, Henry Quintin's eyes brightened on seeing Eve in the room.
"Stop," Lady Annalise stopped the maid, who went to pull the chair for Eve. She turned to look at Vincent and laughed as if someone told her a joke. She questioned him, "Since when did governess start sitting with the families whom they serve?"
"Since today," Vincent responded in a nonchalant tone.
