Music Recommendation: Sharpening My Knives- Kris Bowers
Lady Aurora couldn't believe that Mr. Etsbury was attending the soiree, and before he could make eye contact, she looked to the other side and pretended to be busy talking to one of the nobleman's wives, whom she had invited.
"I was wondering when you would share the good news, Lady Aurora. It is good to see that you and Marquee Hooke chose a family like the Moriartys," said the nobleman's wife with a smile and then spoke to Rosetta, "Don't you look lovely, as if you are shy," she laughed, finding the young vampiress endearing.
"Rosetta has always been like that. Both Vincent and Rosetta are so affectionate with each other, you would think that they are already married," Lady Aurora chuckled. At the same time, Rosetta couldn't hear any word that was spoken around her as she felt strange in her throat.
"That is something we all want and I am happy that you have found it, Rosetta dear," the nobleman's wife remarked.
On hearing her being addressed, Rosetta paid attention to the lady and replied, "It was love at first sight."
"Oh my, isn't that sweet now," said another woman, who stood next to the nobleman's wife.
Rosetta smiled, remembering when her eyes had first fallen on Eugene. At the same time, she grimaced. Her love had seen her drunk, which must have looked terrible. She wondered where he was right now and looked around for him.
"Excuse us, milady," Lady Aurora smiled at the women, who gave them a nod. Soon Lady Aurora and Rosetta headed towards the enormous ballroom, where most of the guests had gathered.
"Aurora, there's more than one," the Marquee stood at the entrance for his wife and he looked worried.
"What are you talking about?" Lady Aurora asked, while she nodded to one of the guests.
"Mr. Mayen and Mr. Hotham are here too!" Came the rushed words from Marquee Hooke, feeling troubled at the sight of people to whom they had taken the money and had returned most of it, but not all of it.
Lady Aurora followed the line of sight of her husband and felt her face stiffen on seeing the two men her family owed money to. This was not good. What were these men doing here when she and her husband had told them their money would be settled soon!
Lady Aurora and her husband had carefully covered their financial problem from others that they believed everything would go according to plan. No one would find out about it, because once Rosetta would marry Vincent, he or his family would pay all the money they owed to people. The money the Hookes owed was something the Moriartys could easily pay from their treasury.
"What are we going to do?" Lady Aurora questioned her husband in a whisper.
"I will deal with them once we finish the initial greetings," Marquee Walter responded.
"Please do it fast before everyone comes to find out about it," Lady Aurora said in a hushed tone. Leaving her husband's side, she took Rosetta to where Lady Annalise was talking to one of the guests.
But the debt collectors were here only because of the invitation cards they had received, similar to the rest of the guests. Even though they didn't speak about the Hookes' diminishing financial status, someone else had started to spread about the Hookes' poor financial condition.
Skellington's magistrate, Mr. Welbeck, had discussed the information that he had heard from Vincent with his wife. The woman had mentioned it to the people she was acquainted with during the afternoon tea. And the women from the afternoon tea had passed it to the next person they knew, such that half of the people in the mansion now knew about it.
One of the female guests turned to her companion and murmured, "Do you think the rumour is true? That the Hookes killed Lady Camille to gain the deceased woman's wealth and now they are after the Moriartys?"
"Marquee Hooke doesn't look like he is someone who would kill his own sister. I thought they were close," said another person.
"Maybe not the Marquee but what about his wife? A lot of people from the North told me that she is well acquainted with the Queen. At least that is what she says, if it was true, she could have used her connections to kill her sister-in-law," the next woman whispered behind her glass of wine.
"If she is so close with the Queen, shouldn't she ask for help? Unless she is too prideful about it."
"She is surely prideful, and not that I want to badmouth her, but even arrogant. Making other women do her work, so I wouldn't be surprised if she killed Lady Camille."
The rumours continued spreading around the hall, and soon most of the guests forgot why they were there and they stared at the Hookes with judgmental eyes. Lady Aurora could feel the eyes and the longer the debt collectors were present in the room, the worse she felt with the fear that one of them would publicly expose them.
On the other hand, Rosetta took the chance of escaping from her mother's side. When her eyes fell on her friend Eve, she quickly walked there and also noticed another woman standing next to her friend.
"Eve, you are here! I was turning worried about what is going to happen," Rosetta whispered to Eve while hugging her. Eve made sure to keep her half sipped glass away from the vampiress to prevent it from spilling. Pulling away, she commented, "I love your dress, it looks… nice on you."
"Thank you, Rose. You look nervous," Eve noted and asked her, "You don't look so good."
Rosetta scrunched her face, and replied, "I don't feel that good. My throat feels funny. Where is he?" she didn't mention Eugene's name in front of this unfamiliar woman and asked, "Who is this?" Because it seemed like this she-wolf was too friendly with her friend.
Eve introduced the she-wolf to the vampiress, "Rosetta, this is Anaya Chambers. Her family is closely acquainted with Duke Noah's family and right now she is living with them in Woodlock." She then turned to Anaya and said, "This is Rosetta Hooke."
Anaya offered a polite bow to the vampiress, "It is good to meet you Lady Rosetta. You got us curious on who is marrying Vincent Moriarty."
Hearing those last words only increased the tension in Rosetta's body. She hoped whatever Vincent had planned would work. She wondered if running away from here would get her anywhere, but she knew it would only be temporary. She moved closer to Eve and whispered, "Who is she? Your friend?"
Eve nodded, "Anaya is a friend, Rosetta."
Rosetta gauged Anaya from head to the hem of the she-wolf's gown that touched the ground. So Eve had other friends than her. Of course, she did. Unlike her, Eve was pleasant to talk to, the vampiress thought.
"He is in the kitchen because they need staff in there with the cooking and serving the guests," Eve answered Rosetta's earlier question. When one of the servants carried a tray of glass filled with wines, Rosetta picked up a glass. To soothe her funny throat, she finished the entire drink in one gulp, leaving Eve slightly worried.
"Rosetta, you will need to meet everyone soon. Don't drink too much," Eve advised the vampiress. The last time, the vampiress had gotten drunk to the point where she had lost consciousness.
"I feel too stressed, Eve. I want to go back to my room and sleep, but I doubt my mother will be happy about it," Rosetta needed more than a glass of drink to survive today. She picked another glass of wine and gulped it down. "I will be fine with this."
"Lady Rosetta, you should drink later than now. When you are done dealing with the guests," Anaya remarked, but Rosetta, who was unfamiliar with the she-wolf, slightly glared at her.
"I know what I am doing. You should finish your drink. The drinks on are me. Wait… that didn't sound right," Rosetta murmured to herself, "Are on me! Yes, that's right."
Both Eve and Anaya looked at Rosetta with a frown because with the thought of wanting to get rid of the stress she felt, the vampiress was making them worried.
