143 Nosey neighbours
Music Recommendation: In the court- Nathan Barr
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The little happiness that had arrived with the sound of possessing eighty gold coins left Eve when she heard Vincent’s words.
Dave glared at Vincent before turning his eyes to Eve and saying, “If the lady doesn’t have any problem, we should be able to compromise our mistake with said amount.”
“She doesn’t want money,” replied Vincent, and Eve’s heart sunk in her chest. “Though Ms. Barlow comes from Meadow, her aunt is a governess and so is she. Even if you discard such details, you forget that she was thrown not anywhere but in the dungeon, where she was tortured by a whip that has left scars. Do you think mere eighty gold coins will fix it? What about her reputation in society once people find out about it?”
This was something Eve dreaded. She hoped that it would never come to light.
One of the councilmen spoke, “We apologise for what happened, but we cannot fix the past. It is why we are trying to compensate.”
Vincent nodded before saying, “You cannot fix the past, but her future can be protected.”
“What are you trying to imply, Vincent?” Questioned Clayton, and if one continued to stare at the boy, they would notice the faint dark circles under the vampire’s eyes.
Vincent took two steps forward, his coppery red eyes steadily looking at the people seated, and he said,
“Ms. Barlow’s job is such that it hasn’t given her an opportunity of marriage and as you know, unwed women are often projected as a threat to society. People are quick to jump in calling them witches or sirens just to close a case that someone is lazy to work on. As a governess of the Moriarty family, I would like her name listed in the safe registry.”
“Only elites are allowed to be hard cleared,” stated the man with a thick moustache. “We cannot go adding every servant’s name just because the master or the mistress wants it.”
“Do you mean to say that you don’t mind if this innocent woman’s name is attached with murder because of the council members neglignce? And if she’s shunned and kicked out of the town, just because your men failed to do the job right?” Vincent questioned with a glare, and the air in the room turned tense.
The man who had been staring at Eve shifted his gaze to Vincent and said, “For a governess, who is a human, you seem to want to help her a lot. Are you perhaps personally involved with this woman?”
Vincent turned to others and said, “You hear this? This is exactly how rumours start. Just as Mr. Hart said and the next thing you know, the bodies are cleaned after being burnt. All I am talking about is a simple protection to Ms. Barlow, so that she is assured to not be harassed without proper investigation terms, unless it directly involves her.”
Clayton took a deep breath and said, “Ms. Barlow, you can step out of the room.”
Eve turned to look at Vincent, who said, “Patton will lead you to the carriage. Take a week off from work.”
She bowed her head and turned, starting to walk from there.
“Mr. Moriarty was there in the dungeon to save her, who knows if he has anything to do with the murder?” Questioned the Inner Circle member.
“Mr. Hart the time Mr. Fowler died, Vincent was with me. Now if we can proceed discussing what is important, instead of being side tracked and blaming each other,” stated Clayton.
Eve, who hadn’t paid attention earlier, her feet slowed down and her eyes widened. The prisoner next to her cell had mentioned ‘heart’. It was never heart but ‘Hart’.
She turned, her eyes falling on the person named Mr. Hart, whose blonde hair was short and he was a human. On receiving an eyebrow raise from the boy, she turned and left the room.
As Vincent said, his man stood outside the doors, waiting for her. The man bowed and said, “Your carriage is ready and waiting for you, milady.”
Eve followed Patton while her thoughts went back to Mr. Hart. She had decided to let go of finding her mother’s murderer or where she was buried, but it was as if fate didn’t want her to let it be. On reaching the carriage, the coachman opened the door for her. Before stepping into the carriage, she turned to the man, who looked at her with a questioning gaze.
“Did you forget something, milady?”
Eve asked, “Do you know what this safe registry is?”
Patton nodded, his chest puffing up because it wasn’t every day someone asked him simple things that he could answer. He explained,
“It is a register of names that mostly contains the high standing families. When I say standing families, I mean reputable, not rich. The identities are already known, and no search is ever made or questioned about who they are. Unlike the other merger towns where every house and room is looked at as one of the possible suspects. Only the Inner Circle members can clear the names, and it is recorded by the magistrate as well as the guards to avoid disputes.”
Vincent was ensuring her safety so that no one would ever find out that she was a mermaid. At this moment, the gold coins looked negligible compared to what her employer was trying to do to her.
“Thank you for explaining it to me,” Eve offered a polite smile, and stepped inside the carriage. “Do you have somewhere to be too?” she asked, when Patton got inside, sitting on the other side of the carriage.
“Mr. Moriarty told me to see you reach home and return,” Patton let her know, and Eve only nodded. The coachman closed the carriage door, and soon the carriage was driven out of Darthmore.
Once the carriage reached Meadow, it stopped in front of Dawson’s house. Eve exchanged quick bows with Patton. One of the neighbours caught sight of Eve’s swollen face.
“Oh, dear! What happened to your face?!” Questioned the woman, with eager eyes.
“I tripped on a stone, Mrs. Edwards,” Eve smiled brightly while waving her hand as if it was nothing. Thankfully, before the woman could pry for more information, a worried and relieved Eugene opened the door.
Eve quickly stepped inside the house and closed the door, so they wouldn’t have visitors. But people who enjoyed others’ plight and wanted to gossip were hard to keep away. Mrs. Edwards quickly walked to Dawson’s residence and knocked on the door.
“Eve? Lady Aubrey? I am upset that you didn’t let me know about Eve’s fall and I couldn’t help her. I know just the right medicine that would reduce the swelling!” Chirped Mrs. Edwards.
Lady Aubrey stepped into the hallways and looked at Eve’s face. A deep frown appeared on her face and she said to Eugene, “Take Eve to her room and get the leaves I plucked yesterday. I will take care of the woman.” To the lady who continued to knock, she replied, “Give me a moment.”
Once Eve and Eugene were out of sight, Lady Aubrey smiled and opened the door, “Mrs. Edwards.”
Eugene drew Eve’s bath, pouring the bath salts, while Eve was in the room staring at her face that she hadn’t seen except on the surface of the water. After fifteen minutes, Aunt Aubrey came to Eve’s room and sighed.
“We were so worried about you. We looked for you possible that we could think of. At last Mr. Moriarty sent a message that you were with him,” Aunt Aubrey put her arms around Eve, and when she hugged her closer, Eve winced.
“Not too tight, Aunt Aubrey,” said Eve with a small smile while the older woman looked terribly tired. “I am okay now. Safe and home.”
“Was it Mr. Moriarty who did this to you? Are you alright?” Questioned Aunt Aubrey, with clear worry on her face.
Eve shook her head, “No, he saved me. I was stuck somewhere…”
Aunt Aubrey placed her hand on the good side of Eve’s face, and said, “Okay. I will listen to it later. You must be tired. You look so pale.”
“I am good now, I promise,” Eve assured Aunt Aubrey with a smile. She was just glad to be home.