Vincent walked up to where Patrick stood, an unnerving smile greeting the human that sent shivers down the latter's back. The pureblooded vampire placed his hand on Patrick's shoulder and said,
"How are you doing, Humphrey?"
Patrick Humphrey looked nervous. After Marquee Hooke's daughter, Rosetta Hooke, had insulted him, he had gone to the market and returned home in a foul mood. All he wanted was to enjoy his supper in peace, when someone knocked on his door and said he was summoned to Moriarty's mansion.
To the question asked by Vincent, Patrick didn't know how he was supposed to feel, while partly he couldn't get his eyes off such a magnificent mansion where he had only seen the ballroom and the hall once. On one side, Vincent was smiling at him as if he was going to be sacrificed, and on the other hand, a young vampiress in the room looked familiar, but he couldn't point out where he saw her.
"Who is this man, Vincent?" Eduard questioned his son, noticing the nervous human.
"He is a friend of Marceline, isn't that right, Marcie?" Vincent questioned Marceline, who fixed her dumbfounded expression.
"I don't know who he is," Marceline replied with a firm voice. With a confident voice, she asked Patrick, "Have we ever spoken to each other?"
Patrick couldn't identify who this woman was because Marceline stood in her expensive gown and her beautiful black hair bombed and tied like any other young woman of the high society in a fancy hairstyle.
Vincent remarked, "Take your time, but make sure you give the right answer. A few days ago, a maid appeared at Meadow and mentioned to you about her mistress's husband having an affair with Ms. Barlow. Is this the woman?"
Eduard's eyebrows furrowed, turning to his eldest daughter, "Marceline, is this true?"
"It is not!" Marceline cried out in frustration. When she turned to look at Patrick, she glared at him.
Patrick felt like he had been tossed into a hot pan; even if he wanted to jump out of it, there was nothing but fire. He stared at Marceline and then turned to Vincent before he said,
"Sire, the woman whom my mother and I spoke to, she was a maid--"
Vincent's lips twitched, and he said, "Yes, Moriarty's genes are strong and we are quite the lookers. How did the maid look? You better remember or I will have you thrown into the dungeon for what you did."
Patrick's lips trembled, and he repeated, "How did the maid look?"
"Mhm," Vincent hummed, "You must have spoken to the maid for quite some long time to jump with the conclusion that Ms. Barlow was sleeping with different men for money."
Marceline doubted this stupid human would be able to identify her because she had taken extreme precautions before stepping foot in Meadow to spread the rumour about Genevieve Barlow. The way she looked that day and the way she looked right now held a stark difference.
"I--I don't think I remember her face now, Mr. Moriarty. It has been--"
"Looks like you don't care about your own reputation. Alfie," Vincent called the butler, "Bring the authorities of Skellington."
"No no!" Patrick broke a nervous sweat. He said, "She wore maid's clothes, and looked dull."
"Let us have my dear sister wear the maid's clothes then," Vincent decided and Marceline's eyes widened before they turned furious.
"Are you not going extreme to try to prove your point, brother Vincent? I told you I have nothing to do with Ms. Barlow's reputation, yet time and time again you press that I have something to do with it," Marceline's voice sounded hurt, and she said, "Can you not believe me? I am your sister."
Vincent wasn't moved by Marceline's words and he said, "You are my sister, which is why we are still talking. Do you think you would be standing here if we weren't related?"
This time even Lady Annalise came to Marceline's rescue and said, "This is enough drama for the day, Vincent. You cannot order around just because you want to. Consider your sister's feelings."
Vincent turned to his father and said, "This is just one thing I need her to comply with. If the man here confirms that she wasn't the one, I will be more than willing to marry any woman you show me, and never turn to look at the human woman that mother so despises because of the difference in status.
Eduard stared at the human who stood in the drawing room, while everyone's eyes fell on him, waiting for what he would say. He noticed his son holding a watchful gaze while his daughter had a deep frown or helplessness, as if she was being subjugated to a trial she didn't deserve.
Eduard pinched the bridge of his nose, not liking where this was going. He pursed his lips and then gave a nod, "Alright, Vincent. Just this one thing and if the man fails to identify Marceline, you will let this go."
"Also forget about the human woman you planned to marry earlier," Lady Annalise added what Vincent told, taking this to be a ticket for her to save the family's reputation.
"Fine," Vincent responded to both of them.
But Marceline didn't want to go through this. One, she feared being recognised and caught. Two, she was the prideful vampiress who belonged to one of society's most highly esteemed families. She wasn't going to wear a maid's clothes! The ones that she had worn that day didn't belong to a maid but she had got them made in another town.
Marceline shook her head, "No! I am not going to wear some lowly maid's clothes. I would take all the false allegations that were put on me until now, but this... I will never agree to it!"
"I am not happy about it either, Eduard. She is our daughter, not some maid's daughter," Lady Annalise stated, and she said, "You might have lowered your standards, Vincent, but that doesn't mean all of us should do it too."
"Why not? It isn't like the maids have diseases that you will catch," Vincent tilted his head with a questioning look in his eyes. He said, "The maids and the other servants are the people who draw your bath, cook and clean, and the ground that you walk on... I don't see why it is such a problem. But that's fine. I have a solution for it," a slow smile crawled up his lips.
Marceline felt dread crawling under her skin and if she had a human's heart, Vincent would have been able to hear it race and be ready to collapse out of the stress and tension she felt.
Vincent snapped his fingers at Alfie, and said, "Go get the fresh clothes of the maids that were stitched and arrived recently." The butler offered a polite bow and stepped away from the room, and the pureblooded vampire then turned to look at his sister, who stared back at him as if she had seen a ghost. He said, "Don't worry, dear sister. I have made sure that it fits you perfectly well."
"W--what do you think you are doing stitching my size of maid clothes. Do I seem like a maid to you?!" Marceline questioned her brother.
Vincent noticed the slight agitation starting to appear in Marceline's voice that she had been hiding until now. Slowly, her appearance started to turn ruffled, and her eyes appeared as if she had seen a ghost. He remarked,
"We'll get to know soon."
When the butler returned with the clothes, Vincent said, "Hand it to Marceline so that she can go and change herself in it."
Alfie walked to where Marceline stood and raised his hands in front of the young vampiress to take it from him. A week ago, when Master Vincent had told him to prepare maid-like clothes for his sister's size, he didn't know what exactly was going on, and without any question, he had got it made as soon as possible.
Marceline stared at the dress that did somewhat look similar to what she had worn to Meadow, and she was having an internal breakdown. All these years, she had been careful in fooling not just her parents and others, but at some level even her brother so that he didn't know what she was truly up to. She couldn't believe that a simple incident like this was going to break loose about her secrets.
"Time to change your clothes, Marceline," Vincent ordered her. "The longer you take, it is only going to make you look suspicious and you don't want that," he hummed, noticing his sister take the dress.
Lady Annalise accompanied Marceline to the room if she needed any assistance. Once Marceline wore the maid-like clothes, she struggled to step back into the drawing room where the human and the other members of her family were present.
When Marceline stepped inside the drawing room, her hands were clenched. Patrick turned to look at the vampiress, and somewhere his eyebrows furrowed. He tried to remember the maid he had spoken to.
Vincent questioned the human, "Did she look like this?"
Patrick moved his hand around his head and said, "That maid had a shawl..."
"Of course, how could we forget that little detail!" Vincent exclaimed and picked up something from Alfie's hand and walked to where Marceline stood. He then draped the shawl around her head while the young vampiress's face turned pale. Stepping away, he turned to Patrick, "Does this look perfect enough?"
Patrick's eyes widened, and he quickly nodded, "This was her!" He said excitedly, but then frowned, "Wait. She was the maid?"
Eduard and Lady Annalise looked taken aback and stared at Marceline, while Vincent said, "Looks like Marceline likes to be a maid. Don't you sister?"
