Music Recommendation: A meeting is arranged- John Lunn

Remembering the day his mother had been killed, it left a bitterness in Vincent's mouth. He knew his mother was dead because she had sacrificed herself to keep him and his sister alive. And the very thought irked him.

He despised his mother's kindness, knowing she wouldn't have been killed if she had been selfish. It was the first time he had spoken to anyone about his mother's death.

But Vincent didn't narrate every detail to Eve, just enough to let her know what had happened.

On the other hand, hearing what the first Lady Moriarty had to endure broke Eve's heart. And considering how young Vincent and Marceline were, she could only imagine the pain the two had gone through.

She saw Vincent stretch his arms above his head from where he sat.

Eve now understood what Vincent meant when he said his intention in saving the mermaid was for his selfish reasons. The entire time he had spoken about his past, she noticed how detached he appeared as if it didn't concern him.

She acknowledged, "That's why your father married Lady Annalise."

It was understandable that Mr. Moriarty, who had lost his wife and the mother of his children, would want to protect his family. Even if it meant marrying a woman whose nature was opposite to his first wife.

A wicked smile appeared on Vincent's lips while he stared at the forest. He said,

"Vampires marrying humans isn't rare, but when a pureblooded vampire marries a human it raises eyebrows and makes the weaker partner into an obvious target. After some time my father decided to take another wife to fill the position that my mother had left after her death."

Vincent held a thoughtful expression.

"How does one fill the position of the dead," Vincent chuckled as if finding the idea funny. "My sister was ecstatic with the idea of having Annalise as her mother."

Eve's eyebrows furrowed.

If Eve didn't know that Marceline had given things for the ball that could have embarrassed her, she would have found it hard to believe that a gentle vampiress like Marceline got along so well with a person like Lady Annalise. It was because Lady Annalise was proud of being a vampire and mingled only with the wealthy.

"Marceline loves Annalise."

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Hearing Vincent's words, Eve asked him, "What about you?"

"Are you asking me if I hate her?" the smile on Vincent's lips didn't lower. He then said,

"I don't, but neither do I love her. After a person goes through grief, then comes acceptance and unless a person accepts reality, it is hard to cross over to peace. Compared to most women who tried to attain my father's affections just so that they could be the Viscounts wife, Annalise was better. She married my father because she liked him. And unlike many men, my father made sure we were okay with her."

Eve found this piece of information to be surprising, and her eyebrows subtly raised. She asked,

"You agreed?"

It was because, from what Vincent said, his mother sounded the opposite of how Lady Annalise was. Eve didn't forget how against the woman was when she joined as Allie's governess.

"Why? Is it surprising?" Vincent questioned while meeting her blue eyes that looked like an unwavering river of the forest.

"Annalise comes from a high-class family of vampires. Her attitude is expected, it is something you will find in all the vampiress. Apart from her slight snobbish nature and need to keep the lower-class people away from her and her family, she's somewhere tolerable," explained Vincent in a nonchalant tone.

So Vincent only enjoyed giving people a hard time in general, thought Eve.

After hearing a part of his story that he must have shared only because they were a little similar, Eve understood Vincent a little better than before.

The wind didn't stop blowing where they sat, and Eve used her hands to keep her hair from flying in front of her face. When Vincent continued looking at the sky, she couldn't help but stare at his side profile. He looked distant like the stars, far away from reach that shined brightly and alone.

"Did you fall in love with me, Ms. Barlow?" Eve heard Vincent ask her.

"What?" She asked, startled.

"You have been staring at me for quite some time now. I was worried if your affections for the Duke had lowered and I replaced them."

"I didn't know staring at someone equalled giving them affections," Eve responded to his teasing words. She asked him, "Your mother had the same hair as yours?"

"Darker than mine," he hummed before standing up from where he had been sitting. He stated, "It is getting late," as if not wanting to talk about his mother anymore.

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Eve gave him a nod, standing up, she dusted the back of her dress.

"I will see you at the ground," Vincent said to her, walking towards the edge. He turned and said, "Walk quickly unless you want to turn deaf."

With those words, Vincent took one step in the air and quickly disappeared from her sight. Before she could understand what he meant, the large bell attached to the ceiling moved to one side, and the sound rang loudly in her ears.

Covering her ears, Eve quickly made her way down the spiral stairs while the tower bell rang, letting the people in the Hollow valley and other people travelling nearby know that an hour had passed. When she reached the ground, she found Vincent standing with his hands in his trouser pockets. When he turned to look at her in the eyes, she noticed the glimmer of darkness that didn't leave his eyes.

"I will drop you to your home. The last thing I need is for you to meet with another catastrophe tonight," stated Vincent.

When Eve removed the coat she was wearing, Vincent said, "Keep it for now. You can give it back to me once we reach Meadow." He started to walk, and she quickly followed him, walking next to him. She said,

"People are going to wonder why you let me wear your coat."

"I believe people will talk about you more than about me, which is even though I belong to the high society," Vincent was taller than Eve, and she had to crane her neck to look at him. When he saw Eve fold the coat and place it over her forearm, he said, "And now you are my servant for holding my coat."

Eve sighed before wearing the coat back around her shoulders.

"So much better. You could have just let it be than worry about what people might think. It isn't like you plan to enter high society to hear what they say," hummed Vincent.

Eve turned offended by the vampire's words and said, "You don't know that."

"I do, which is why I am telling you. You are a governess who just started her career. And doesn't have any plans to marry any wealthy man. Not to mention, it isn't like you are going to find a pot of gold to be rich overnight. I just don't see it happening," Vincent shrugged his shoulders and Eve slightly grit her teeth.

"I will work hard and be rich!" Came Eve's determined words, but Vincent only laughed at her silliness.

"Sure. If you successfully turn into a vampire and work for a few centuries, which I doubt you will take in your peculiar case," Vincent's eyes held amusement when they met Eve's frowning face. "It is why I encouraged you to be with the Duke, but it seems like your time is up as another woman has captured his attention."

"Maybe I will murder someone and turn wealthy," Eve mumbled while glaring at Vincent.

"What an interesting idea. As your friend, I would be more than happy to pick your victim, and accept fifty percent share from what you get. Of course, you are free to give me more," responded Vincent, looking in a certain direction.

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"I will kill you," Eve muttered before her eyes followed the direction where Vincent was looking.

The frown on her face disappeared when she noticed it was Duke Noah Sullivan, standing next to the woman he had earlier introduced this evening. It seemed like they were enjoying their time together.

"Who is the woman next to him?" Vincent questioned Eve.

"Lady Anaya Chambers. A family acquaintance of the Duke," answered Eve.

"Mhm, keeping notes of all information about whom the man speaks to," Vincent gave her a knowing look while she shook her head.

"You were the one who asked me. We met earlier and he introduced her to me," stated Eve, and she shook her head, "Your mind runs wild."

"Oh, darling. The wild imagination you speak about, you wouldn't be able to fathom how deep it runs," he flashed her a cunning smile.

While Vincent and Eve continued to walk on the side of the streets, heading towards where Vincent's carriage was parked, Lady Anaya's eyes fell on the human and the unusual silver-haired man. She asked,

"Who is that man next to whom your friend is walking with?"

Noah's gaze turned away from the lady he had been accompanying, falling on Eve and Vincent. He stared for a second longer before answering,

"That is Vincent Moriarty. One of the pureblooded vampires."

"A vampire. Seems like a gentleman, who offered his coat to the lady. They must be close," Lady Anaya spoke with curiosity in her eyes. Earlier, the young woman had been worried that the human, occupied Duke Noah's attention

She then said in a light-hearted manner, "Where does Lady Genevieve come from again?"

Not receiving a reply, Lady Anaya turned to find the Duke staring at the couple with an expressionless look that was hard to decipher. Before the evening, when Lady Anaya had mentioned their parents looking forward to their relationship growing into something, the Duke had not corrected her in front of the human, making her believe that there was nothing to worry about.

"Meadow," replied Noah, tearing his gaze away from Eve and he offered a polite smile to Lady Anaya before asking, "Shall we?"

The young woman smiled at him, nodding before quickly glancing in the direction of where the couple walked.

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