136 Not alone
Eve didn’t have anything near the bathtub to cover her body. Forget clothes, she didn’t see a towel in sight and asked him, “Can you pass me the towel, please?”
Thankfully Vincent wasn’t being rude, and she heard his footsteps pad across the room. He returned to her side. Noticing the towel hanging next to her, she quickly took it in her hand and asked him, “Could you please close your eyes and look the other way?”
Vincent stared at Eve, whose hand was stretched out, holding the towel while she continued to sit in the same position. It wasn’t as if he hadn’t seen what she was trying to hide, but he decided to keep it to himself.
When Eve noticed Vincent facing his back towards her, she pulled the bathtub plug so the used water could drain out. Standing up, she quickly stepped out and wiped her body. She heard him say,
“There’s a pair of clothes in the side cupboard. You can use it.”
Eve rushed to the cupboard and opened it, with the towel wrapped around her. She grabbed the clothes which belonged to him and slipped into them. In the meantime, Vincent had plugged the bathtub again, and the sound of water filling up the bathtub could be heard.
A relieved sigh escaped from Eve’s lips as she was safe and clothed. Though she didn’t mean to peek, her curiosity got the best out of her and her eyes moved to look at Vincent, whose trousers slipped from his waist and he turned his head.
“Making things square with me?”
“Pardon me!” Eve’s voice came out louder than she usually spoke after being caught red-handed for staring at his back. Now that she had seen him, she couldn’t unsee it. Though her eyes had wandered for the briefest second, she had seen Vincent Moriarty’s sculpted body. “I-I didn’t mean to peep.”
“That’s fine. I am not ashamed of how I look. Feel free to watch,” Vincent taunted her, but Eve turned the other way so that her curious eyes wouldn’t wander. Just because he didn’t have shame didn’t mean she would ogle at him now. The man was too comfortable in his skin in the literal sense.
“Maybe it would be better for me to step out of the room,” Eve’s face had turned red, and she felt hot. She walked to the other side of the room and said, “I don’t think it would be right to be in the room now. What if someone finds out,” she asked.
“Sure, if you are looking forward to sacrificing yourself, by being sucked dry or eaten,” came the sarcastic remark from Vincent. “There’s no need to tell people that you saw me naked, unless you want to brag about it.”
“I would never!” replied Eve.
“Then sit put, instead of causing more problems,” stated Vincent, and she heard the sound of the water stop. There was a splash of water, and she could only guess that he was now sitting in the bathtub. “Sit,” came his sharp words, and she pulled the chair at the desk and sat down.
For two minutes, neither spoke as Eve was embarrassed and Vincent was busy soaking himself in the bathtub. It wasn’t about telling people, she thought to herself. It was about her conscience. His clothes were big for her, and she had buttoned it until the collar while her hands disappeared in the long sleeves. The fireplace crackled, and she decided to sit in front of it, closely watching the bright coals and flames surrounding it.
Eve gingerly turned to look at Vincent, who had closed his eyes with his head thrown back. His silver hair was wet and pushed backwards. She asked him,
“Are we out of trouble?”
“Mm,” responded Vincent. Seeing him not in the mood to speak more about it, Eve didn’t ask him more and decided to look back at the fireplace. She waved her hands in front of it, feeling her palms turn warm. “Eve.”
“Huh?” Her eyebrows knit together because he had never addressed her apart from Ms. Barlow and little girl.
“Sing for me.”
Eve would have denied it, but Vincent had done so much for her today, she decided to show her appreciation to him. She politely asked him, “What would you like to hear?”
“Anything,” Vincent took a deep breath before exhaling it through his lips. “Not too loud, just for me. We don’t want to attract a crowd.”
“Okay,” replied Eve, and she cleared her throat. Until now, she had never sung in front of anyone except for Aunt Aubrey and Eugene. She finally parted her lips and the sweetest voice emerged from her throat, like magic being spilt into the night. It was a song her late mother used to sing for her that had stayed in her memory.
And while Eve sang, Vincent’s eyes remained closed, listening to the mermaid sing. There was something very soothing in her voice, yet it stirred memories in the deepest parts of his mind.
His eyes opened to reveal dark red eyes that looked nothing less than blood. After a second, the corner of his lips stretched upwards as if amused about something. When Eve stopped singing, he questioned,
“Did you ever think about returning to your kind? It is safer there, than living here in fear.”
“No,” Eve replied, seeing his head turned in her direction. “I don’t know anyone there. At least here, two people love and care for me, and vice versa.”
Vincent tilted his head, and one piece of his silver hair fell on the side of his forehead, “Scared of being alone?”
“Isn’t anyone?”
“It is only until you get habituated with the feeling,” responded Vincent, and Eve wondered if the vampire was lonely. “I am not. I quite enjoy my company,” he said as if reading her mind.
“I didn’t say anything,” Eve pursed her lips.
One corner of Vincent’s lips pulled, and he said, “Your emotions are transparent to my eyes, Eve. I can read you much better tonight. I wonder if it’s because you have let yourself be transparent.”
Eve had turned transparent since their eyes had met in the dungeon. Right now, no matter how much she tried to undo it, she couldn’t.
“Why do you call me Eve?”
“Isn’t that what some of them call you?” Vincent questioned her and said, “As the Duke calls you by your name, I thought it was only right to call you like that. We are friends now.”
A small smile appeared on Eve’s lips. Even though she knew an employer and an employee couldn’t be friends, today was probably an exception. Maybe not fully, but a little bit.
In the council building, far from where Vincent and Eve were, someone else had not left the council building yet. It was Noah Sullivan, who was still talking to one of the council members,
“The bridge that broke in Timberport has claw markings, but it was attempted by vampires. I want you to bring me the names of the families who live around there, and have guards placed so that they keep an eye on who passes,” ordered Noah.
“Yes, Duke Noah,” the man bowed his head. “Do you think we will have a division?”
“That will depend if things escalate, which we will need to avoid. Though there are factions, when you single it out, it causes problems.”
The councilman bowed and said, “I will take my leave, goodnight, Duke Noah.”
“Goodnight,” murmured Noah, and watched the man leave. Deciding to leave, he walked through the corridors and was heading to the exit when he heard one of the council members speak, who was in charge of Jones Fowler’s case.
“I think it would have been better not to mention anything to the Head,” said Mr. Cripps’s subordinate.
“I didn’t know it was going to end this way! What did I do to him?!” He whispered in anger.
Noah, who was walking by, asked, “Is everything alright, Mr. Cripps?”
“Oh, Duke Noah,” Mr. Cripps and the other councilman bowed. “It was that damn Moriarty. I was going to solve Fowler’s case today by questioning the woman, but he took her away claiming she’s a governess?” the man huffed.
“Governess?” Noah frowned.
“That’s right, who cares if she’s a governess or the daughter of whatever? An offender is an offender, and needs to be questioned,” Mr. Cripps angrily complained, “And now Clayton doesn’t want me working on it.”
Noah heard the councilman continue to complain, before he asked, “Where is that woman now?”
“Who knows. Maybe she was sent home or is with Moriarty.”