Music Recommendation: Heavens, what an afternoon- John Lunn
Eugene stared at Patrick Humphrey, the man many of them in and around the town of Meadow regarded as the sought-out eligible bachelor. As Miss Eve had grown up into a beautiful woman, the servant of Dawson's family was aware of the rumours about how she was one day going to marry Mr. and Mrs. Humphrey's son.
But Eugene, who had stayed under Lady Aubrey's shelter and knowledge, knew that this man would never win his young miss's heart or keep her happy. In his eyes, Patrick Humphrey was not just arrogant even though he belonged to the same human town he lived in, but the man was also a chauvinistic person along with his mother Mrs. Humphrey.
He hadn't expected the Humphrey's to fall so low and go against Eve. Now that the question was posed by the vampiress, who was Miss Eve's friend, he answered,
"It would be best if you hear about it from the man who was involved, Lady Rosetta."
Rosetta's eyes turned to Humphrey's, where the softness in her eyes had disappeared to be replaced by suspicion. She took a step towards the lowly human, while one of her eyebrows rose in question,
"It would be best for you to spit what you did. Unless you prefer to be tied to a tree upside down, worse I can ask my father to put you in the dungeon," the vampiress didn't bother to hide whose daughter she was as she liked to flaunt it in people's faces to get her work done and also receive respect. "My father has put many people in the dungeon, people who have upset me in the past," she casually threw in the words.
No more interested in the gold coin, Patrick wanted to leave before Eve, or the vampire showed up. But at the moment, he felt stuck between a wall and a rock because of this obnoxious vampiress in front of him.
When Rosetta looked away, Patrick quickly glared at Eugene as if he would deal with him later for hinting what happened.
On the other hand, Eugene wasn't sure if Rosetta had heard about the incident that had happened in Meadow and was only behaving ignorant in front of Mr. Humphrey.
Patrick responded to Rosetta, "I don't know what you are talking about, milady or what this servant is talking about. You are mistaken. To believe--"
"A week ago he and a few others publicly mistreated Miss Eve to be sleeping with men," Eugene finally blurted, not liking the way Patrick had not been humbled even after Mr. Moriarty had dealt with him and the others.
Rosetta's eyebrows furrowed at this. Why hadn't she heard about it? Out of all the rubbish gossip that took place, people had failed to bring this up to her ears.
Eugene didn't stop there and added, "This is the reason why Miss Eve left for Berkshire."
The vampiress's red eyes narrowed at Patrick; if it was possible, Rosetta's eyes would have turned the lowly human into dust. Noticing the glare in her eyes, Patrick shook his head,
"That was a mistake on everyone's side. Actually, it was Mrs. Edwards's fault for spewing such nonsense and we were only--"
SLAP!
Patrick felt his ear ring and one side of his face turn numb. Did he... Did he just get slapped by this woman? He touched his cheek with his hand, widening his mouth to ensure his jaw was intact.
"How dare you splash mud on a woman like Eve?" Rosetta demanded, and she quickly caught hold of Patrick's collar.
It wasn't that Patrick was weak, as he was a human and Rosetta was a vampiress, but the man feared the title that came with her name. She wasn't a regular vampiress, but one who was the daughter of a Marquee.
"You dare to even show up in front of her house," Rosetta looked furious and harshly shook the man like a piece of parchment. The sight of it not only worried Patrick but also Eugene, who noticed the wild temper of this woman, where he had hoped for it to stop at a few words or worse a slap.
But Rosetta was indeed an ordinary vampiress of high society, a spoiled daughter who had been given everything, where people followed her beck and call. She was angry that because of this lowly human, her friend had decided to leave Meadow and not come back. She had finally found a friend, and this lowly man had tried to drive her friend away from here. Not only that... it could even drive Eugene out of Meadow.
"It was you who forced me to carry your bags!" Patrick tried to get the vampiress's hand off his collar. And when he successfully pried away from her hold, he glared at her, "I told you it was a mistake, you du--What do you think you are doing?!"
Rosetta had picked up a pot with a plant in it and was ready to throw it on Patrick, when Eugene interfered with her.
"Lady Rosetta, please put the pot down!" Eugene didn't believe Patrick was worth having his head broken with his well-maintained pot.
Patrick glared at them and said, "I will report this to the higher authorities! That you come here to harm us!"
"What did you just say?!" Rosetta wanted to throw the pot on the lowly human's head, but Eugene caught hold of her hand to stop her from destroying the garden he had built with much love and care.
Patrick took this opportunity to disappear from not only the front of Dawson's house, but also the street with no sign of him. Eugene wondered if he had made a mistake by telling the vampiress about what happened, but he wasn't happy with what had happened with Eve and wanted to hit Mr. Humphrey himself. But he couldn't do it as he was bound to the norms of the society in which they lived.
Rosetta's concentration left Patrick and returned to Eugene, who now held her hand, while her hands were at the top of her head, carrying the pot. Her cheeks turned warm at their closeness, and she stared at him.
"Why don't I take the pot, Lady Rosetta?" Eugene asked her, and Rosetta, not knowing what to do with him touching her hand that brought in butterflies in her stomach, quickly dropped the pot from her back.
Eugene caught hold of the pot before it touched the ground and broke, not expecting her to drop it without notice and heard the vampiress say,
"I didn't mean to break the pot earlier. I was only trying to scare him. Usually I am a very nice and well mannered person with no temper at all. I am a very calm person."
Rosetta cleared her throat, schooling her expression and putting a more feminine front in front of Eugene. Eugene nodded and suggested, "Why don't you come inside and have a seat, until Miss Eve returns?"
"That I will," Rosetta walked straight inside the house, forgetting to pick up the bags of gifts she had brought along with her.
Eugene stared at the back of the vampiress, knowing well that if he hadn't stopped the vampiress, the woman would have thrown the pot on Patrick's head, and he would have had to hide the body somewhere with her.
When Eugene placed the pot back where it belonged, he heard Rosetta remark inside the house, "I didn't know you had a cat!" Hearing this, he quickly ran inside the house.
