While Eve was in the kitchen, she heard three sharp knocks on the main door before another three knocks followed it. Wiping her wet hands against the small towel, she found Eugene standing in front of the closed main door, making no attempt to open it.
"Eugene?" Eve called him, and he snapped out of his thoughts, not realising the seconds that had passed since he stood there.
Eugene quickly opened the door and bowed, greeting the person, "Good evening, Miss Hooke."
Rosetta's hand was on her hair, and once the door opened, she quickly brought it to her side. She asked, "Has Eve returned home yet?" Eve stepped into the young vampiress's view, and the young vampiress turned excited on seeing her. "Eve, when did you get back?!" She quickly stepped inside the house and hugged her.
Eve hugged Rosetta back, and they finally stepped away. Eve answered, "An hour ago. I just finished unpacking my trunk."
Rosetta gave her a nod and asked, "How was Berkshire? I heard that you went to visit someone who was sick there?"
"Yes, my aunt's friend's husband was sick but he's doing much better in health now. Thank you for asking, Rosetta," Eve smiled at the young vampiress, who beamed. "Would you like to drink something?"
Eugene looked at the vampiress with a wary expression and heard her say, "Yes, anything that you will drink. I will have the same." Hearing her words, he quickly disappeared inside the kitchen, while keeping a watchful eye on the vampiress, so that she wouldn't take a bite from Miss Eve's blood.
Eve led Rosetta to sit on the couch in the living room couch and heard the vampiress say, "Thankfully, my parents have decided to extend my time here and I don't have to go back home anytime soon. I was able to come visit Meadow every day to see if you were home."
"That's good to hear that you decided to stay longer in Skellington. Your parents must have come to understand what you want to do?" Eve asked in doubt, because Rosetta seemed to have the habit of doing what she felt was right, while not foreseeing the repercussions of her actions.
Rosetta nodded as if luck and destiny were in her favour. She said, "I didn't have to do anything. Everything was done before I could say or do anything." When Eve gave her a curious expression, the vampiress clarified, "You remember the unfortunate incident that happened with my deceased aunt, don't you? Aunt Camille's death?"
How could Eve forget about the person whom she had murdered. She gave a nod to Rosetta, and the vampiress continued, "As the death is by murder, they are trying to straighten things with her murderer Mr. Walsh. My parents who were earlier upset with her, now my father wants to deal with the murderer as she was his sister. You know how it is. Family is important and we need to stick to each other."
Right now, Eve felt worse than the time when she was walking on the surface of the ice lake. She apologised, "I hope her soul can rest in peace. She must have been very dear to you, isn't it?"
At the same time, Eugene appeared in the living room with a tray that held two empty cups and a kettle in it. Rosetta's eyes fell on him, and without paying attention to Eve, agreed, "Yes."
Eve knew that Mr. Walsh wasn't the murderer, and soon he would be let off the hook. And it was only a matter of time before Marquee Hooke would start looking for the actual suspect, and though she knew it was hard to trace it back to her, it didn't mean she was safe.
"Did my letter reach you, Eve?" Rosetta asked, while picking up the teacup in her hand.
"Letter?" Eve asked, her heart skipped a beat in worry. As much as she wanted to ask the vampiress, she couldn't confess that she had found and read it.
Rosetta looked slightly sceptical and said, "Aunt Camille's butler, Myles, said that my letter was found and given to my aunt. After reading it, she turned angry and left for the Moriarty mansion. Did she meet you?"
Eve, who had never murdered someone and followed a lie as big as this, could feel her throat closing. She shook her head, "I didn't meet her."
Rosetta took a sip from her teacup with her eyebrows deeply furrowed. She asked, "If it is alright, can I come and see you tomorrow? After your work, we can come to Meadow together."
Eve responded, "I am not sure what hour I will be finishing work tomorrow as it has been days since I have been absent. I will let you know, or you can come here before I do."
To Rosetta, Eve's words were like treasure, while to Eugene, who heard this, it was as if someone had put him on death row.
When it was time to leave, Rosetta waved her hand to Eve before taking a quick glimpse around the room, but she couldn't find Eugene. It felt like the more she looked for him, the harder it was to find him in front of her eyes. Getting inside her carriage, she left Meadow, travelling back to Skellington, where she got down in her deceased aunt's mansion.
At the mansion's entrance, her aunt's butler stood and bowed. He helped her to remove the coat that she wore.
"Welcome back, Lady Rosetta. How was your trip outside today, milady?"
Rosetta was in a delighted mood, as she was going to see Eve and Eugene tomorrow. She responded, "It was successful, Myles. My friend Eve has finally returned from Berkshire. Isn't that wonderful?" She chirped while pulling out the gloves from her hand.
The butler frowned on hearing about Rosetta's friend, whom his late mistress and Rosetta's mother weren't particularly fond about. It was because he had heard the women worried about the young vampiress's lowly company. In doubt, he asked, "Milady, did you answer all the questions from the authorities?"
Rosetta rolled her eyes and said, "You have such a poor memory, Myles. I am surprised that Aunt Camille didn't fire you," she held a look of disappointment on her face.
The butler bowed and said, "I ask because the letter that Lady Camille had in her hand, there was something in there that caused her death. Why would she order to pull the carriage to go to the Moriarty mansion and end up elsewhere?"
Rosetta stared at him and said, "I have already answered all their questions. I am tired, tell the maids to prepare my bath," she walked away from there.
When Rosetta reached her room, she closed the door, and her face turned serious. In her mind, she had confessed her feelings about Eugene in the letter written to Eve. Right now, she was somewhere glad that the letter didn't reach anyone's hand. She didn't want her parents to know about Eugene until she confessed her feelings to him.
At the same time, she remembered the butler's words. Was it possible that her aunt had gone to Moriarty's mansion to meet Eve? Because the letter was for Eve.
When night fell upon the lands, back in Meadow and at Dawson's home, someone knocked on the door. Eugene offered, "Let me get it, Miss Eve."
On opening the door, there stood Mrs. Edwards with a polite smile and a freshly baked cake in her hand. Eve came to see who it was, and on seeing their neighbour, her expression turned guarded.
"I am here to apologise to you, Eve. For what happened a week ago, I am ashamed about it and am here to ask for forgiveness."
Though Eugene wanted to tell a lot of things, that didn't mean he could do it. That was even if Lady Aubrey and Eve treated him to be one of them. He was a man from the lowly class, a servant. He turned to look at Eve, who stared at their neighbour.
Eve walked to the front door and politely replied, "Forgive me, Mrs. Edwards, but people's kindness scares me now. You never know when someone will come to point out that I stole the cake from your home. You should enjoy it with your family."
The older woman turned red out of embarrassment and blurted, "No one would dare to accuse you again, Eve. We have all learned our lessons and know you are a woman of good character!"
Seeing the woman's face, everything that happened a week ago came to her mind, and Eve could feel the vulnerability she had felt that day.
Mr. Edwards noticed Eve's reluctance, and bowed, "I have been feeling guilty for what my words led to, please spare this old lady!"
Eve pursed her lips before taking the cake from Mrs. Edwards's hands. She said, "What happened is now in the past, and I would like to look forward, Mrs. Edwards. You have been our neighbour since I have known and you have helped us when we needed it in the past. We should learn to live harmoniously rather than bring down each other."
"Of course! I very much agree with it!" Mrs. Edwards quickly nodded, and she thanked Eve, "I knew you were someone who had a kind heart. Thank you for accepting my apology, Eve. I cannot tell how relieved I feel now."
Eve smiled at the woman and said, "I am grateful everything was cleared." Mrs. Edwards' had come to apologise because the woman wanted to get rid of the guilt, and this was something she was aware about.
Mrs. Edwards's head bobbed up and down. She said, "If you need anything, anything at all. Don't hesitate to come to me. I will see you tomorrow," and the woman went back to her house.
Eve's kind heart had forgiven the woman through her words, but as much as Mrs. Edwards wanted to fix her mistake, the damage had been done, and the penalty waited for her and the others.
Eugene took the cake from Eve, and stared at it. At the same time, Eve caught sight of a little black cat. The cat was busy grooming its hand, licking it quietly. She said,
"It feels like there are quite a lot of black cats."
Eugene remarked, "I believe it is the same cat I have been seeing for some time. It used to be small but now it seems to have grown old."
The cat dropped its paw on the ground and hissed, "Who do you think you are calling old?! Stupid human!"
