“Y-you would have let me die,” whispered Eve. The people in this mansion were crazy; of course, they would be! They were a bunch of vampires whose minds must have turned rusted over the years that had passed.

Now that Mr. Morris was out of her list of suspects, Eve wondered if she should consider applying for a job somewhere else. But at the same time, she loved teaching and spending time with Allie, and she knew if she were to leave, Lady Annalise would hire someone who might not understand the young girl.

“Don’t look so shocked, Miss Barlow. It wasn’t wrong when you said that there were barely decent men left,” Vincent reused her earlier words.

“I take back my words,” replied Eve.

Vincent raised one of his eyebrows, “So soon? I knew we would one day come to a mutual agreement.”

Wanting to bring this man down from his high horse, Eve responded to him, “Actually, I remembered there are a few men who are more than decent. Like my coachman. And another man, who is a Duke. He is a perfect gentleman.”

Vincent laughed at her words, “Milady, you must be disillusioned to think a man can be perfect. Perfection exists only in the imaginary world. Perhaps you must be reading a lot of stories during your bedtime.” Saying it he started to walk from there, as if he had nothing more to talk to her about, and he had won the little banter that was going between them.

Not liking what he said, Eve quickly caught up to him and said, “I do not read bedtime stories, Mr. Moriarty.”

“You don’t have to be offended by it, Miss Barlow,” Vincent offered her a smile as he continued to walk, and he noticed how the governess matched his pace by coming to walk next to him. He gave her a side look. It seemed like the human had quite some trouble in following how to address him.

“The Duke I am talking about is respectful, kind and a gentleman. He is helpful to people, speaks excellently while holding people above and I doubt he could ever do something to offend someone—”

“So you were offended by my words,” Vincent remarked and Eve looked away before rolling her eyes while also trying to keep her cool.

She turned to look at him, where they both stopped walking, and she said, “It was one of the Duke’s many qualities, mister—Master Vincent.” She corrected when he gave her a look and continued, “He exists out of a book. Not to mention, he doesn’t have the habit of looking at women with crude eyes like some men do. If you meet him, you would be surprised that chivalry still exists in a few of them.”

“Thank you for restoring my faith in good men’s existence,” Vincent sarcastically praised her. “Being a man myself, I find it hard to believe that there are men who hasn’t looked at women with indecent eyes.”

Eve was about to retort, but she decided to bite her tongue. He was her employer, and there were lines one shouldn’t cross through. Even if the reason was to have a fair fight, she couldn’t. They belonged to two different classes of society. She was aware that even though Senior Mr. Morairty was a Viscount, the family belonged to the higher side of the society, which the Earl or his family could not match.

“I think I shall keep my views to—”

Vincent’s hand shot to Eve’s neck, and she softly gasped as she hadn’t seen it coming. Fear came to form in her eyes as his long fingers curled around her slender neck like a snake ensnaring its prey.

Eve’s mind quickly raced through the words that she had spoken, wondering if she had indeed been out of line, speaking as if they were equals, and he had finally decided to punish her. Her lips parted, softly trembling when he moved closer while she stood there frozen.

It was said that the chances of humans escaping from a vampire’s claws was low because of the strength and quickness that the night creatures held. They could easily snap the human’s neck like a twig broken into halves.

“Wet cloth,” Eve heard the words Vincent said, that came in a whisper.

Eve watched Vincent step away from her, his fingers uncurling and his hand dropping back to his side.

“Morris seems to have squeezed your neck quite hard. The marks aren’t visible yet, but they will be tomorrow,” stated Vincent, while leaving Eve petrified over the sudden closeness and touching her neck. “Do you have high collared dresses, Miss Barlow?” His question was serious.

Eve shook her head, “No.” Her hand reached to place it on her neck while she was ready to dash out from there.

“I would advise you to cover your neck. Until the marks disappear,” said Vincent, his head tilting to the side. “We wouldn’t want my little sister distracted by what happened, do we?”

“I will have it covered… Master Vincent,” replied Eve, and Vincent looked pleased by her response.

“Good. I believe you are needed in the piano room now?” He questioned her while staring right into her eyes.

Eve offered him a slight bow and quickly walked past him without turning back to look at him. She couldn’t wait to get out of the mansion today and take her break until Monday morning so that she wouldn’t have to see anyone here.

Vincent watched the human who was walking in haste and disappeared around the end of the corridor. He turned around, when he heard his butler speak to him,

“Master Vincent, your father has summoned you to the family room,” Alfie bowed his head.

“Is it about Morris? What did the rat talk about?” Questioned Vincent, starting to walk where his father was.

“Nothing much, Sire. I told Gorron to put him in his carriage,” replied the butler, while following Vincent.

When they reached the family room, Vincent entered inside and noticed his father, Eduard Moriarty standing in front of the fireplace. In the room was Lady Annalise, who sat on the couch with a satisfied look on her face, and Vincent smiled back at the woman.

On hearing the footsteps in the room, Eduard turned to look at his son.

“Alfie said that you wanted to see me?” Asked Vincent, and his father nodded.

“That is right, Vincent. Why don’t you take a seat?” Said Eduard Moriarty, whose face held a serious expression.

“Seems like the matter is a grave one,” said Vincent taking a seat. He crossed his legs one over the other and placing his hand on the chair’s armrests.

Eduard Moriarty said, “Your mother has brought a marriage proposal. It is the Marques’s daughter from the East. The girl has had a sound education and she’s well versed with many languages. She is beautiful and will be an excellent wife. Annalise has even got the girl’s painting and placed it on the table.”

Vincent raised his eyebrows, an amazed look dawning on his face. His eyes met Lady Annalise’s eyes, and he said,

“I didn’t know you were broadminded, mother. Letting father have a second wife, I must say I am impressed.”

— — —

Author Note: Thank you very much to the ones who sends gifts to the novel and support with Golden Tickets, comments and power stones 3