Music Recommendation: Distress- Johannes Lehniger
Eve wondered what adjustments Vincent was talking about.
After hugging for a little more time, they pulled away from each other's embrace, Eve stared into his dark red eyes. He said,
"You seem troubled. Don't worry, the adjustments are to maintain peace in this mansion and in our minds."
"I seem to be an open book today," Eve muttered with a small smile that disappeared within seconds.
"I try to do my best to read you," Vincent responded, and he took hold of her wrist where his mark lay. Eve had worn a full sleeves dress, which hid the wings and the 'V' on her wrist. "But it is this that makes it easy for me. As I have attached or connected my soul to you, I can read or sense your emotions when you are nearby."
Eve nodded understandingly and she wished she could do the same with Vincent. It seemed like the mark wasn't there just to show who held her heart, but it also created a connection between Vincent and her. When her hand dropped to her side, she asked him,
"Were you serious when you told Marceline that you are severing your ties with her?"
Even though Marceline was different in nature compared to her other two siblings, Vincent and Allie, who had their own quirks, the elder daughter of the Moriarty was still related to them by blood.
Before, Eve had only disliked Marceline, but right now, dislike didn't cover for what the vampiress had done. Not having siblings, she wondered how it felt…
Vincent's fingers intertwined with Eve's fingers, while he held a thoughtful expression. He stated, "Sometimes you believe or hope a person will show remorse towards their actions. But then you reach a point where you know it is hopeless and it is better to let go of the hope." And though he said it, it didn't mean he wouldn't fix his sister in his own ways and a cunning smile appeared on his lips.
Eve took a moment before she told him about Marceline stabbing Eugene, and as he heard it the smile on his lips slipped and was replaced by a grave expression. She told him everything she saw through the eyes of the vampiress with her ability of vision.
Vincent squeezed Eve's hand and apologised, "I am sorry that you had to go through something so terrible because of Marceline's action. You have been brave, my Eve. You did well," his other hand went to pat her head, making her wonder if she had done a decent job.
With Rosetta crying and Eugene who was dead, Eve had tried not to break down. The heaviness that had begun to sink in had pushed her to a dark side in her mind that she was revisiting after her mother's death. She whispered,
"I was scared…"
"I know you were, my love. Eugene is your family," Vincent's thumb caressed the back of Eve's hand.
Eve pursed her lips and whispered, "This time she dug her own grave. And to think I wanted to ease her pain…"
Anger bubbled in Eve's mind towards Marceline and she clenched her jaw. Marceline held no remorse even after what had happened to her. Eve was glad that Rosetta was there in time to help Eugene. Rosetta was a blessing, as if it weren't for her, they would be now preparing a casket for Eugene.
"I told Rosetta about what I am," Eve looked in the direction of the window, watching the snow continue to fall. "She saw me use my powers when I used it on Eugene, so she thought I was a witch."
"But you corrected her," Vincent commented and she nodded at his words.
"I did… I didn't want to lie to her. If she found out the truth in the future, it would break the trust that we have between us," Eve said in a low voice, and she remembered Lady Camille's blood on her hands. She then said worriedly, "I was nervous about her accepting what I am, and told her not to eat me but could eat others. Something along those lines."
Vincent couldn't help but chuckle at Eve's words that brought a confused look on her face, "But the truth is you don't want her eating your kind," and she nodded. He said, "No one can control what one eats. But I think for the sake of the friendship you both hold, she surely understood your words even though it might have not come out right."
After talking to Vincent, Eve felt the anxiousness that had been brewing in her chest now settling down. She wondered if Marceline understood the gravity of the situation she had put herself in. It wasn't just about not being able to walk through the crowd of the high society, but with her missing limb and her attitude, the vampiress had hit rock bottom.
"You have a forgiving nature, Eve. One who wants to see the best in people, but some people don't deserve it," Vincent replied to Eve, feeling her slight anxiousness. "You shouldn't blame yourself for someone's blackened heart."
"How did Marceline turn out like this?" Eve asked because none in the Moriarty family were like Marceline. The vampiress didn't grow up with bad parents; the only thing she could think of was the story Vincent had told her. Of how the vampiress had lost her childhood friend, the same time when Lady Katherina had died.
"She was probably swapped when she was born for another one and we just didn't know," Vincent shrugged his shoulders before he offered her a crooked smile. "Don't be sad, little girl. Things could have turned for the worse, but the culprit is caught."
Even though from now onwards, it would be hard for Marceline, Eve wasn't sure if the vampiress would try to cause harm to her and her family again. That was if the vampiress could.
At the same time, Viscount Eduard and Lady Annalise appeared in front of Vincent's study room. Hearing their footsteps, Eve and Vincent turned and looked at the door. When they entered the room, Eve offered a bow to both of them and said,
"I will step outside," and was ready to leave the study room.
"That won't be necessary, Ms. Barlow as this also involves you," Viscount Eduard said to Eve. He said, "Mr. Pepper just left. He's given Marceline a sedative so that it can lower down her pain in her leg."
Eve noticed how Viscount Eduard and Lady Annalise wore worried looks on their faces. But it was the latter, who appeared to be worn out since the past few days. With Marchioness Hooke constantly invading her space, while she was trying to tolerate the woman on her husband's word, and Marceline's recent shameful actions, the vampiress looked like she was in need of a break.
Viscount Eduard said, "Marceline… She has walked down the incorrect path so far, without realising that she is adding to her suffering. I don't expect you to forgive her for the things she has done. Or could have done," his words now were directed to Eve, and Lady Annalise looked slightly startled. The older vampiress wondered if her husband was apologising for the time when Marceline had humiliated Eve in her town. "I presume with her current behaviour, it will be hard to have her stay in the mansion."
"You said she wants to go and stay in the South mansion?" Lady Annalise asked her husband.
Viscount Eduard nodded with a grim expression.
"I object to it," Vincent responded in a cold voice, having his parents turn to look at him.
"Don't tell me that you want her staying here in Skellington?" Lady Annalise questioned with a deep frown. Even the vampiress knew things wouldn't be the same as before, not when Marceline refused to accept her wrongdoings. "If you marry Ms. Barlow, things won't go well, Vincent."
"Things won't go well for Marceline, that is confirmed," Vincent ran his tongue across one of his sharp fangs. He continued, "Dear mother, I understand that you want to save Marceline from turning bitter than how she is now. By sending her somewhere quiet and peaceful, but no one can guarantee that she won't repeat what she's been doing until now."
"Marceline is only going to turn more against Ms. Barlow," Lady Annalise pointed out to Vincent, who nodded.
"That is very true," Vincent agreed in a nonchalant tone with his eyebrows furrowed.
Viscount Eduard, who was listening, asked his son, "Are you thinking about Sabbit?" It was also where he had initially thought of sending Marceline so that she could reform from her current behaviour.
"No, not the Sabbit," Vincent replied, and his father looked at him questioningly. "To the House."
"House of Purgatory?! You cannot be serious, Vincent!" Lady Annalise exclaimed in shock.
Viscount Eduard frowned and said, "The House of Purgatory isn't for people like us. It is nothing like Sabbit. At least the Sabbit reforms people in a more fair way."
"What is the House of Purgatory?" Eve was curious as this was the first time she was hearing about this place.
Vincent explained it to her with a smile, "It is a place where most of the notorious criminals end up. It is worse than the dungeons. Some of the reputed members of the high society leave their children there, children who they want to hide from the society. The rules there are unconventional and severe, and people are punished for mistakes one might think are unimportant."
"The place is nothing less than a dungeon! She isn't a criminal," Lady Annalise didn't want her family to fall apart. Though she knew Marceline required a rude awakening, thinking about the House of Purgatory left an unsettling feeling in her stomach.
"You would be surprised," Vincent calmly answered.
"What did she do now?" Eduard asked in a serious tone, pursing his lips.
"She killed someone who was close to Eve," Vincent remarked, and he added, "Of course, we all have had our fair share of killing people and burying them like plants that won't grow, but Marceline crossed the line."
The Viscount and Lady Annalise turned to look at Eve, who stood quietly in the room. Viscount Eduard sighed loudly. He parted his lips, "I don't know what to say, Genevieve, but I am sorry for your loss."
Eve was about to correct him, but then she remembered Lady Annalise didn't know anything about her true self or that she had used her ability to bring Allie's fangs back. Lady Annalise rubbed her temples, while Viscount Eduard weighed the current situation that had formed in their family.
On the other hand, Eve watched the torn expression on the parents' faces as they tried to come to a decision on what to do with Marceline. Though Eve was able to protect herself from the vampiress, and so was Eugene as he had turned into a half-vampire today, still there was Lady Aubrey and others whom the vampiress could target.
Viscount Eduard sighed and nodded, "Okay. Marceline will be sent to the House of Purgatory."
"Eduard," Lady Annalise turned to look at the Viscount, "Please give it another thought. I don't think Marceline will agree to go there. What if she runs away in the middle of the night to god knows where after hearing about it?"
"With her missing foot, it is hard for her to run," Vincent chimed, before he said, "No one is ever happy about going to the House of Purgatory, which is why we will be telling her that she's going to the mansion in the South side, as per her wish. The House of Purgatory comes on the way and she can be dropped there."
Viscount Eduard wasn't happy with the decision he and his family took, but Marceline had left them with no choice. He said,
"It will be hard for her to move. Until the wedding is over, let her stay here. The physician told he would be getting her a wooden leg… to attach to her amputated leg, so that she can walk. He took the measurements before he left."
Knowing Marceline's prideful self would be too ashamed to even step out of her room, Vincent remarked, "Sounds fair."
