Eve finished having her breakfast with the rest of the Moriarty family members and Rosetta in the dining room of the Moriarty mansion. Just when everyone finished having their peaceful meal, the Hookes appeared at the mansion's entrance, inviting themselves.
Marquee Hooke handed his coat to the butler and said, "Viscount Eduard and the others must be in the dining room having their breakfast. Lead us there," he ordered.
Alfie bowed and politely replied, "Good morning, Marquee Hooke, but everyone has already finished their breakfast. Viscount Eduard is in the drawing room with Lady Annalise and the others."
The Hookes looked surprised because they had arrived at the time when breakfast would be served. Lady Marchioness wondered if something was up, and she demanded, "Lead us to the drawing room."
"Yes, milady," Alfie bowed, turning around. He started to walk in the direction of the drawing room. Upon reaching there, the butler announced, "Marquee and Marchioness Hooke have arrived." He stepped aside to make way for the couple to enter the room.
"Good morning," Lady Annalise greeted, and the Marchioness held a bright smile on her face, while her eyes narrowed.
"Good morning," Lady Aurora returned the greeting. She said in a matter-of-fact tone, "As we are going to be one big family soon, I thought it would be lovely to have breakfast together," she smiled.
Vincent was the one to respond to the woman, "We heard that Rosetta's gown was going to be tried and checked this morning by the seamstress, so I thought it would be better to have the breakfast done to make time for the seamstress." Lady Aurora and his eyes met, and one could see the friction between them. He said, "I wasn't aware that you were joining us for breakfast. Mother," he turned to Lady Annalise and said, "You forgot to mention it to me about it."
Lady Annalise pursed her lips and replied, "I didn't know about it."
Vincent tilted his head, staring at Lady Aurora and Marquee Hooke, making it obvious they had shamelessly self-invited themselves. The old Hooke couple looked slightly embarrassed, while the others stared at them.
Lady Aurora smiled. She said, "That's fine, we can always make plans to eat together later. The more important thing is that we need to make sure the wedding is well planned to the very detail. What do you, Viscount Eduard?"
Viscount Eduard gave a nod, "That's true."
Marquee Hooke turned to look at his daughter and asked her, "How are you feeling today, Rosetta? Hopefully better?"
"Better than yesterday, father," Rosetta answered and felt her mother's stern gaze, which shifted from her to look next to her, that was Eve.
Lady Aurora's eyes fell on a box in Eve's hand that looked like a jewellery box. She asked Eve, "What do you have there in your hand, dear? A present for Rosetta?"
"It is a present from me," Vincent nonchalantly responded, and Lady Aurora raised one of her eyebrows.
"Present for the governess? It seems like the Moriarty family are very generous," Lady Aurora remarked, and she added, "Considering you are getting married to Rosetta, you must have given her a gift too."
Lady Annalise and Viscount Eduard watched the exchange between their son and the Marchioness.
They had hoped for the conversation not to go there, but the Marchioness was observant when it came to Eve, after all, Vincent had initially chosen her.
"It is Ms. Barlow's birthday, and she's a valuable member of the Moriarty mansion. After all, she is the governess of my sister Allie," Vincent replied with his eyes watching Lady Aurora's eyes narrow at his words. He said, "I am sure you would appreciate it too. They are pearls."
"Pearls..." Lady Aurora repeated, knowing the value of pearls were high in the market, and she could only guess that the human was being gifted such an expensive thing because Vincent was in love with her and not her daughter. She said, "It is a tradition to gift something to your future wife before the wedding."
"Oh, Lady Rosetta has already received the gift," Vincent chimed in, which made everyone wonder if it was true.
Rosetta was glad that Eugene was not in the room now, or else she would have to explain that it wasn't true. Vincent's words got Marquee Hooke's attention, and he asked in interest,
"What was the gift, Rosetta?"
Rosetta wondered if she was supposed to lie here, and she turned to look at Vincent, not knowing what to tell. Vincent said, "Lady Rosetta doesn't need jewels when she has me next to her. I am a gift in every sense, isn't that right, Lady Rosetta?"
Lady Aurora's lips twitched at the pureblooded vampire's response. Rosetta nervously smiled and nodded, "T--that is true. It is the best gift I can ever have."
The Hookes and the other members of the Moriarty family were left speechless and staring. Vincent then said, "I should get going. Work calls, but please feel free to sit down and discuss the wedding."
Eve excused herself so she wouldn't have to deal with Lady Aurora. Getting a hold of Eugene, they used their carriage to travel to Meadow. When they reached the town, Eugene opened the carriage door for his young miss. Out stepped the young mermaid.
"It seems like the house will be ready in a month," Eugene remarked, noticing how fast the vampire workers had finished the roof. "The outside paint makes the house stand out, doesn't it? Like a mansion would."
"It does," Eve agreed, and before they had an opportunity to step inside the gates to take a closer look, one of the townsfolk noticed her standing in front of the house from afar.
The person was none other than one of the people, who had dragged and called names at Eve when the witch-hunt had taken place in this town. He quickly called his wife and said, "Look there, it is Genevieve! Wasn't she the reason for what's happening to our houses?"
His wife's eyes widened, and she nodded, "It is. At least, that's what I heard. I should quickly let the others know that she is in town."
"I agree," the man said before leaving the end of the street with his wife.
While Eve and Eugene took a closer look at their house being rebuilt, like the other houses but much faster, the human couple went around letting the others know about Eve's return. When Eugene entered the house from the backyard, Eve was inside, taking a look at the stairs.
"Everything looks as it is, Miss Eve. Mr. Moriarty hasn't changed anything and has only strengthened the walls and floors so far," Eugene said to Eve. He then said to her, "I would like to come back here to fix the plants tomorrow or the day after tomorrow. The weather has frozen it."
"Mm, I think that's fine," Eve replied, tearing her gaze away from the stairs before sighing. She watched vampire workers move around faster and more efficiently than the human workers. She watched Eugene enter the kitchen, looking at the cupboards in there. She asked him, "Was Rosetta alright last night?"
Eugene, who had opened the cupboard, turned to look at Eve, meeting her curious gaze, and he replied, "She was ill, and took a couple of minutes before she fell asleep. She wanted me to keep her company."
Eve nodded and watched Eugene close the cupboard. When the workers left the room, she asked, "What do you think about Rosetta?"
Knowing Eugene had spent a decent amount of time with the vampiress, she wondered if he still viewed her in the same way as before or if things had changed between them. After all, he and Rosetta had spent time locked in one of the rooms in the Moriarty mansion.
"She's undoubtedly naive," Eugene answered Eve.
Eve sighed, wondering if things hadn't changed since the time Rosetta had confessed to him. Maybe some people were not meant to be, she thought.
But then Eugene said, "But she's hard working when she puts her mind to things and is direct. Without coating her words in false words. She stands with what she says and doesn't turn her back. I have a better impression of her than the first time where she almost drank my blood, Miss Eve," he answered Eve's question.
Eve gave him a nod and replied, "Rosetta is like that. She grows on you."
"I will have to agree on that," Eugene answered, and Eve was more than glad to hear that response. He said, "The rumour was going strong about the Hookes having a hand in killing Lady Camille Wright. I wonder where the people caught wind of it."
Where else could it come from, if not from Vincent, Eve thought.
When they heard voices coming from outside the house, Eugene said, "I will go check what it is about."
Eugene reached the entrance of the house, and his eyes fell on the little crowd formed in front of the house. One of the men spoke, "Eugene, is Ms. Barlow inside the house?"
Eugene wondered what these townsfolk wanted now, and he looked at them with a weary look, "Yes. What is it about?" He asked.
Eve left the kitchen and reached where Eugene was. She noticed some of the townsfolk gathered outside, and a flicker of anxiety burned in her mind. It was because the last time the townsfolk had gathered around her, they had humiliated and called out names at her. She felt her pulse race, and it wasn't in a good way, as she took a shaky breath.
