Music Recommendation: Jane Fairfax Plays Mozart- Isobel Waller
Alfie, who had accompanied the governess to the carriage, watched the governess step inside it, and he handed her lunch box along with her purple umbrella once she was seated. He closed the door while the coachman climbed on the driver's seat and pulled the reins of the four horses, which soon started to clip-clop against the ground.
The guards at the mansion's gates pulled the gates open, and soon the carriage passed through it, leaving the mansion.
At the same time, Marceline, who had gotten ready, stepped out from her room, climbed down the stairs and walked through the corridors. She had dressed in the finest clothing. Her portion of her hair had been tied into a bun, while the other half of her hair was let down her shoulders in slight curls. She wanted to take a walk in the town of Woodlock and gauge the situation.
When the butler turned around, his eyes fell on the dressed vampiress, and his eyes widened. He looked left and right, and before he could move to the left, the vampiress ordered,
"Get my carriage ready. I am going out."
The butler stared at the vampiress, his lips slightly parting before he cleared his throat and asked, "Will you be going right now, Lady Marceline?"
Marceline was polite and kind to the people she wanted to be. People who were beneath her in position and were useless were not treated the same. Especially the ones who belonged to the lower class, who were servants.
She stared at Alfie and demanded, "Didn't I tell you that I am going to Woodlock just now? Go now and stop making me wait here."
There was a reason why the butler hadn't moved, and it was because Lady Marceline's carriage had just left the mansion. The same carriage that Ms. Barlow was riding now.
Marceline's lips twitched in displeasure, and she glared at the butler, "Have you turned deaf?"
Not yet, but he was going to turn deaf soon, thought Alfie. He turned nervous and bowed his head before saying,
"Your carriage is not here, Lady Marceline."
Marceline's eyes narrowed and she said, "I don't remember sending it for any repair. The carriage and the horses have been in excellent condition. Is there something that I need to know?" The vampiress then raised one of her eyebrows at the lowly servant.
Alfie didn't raise his head and replied, "Because as the local carriages aren't running today, Master Vincent ordered me to send Ms. Barlow home in your carriage."
For a few seconds, there was nothing but silence, and Alfie would have questioned if his mistress had left, but he could see the hem of the vampiress's dress touching the floor.
In doubt, the butler subtly raised his head in time to catch the lady's calm face turning furious in rage.
"VINCENT!" Marceline screamed her brother's name, before turning on her heel and storming to where he was.
Alfie, who had closed his eyes at his mistress's screech, opened one of his eyes to watch the vampiress disappear at the end of the hallway. He decided not to wander near the Moriarty siblings now and returned to his work.
Vincent was in his study room, going through some of the parchments he needed to check when the door to his study burst open. Marceline glared at him, and her clenched hands shook.
"Don't you know that you are supposed to apply the rose powder only on your cheeks and not on your entire face, sister?" Vincent questioned her in a calm voice.
"HOW DARE YOU SEND THAT HUMAN IN MY CARRIAGE?!" Marceline couldn't control the rage she felt right now.
Vincent used his little fingers to close his ears, pulling it out and said, "Why are you shouting?"
Marceline stomped forward and placed her hands on the desk with a loud thud, behind which Vincent sat. She spoke through her teeth, "I did nothing to you today! Why did you send that lowly human in MY carriage?!"
"What are you talking about, Marcie? Who lowly human?" Vincent raised his eyebrow as if he did not know what Marceline was upset about.
"The human you hired from Meadow! The damn governess!" Right now, Marceline looked like a raging bull as she fumed.
Vincent finally understood and clicked his tongue, "Now now, Marcie, what did we learn about being nice to friends and not talking bad about them or not sending them to their deaths? Hm?"
His words pricked her chest, and she continued to glare at him.
Marceline found this to be ridiculous! Her brother knew how much she despised humans, especially ones who come from the lower side of the towns and villages. And he had let the governess use it as her personnel carriage.
"No servant has ever EVER stepped foot inside the carriage to sit, and you had the human sit in it. Without even asking me! If you wanted to send her home, you could have used your own carriage rather than make use of mine. How am I supposed to go out now?!" Marceline demanded from her brother with a look of disbelief.
Even if the carriage would return to the mansion in a minute, she wouldn't sit in it unless it was washed.
"I am sorry, Marcie... I never knew it would make you this upset," Vincent apologised to her, but Marceline knew her brother was doing this just for the kicks. He wore a solemn expression and said, "You are always so kind to her, making her drink tea with you and what not, how was I supposed to know that you didn't like her?" He shifted the blame on her.
Marceline tried to calm herself, but she couldn't, and Vincent knew how to push her buttons to get reactions from her. She gritted her teeth, "This is not funny."
"No one said it was. I am not laughing neither are you. But if you think about it is quite tragic. What would poor Ms. Barlow think if she found out that the person she thought was kind and immaculate like an angel, whom she believed had offered her a ride home, when in truth is repulsed by the thought that she sat in the carriage and sullied it?" Vincent's face didn't hold a single hint of a smile, but he enjoyed every bit of it.
As easy as Marceline was to read, Vincent liked checking if his sister meant the words she said or only spoke about it at face value.
Marceline pulled her hands away from the desk and brought it back to her side. She closed her eyes for a second to calm herself and said, "There is something called being polite, which was what I was doing."
Unable to keep the smile within him, Vincent laughed and asked, "When did you learn that?"
"I need to be somewhere, hence I will be taking your carriage with me," decided the vampiress with a smile on her face while trying to calm her ruffled features.
Vincent raised his hand and said, "Go ahead. You are my dear sister and I would never deny you anything."
Marceline's eyes narrowed. She turned her back to Vincent with a harrumph and stepped out of the study room. Her shoes clicked against the mansion's marble floor, making a sharp sound. Finding another servant on her way, she ordered,
"Get my brother's carriage ready. I will be using it."
The servant bowed and replied, "Milady, Master Vincent's carriage isn't in the mansion. Mr. Briggs has taken it to the blacksmith."
When Marceline breathed, the servant could hear the anger bubbling through the vampiress, though he didn't know why. She snapped, "Pull out the available carriage and prepare it!"
