The celebration continued in the Moriarty mansion's ballroom, where everyone was in the mood of merriment as they danced, talked with each other, ate and drank.
Eve danced with Viscount Eduard and noted her father-in-law was as tall as Vincent. At the same time, Vincent danced with her aunt Lady Aubrey on the dance floor.
"I didn't pegged you to be light footed... Vincent," Lady Aubrey said as she swayed with the pureblooded vampire.
"Thank you for the compliment, Aunt Aubrey," Vincent's eyes sparkled, and he added, "You seem to be quick on your toes yourself."
"When I was a governess, it was required to know how to dance so that we could instruct the young girls and boys," Lady Aubrey mentioned.
"A talented woman like my wife," Vincent responded to the elderly woman's words, which brought a smile to Lady Aubrey's lips.
"Thank you, Vincent," Lady Aubrey thanked him.
"I should be the one to thank you. For raising and looking after Eve for all these years. For loving and taking care of her, and keeping her safe that gave the opportunity for us to meet again."
"Again?" Lady Aubrey asked in slight surprise, "I didn't know you two met each other before Eve started to work. Seems like it was destiny that brought you two together then."
The older woman didn't have children of her own, and many years ago when she had found Eve that night, she had taken the little orphaned mermaid under her shelter as her own. She had taught the girl everything she knew so that the mermaid wouldn't live in fear but would feel that she belonged in the land when society had labelled the mermaid to be an outcast.
In the past, seeing Eve and the Duke's closeness, Lady Aubrey had thought that the Duke would ask Eve's hand in marriage. It was because she was sure that the young man loved Eve, but for some reason, things didn't work out as she had expected. Instead, it was Vincent Moriarty, who was Eve's former employer, who stole her heart and accepted her the way she was.
She said, "She is now yours to take care of."
"I will. You have nothing to worry about. My love, protection and care from here will belong to her. She comes before anyone," the older woman nodded upon Vincent's assuring words.
Eve, who was dancing with Vincent's father, saw her aunt and Vincent talking to each other, and she wondered what they were talking about.
"Genevieve," Viscount Eduard called her, and she quickly turned to meet the older vampire's eyes. "I am grateful for what you have done for my family so far. For Allie and Vincent. I know it hasn't been easy, but you have made Katherina's dream come true."
Eve stared at the Viscount and heard him speak only for her to hear, but she knew that one of Vincent's ears was listening to her, "When Vincent and Marceline were little and before Katherina passed away... she collected gifts for the future. Something she wanted to give when the right time came. I don't know if she had a feeling that she wouldn't be able to give you. Now that she isn't here with us, I have handed it to Vincent."
"Ah, thank you for the gift, Viscount Eduard," Eve thanked him, and the Viscount smiled at her, his eyes full of wisdom and calmness.
Viscount Eduard then said, "Viscount Eduard sounds like a stranger. You can call me father."
Eve was stunned, and her lips moved but no word came out for a second. She then nodded before smiling, "Thank you, father."
She heard her father-in-law said, "Since your arrival in his life, he has turned calmer. If I am not wrong, even the count of dead bodies has gone down," he said the last sentence in a whisper.
Eve blinked, unsure if she could agree to that, considering how wild Vincent appeared when taking action on certain things. Like burning the whole town to teach a lesson to the people who had wronged her.
As hours passed, the celebration finally came to an end and the guests left the mansion one by one until it was only the Moriarty family, the Dawson's family and the servants who worked in the mansion.
Viscount Eduard, Lady Annalise and Lady Aubrey stayed back in the drawing room, sharing a quiet drink. Allie was put to bed in her room after the energetic day she had spent, while Timotei laid on the armchair of the young vampiress's room that he had pulled in front of the fireplace.
A bitter Marceline didn't leave her room, as she stuffed everything she could in her trunks. She wanted to live a comfortable life once she left this place, and she would reinvent herself better than she had before.
In the servant's quarters and in Eugene's room, Eugene was done folding the clothes that belonged to Lady Aubrey's late husband Rikkard Dawson and kept them on the chair.
He heard footsteps outside his room in the corridor that stopped in front of his room. When he didn't hear the footsteps leave, he walked to the door and opened it. The person at the door was none other than Rosetta, who was stunned as if not expecting him to open the door.
For a moment, Rosetta had forgotten that Eugene was no longer a human but a vampire with decent hearing.
"Hi," Rosetta awkwardly greeted him, as she hadn't prepared what she was supposed to say to him.
"Hi," Eugene responded, noticing the vampiress slightly fidget where she stood.
Rosetta cleared her throat and said, "I--I didn't know if I should come here or not... to sleep," her cheeks turned bright red once she uttered those words. She spoke quickly to hide her embarrassment by saying, "I mean, we are married and I thought it would be strange to have each of us sleep in different rooms--"
"Come in," Eugene took a step backwards to make way for Rosetta to step inside the room.
Rosetta's heart fluttered in excitement, and she quickly stepped inside the room, Eugene closed the door. Her eyes fell on the single bed, and her cheeks turned even brighter than before. They weren't only going to spend time with each other, but they were going to sleep next to each other.
Eugene apologised to her, "The bed here is small, but once we go back to Meadow, the bed in my room there is bigger than this and even more comfortable to sleep in. You can still sleep in the room that you have been sleeping in...."
But Rosetta had already removed her shoes and had climbed onto the bed like an eager child and replied, "This is good. I have slept in a narrower place than these." When she received a stare from Eugene, she explained, "Sometimes my parents or Aunt Camille would lock me up in the cupboards and go out to attend soirees. I would fall asleep after... being tired."
"I thought it was only your parents," Eugene responded. Rosetta shook her head, with her eyebrows furrowing in the memory of it.
"Aunt Camille followed my parent's footsteps when it came to punishing me," Rosetta replied and wondered if it was wrong for her to feel less sorry about her aunt's death. "I will sleep on this side!" she decided, taking the opposite side of the wall and giving Eugene the place to sleep.
Eugene placed the burning candle on the side table before he got on the bed. He lay next to Rosetta, and when he noticed the her take a quick peek at him before looking away as if waiting for him to do something, he said, "I hope you don't take this the wrong way, but I would like to hold you the way you want to once we get back to Dawson's residence. In my room and not here."
Rosetta's bubbling anxiousness cooled down from hearing those words from him. If it were before, doubt would have arisen in her mind, but they were married, so she asked, "Is it because this isn't your room?" Her voice held a slight disappointment, which Eugene noticed.
Eugene offered her a smile, "You might not be a marquee and marchioness's daughter, but you were brought up with a lot of care. And as you are my wife, I think it would be right to take care of you like that in a better place and not here. Do you understand what I mean, Rose?"
It was hard for Rosetta to disagree with Eugene when he looked right into her eyes. She nodded. She whispered, "Okay."
Though she had been chasing Eugene like a rabbit, not that she did catch up to him, she wasn't sure how to go about it and thought maybe this would give her time to be a better wife for him! She could be patient!
The candle light was blown out so that they could get some rest.
Once they lay on their back, Rosetta couldn't stop her heart racing. It had been a long time since she had been this happy, and it felt like she would have a lifetime full of happiness with this man next to her. At the same time, she felt bad for her parents, where the feeling lasted for two minutes before going back to thinking about Eugene, even though he was right there.
Five minutes passed, and Rosetta stared at the dark ceiling before looking back at Eugene's face, where he had closed his eyes. She softly sighed. Maybe she should have asked for a kiss. She missed the kiss that she had shared with him at the chapel, and she wondered if Eugene was a shy man, after all, he was never involved with a woman romantically.
But it would be embarrassing to ask him for a kiss! Her cheeks turned warm and she shook her head. She was supposed to be a shy and demure wife... How was she supposed to let him know that she wanted a kiss without asking him directly?
Thoughtfully, Rosetta turned around, forgetting the size of the bed she was in, and rolled towards the edge, only to end up ready to fall on the hard ground, when she felt an arm around her waist that pulled her back to the bed.
"You should have taken this side of the bed," Eugene murmured with his eyes still closed.
Rosetta's eyes widened and her heart skipped a beat. To think her husband was caring for her even when he had gone to sleep. Eugene was indeed amazing!
"T--that's okay. I am fine," Rosetta replied, secretly happy that Eugene was holding her, and she closed her eyes with a smile.
