Music Recommendation: Heavens, what an afternoon- John Lunn
Seeing the little girl's excitement and happiness that could be seen in her red eyes, Eve smiled. Knowing the lack of fangs had brought shame to the young vampiress, she hoped things would finally get better for Allie.
Eve watched Allie standing in front of the cracked mirror in the bathroom, whose mouth was opened wide to look at her new fangs. The little one couldn't stop looking at it in awe.
"Planning to stay in the bathtub for the rest of the day?" Vincent questioned Eve, and her eyes shifted to look at him. He watched her with great interest in his eyes.
Eve stepped out of the bathtub, where the hem of her dress was wet four inches from the hem of her dress. She didn't know how she did the magic and that she could do it, to see something so fascinating today.
"You returned her something no one could," Vincent stated, his eyes shifting to look at his youngest sister.
Eve asked him, "How did you know I could do something like this?"
From a very young age, Vincent had been fascinated with the existence of the mermaids and sirens. Over the years, he had tried to learn about the kind as much as he could. His interest was so strong that he had spent his time in the Council's libraries and laboratory when he was young.
Vincent's lips twisted into a smile, and he responded, "It was an inkling." He picked up her hand that was resting next to her side.
Eve had never met a person as forward as Vincent. She had to remind her chest not to brew things and send thoughts to her mind. She watched him run his lean, long fingers on her palms and then press her fingers. But her traitor heart gave her away.
Vincent looked up at her and asked, "Feeling something?"
Though he asked about her using her ability, Eve's mind was running in a different direction, and she shook her head. She breathed, "No."
He said, "Go home and start with something small. Not a glass of water but a drop of water."
A few rare mermaids had potential, but it was never explored as they were killed. It left the vampires and werewolves to end up as a higher race. It wasn't about who had abilities but creatures who could use those abilities.
"There is something I wanted to ask you," Eve said to him.
"What is it about?"
Eve looked at Allie, who was still in front of the broken mirror. She whispered to Vincent, "It is about a folklore I came across in the books here. The page is torn... Do you know the rest of the story?"
A sour taste entered Vincent's mouth, remembering the incident of the missing page. He said, "The page was there when I was reading it, but then it wasn't."
Hearing his words, Eve frowned and asked, "What happened?"
"Marceline happened. When we were small and I was growing and she wasn't, to get my attention, she decided to tear the next page where I paused reading the book," Vincent smiled sarcastically. "The page was thrown into the fire and I haven't been able to lay my hand on the rest of the story."
It seemed like Vincent and Marceline were like any other siblings when it came to jabbing or annoying others. Only that, these two had carried their childhood to adulthood, Eve thought in her mind. Or was it just one of them? She couldn't tell.
Vincent said, "You both should go back to the piano room, it'll give time for your dress to dry up."
As Eve stepped out of the guest room, she took Allie with her, leaving Vincent behind. He turned and looked around the bathroom, where things had been knocked off and at the cracked mirror. The water that had turned into glass pieces had returned to water splashes.
"How interesting," Vincent hummed with a faint smile.
For the rest of the working hours, Eve tried to wrap her head around what she had done in the bathtub. What she did blew her mind, and she had goosebumps remembering it.
She noticed Allie subtly moving her hand towards her mouth and touching her fangs as if making sure it was still there, and she wasn't dreaming. She said to the young vampiress,
"Miss Allie, you will be caught if you keep doing that."
Allie brought her hand down and apologised, "I am sorry."
"You don't have to be," Eve assured the girl, placing her hand on Allie's head, and instantly the girl closed her eyes for a moment.
Allie opened her eyes, staring at Eve for a second before speaking in her small voice, "No Miss. Only Allie."
"I don't think your mother would appreciate it. But maybe when we are alone?" Eve asked the vampiress, who quickly nodded.
In Allie's eyes, Eve was her fairy godmother, who had given the most precious gift to her. She was no more the vampiress that brought shame to her family. Her mother would love her equally as her elder sister. Her governess had magic, but her brother had told her not to ask or speak about it to anyone.
When the clock struck four, Eve picked up her things and made her way through the corridors and down the mansion's stairs. And all the while, Allie followed her like a little cat to see her off until the mansion's entrance.
Before reaching near the hallways, Eve heard Lady Annalise's voice from the next corridor,
"It was only yesterday Eduard and I were talking about how generous your father is. He even funded money for the well being of the middle class when he could have just let it be," her words ended with a small laugh.
"The towns that hold middle class status are the ones involved in the higher labour, and it is always good to have some good connections there to keep a hold on things," Eve heard a male's voice that sounded familiar, but not enough to place a name or face on it.
Soon Lady Annalise and Lady Marceline walked next to each other. Next to them walked Mr. Henry Quintin, the man with whom Eve had once eaten breakfast in this mansion's dining room.
Mr. Quintin's eyes lit up like Christmas was early on seeing Eve. He offered her a bow, while she offered everyone a bow. When her eyes fell to her side, she noticed Allie had disappeared.
"Good evening, Ms. Barlow. How are you doing?" Mr. Quintin asked Eve.
"I am doing well. How about you, Mr. Quintin?" Eve politely returned the question.
Mr. Quintin smiled, relieved that the beautiful woman remembered him and his name. Though he had sent out most of the invitations through the hands of his servants, he had found an excuse to visit the Moriarty mansion to see the governess. He answered,
"Very well myself. Did you just finish your work?" Eve gave him a nod.
Lady Annalise ignored the governess, while Marceline didn't like that Eve was being showered with more attention by someone when she stood there.
Marceline remarked, "I completely forgot that Mr. Quintin is trying to woo our governess," she softly laughed. Mr. Quintin's ears turned slightly pink as he smiled. "You will have to try harder than that as Ms. Barlow has no intentions to marry anyone right now."
Mr. Quintin replied, "I shall accept it as a challenge. I hope that the lady can give me an opportunity so that I can change her mind."
Eve politely replied, "Thank you for your interest, Mr. Quintin, but like Lady Marceline said, I am not looking for marriage. I hope you don't take my words badly."
But the more Eve refused, the more desirable she became in Mr. Quintin's eyes.
Without looking at Eve, Lady Annalise said to Henry, "The last time I heard, you were courting Marceline, Mr. Quintin. Did my daughter make it hard to court her?"
Eve noticed Mr. Quintin turned slightly red than he already was. It seemed like Mr. Quintin shifted his attention from the vampiress to her.
Mr. Quintin replied, "I gave it some thought and came to believe that it would be better for me to court and marry a human. Lady Marceline understood it too." Marceline wanted to roll her eyes. It was good that she never paid any attention to him in the past, she thought in her mind.
"That is true, mother," Marceline agreed and looked at Lady Annalise and then at Eve with a smile. "I think Ms. Barlow and Mr. Quintin would make a wonderful couple."
Mr. Quintin took out an envelope from the inside pocket of his coat and offered it to Eve. When she looked at him questioningly, he explained, "Day after tomorrow, there's a soiree being held in my mansion. I would very much appreciate it if you could attend it."
Eve bowed, "Pardon me, but I will be working," she refused.
Lady Annalise and Marceline were internally repelled by the thought that this mere human was being invited to the same soiree they were going to attend. Henry Quintin's parents were one of the wealthy humans, which was why the two vampiress didn't look down upon him.
Mr. Quintin smiled at Eve, wanting her to attend the soiree, he turned to Lady Annalise and requested, "One day of missing work shouldn't matter, should it, Viscountess?"
Lady Annalise had a tight smile and turned to look at the human. The older vampiress couldn't refuse Mr. Quintin's request. She replied,
"Allie will be attending the soiree with us. So the governess can too."
"Wonderful!" Mr. Quintin exclaimed, and Marceline turned further upset with how things were proceeding. "I will be eagerly waiting for you the day after tomorrow, Ms. Barlow."
