210 Right husband
Music Recommendation: A postcard to Henry Purcell- Dario Marianelli
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Similar to any other male who had the opportunity to get to know her a little beyond her lowly status and where she came from, Henry Quintin couldn’t take his eyes off the beautiful woman. Knowing no one was courting her at the moment, encouraged his thoughts to court and marry the fair maiden even more.
And though the wealthy human looked at her irrespective of her status, he failed to look beyond her beauty to understand her.
After fifteen minutes, more guests started arriving at Quintin’s mansion, and Henry finally had to leave Eve’s side to join his parents and talk to the guests. She walked to one side, where wine, fruit juice and blood were placed at the table. Seeing everyone holding the coloured liquid, her hand reached for the wine.
“When did you turn into a vampire to drink blood?”
Eve let go of the glass, turning around to face Vincent. She said, “I didn’t know you were attending the soiree.”
“Would you have not come if I did?” Vincent took a step closer to her. He leaned towards her, his face just an inch away from hers. Eve softly gulped the nervousness she felt in her chest and throat. “Or were you hoping that I did attend?”
Though there weren’t many people near where they stood, it didn’t mean they weren’t watching them. Just because Vincent Moriarty didn’t care about others’ opinions, that didn’t mean she didn’t as well.
“Mr. Moriarty, do you know what space means?”
“Unfortunately, that concept is lost,” Eve watched him look into her eyes before they lowered from her eyes, and he whispered, “So formal, Eve. Always breaking my heart.”
This man was dangerous… Eve warned herself.
His hand reached for the glass of blood on the table, and he stepped backwards. He took a sip from the glass, while holding amusement in his eyes, as he watched her.
Before Vincent’s actions were able to pull out emotions from her, she calmed herself and stared at the pureblooded vampire, who liked to turn everyone into a clown.
Around the time where they stood close to each other, Patrick Humphrey entered the place with an empty tray to pick up refreshments. Seeing Eve with something, he glared at the man with silver hair, wondering which older man was trying to woo his woman. He couldn’t believe Eve had caught him in such a shameful position! He had to fix it right now!
Mr. Humphrey decided to save his damsel in distress from the old man.
He made his way to where Eve stood. Eve, who caught Humphrey walking towards them, shifted her gaze from Vincent to him. The vampire caught this little action and he turned to look in the same direction.
And when Vincent turned to look at Mr. Humphrey, seeing the vampire, the human wished he hadn’t walked this side at all. He wanted to stop walking, but turning around abruptly would not be just odd, but it would lower his charm in Eve’s eyes.
A glimmer of viciousness seeped into Vincent’s copper-red eyes. He demanded, “And since when did ‘you’ start working here?”
Mr. Humphrey had completely forgotten that this vampire had a head full of silver hair. Same as how he hadn’t expected Eve to be here, he had not expected this vampire to be here either.
“It was just recently… Sire,” Mr. Humphrey forced the last word out of his mouth.
Vincent glared at Mr. Humphrey, who started to sweat bullets, “Is that so? I thought you decided to work as a servant after kicking another servant from here.”
Mr. Humphrey nervously laughed, “No, that didn’t happen. Mr. Quintin hired me.”
“Why?”
What did this vampire mean why?! Was he planning to humiliate him??
“Why… because I am good at it?” Mr. Humphrey asked in doubt, hoping the vampire would let him off the hook.
Vincent clicked his tongue and stated, “That day when you visited my mansion, it appeared that you wore good clothes. Clothes that cannot be afforded by servants. Did you steal it?” His eyes narrowed, and Mr. Humphrey quickly said,
“I would never steal clothes! They were brought from my hard earned money,” Mr. Humphrey wanted to puff his chest in front of Eve. But doing that in front of this vampire would only plummet his remaining reputation further under the ground.
He turned to Eve, “Ms. Barlow, I wo–“
“Eve,” Vincent called her, and Mr. Humphrey’s eyes almost fell out of his eye sockets. Did the vampire, her employer, just call her not just by her name? Not just by name, but by a short name?! “I am disappointed with you for having missed telling me about such a wonderful servant. Considering how we were short on a few staff, I would have hired him.”
Eve didn’t even know how to respond to this. She herself wanted to leave the place and stay away from both the men. On the other hand, Mr. Humphrey’s face turned red in embarrassment. He looked at Eve and then back at the vampire before bowing,
“Excuse me, Sire… and milady. I remembered I have work inside,” and he bolted from there.
Eve stared at Vincent and asked, “Was it necessary to humiliate him when I was next to you?”
Vincent’s head cocked to the side, “You wouldn’t mind me humiliating him?”
“I meant you didn’t have to do it,” Eve picked up a glass of water and took a sip.
“He appears to be a fly that likes to fly around you and I hate flies,” Vincent took a sip of blood from his glass while Eve stared at him, wondering if he even knew how he just said it. “Swatting them gently doesn’t work, does it?”
The last time Vincent had met Mr. Humphrey, he had already noticed that the man was trying to court his mermaid. Not to mention, his ears had already picked up one of the Meadow town’s rumours of how Mr. Humphrey would marry Eve.
“People hold grudges, Vincent, and as you know, I don’t have the status to deflect everything,” Eve stated, staring right into Vincent’s eyes.
So fierce, thought Vincent, and he chuckled, that broke Eve’s gaze from him. He said, “Right now, you hold a status that is above him. Not to mention, you have me right around the corner,” the smile on his lips turned into a teasing trickster’s smile. Seeing Eve part her pretty lips and close it, he asked. “Something you wanted to say?”
Eve pursed her lips and then said only for him to hear, “Did you not bring any companion with you? Or find some wealthy man’s daughter to talk to keep up with your amusement.”
“Silly girl, why would I look for someone, when I have you?” Vincent finished the rest of his drink, while Eve gulped another two sips of water before leaving the glasses at the table. They started to walk away from there, “Why daughter? I don’t mind a woman’s company until she’s single.”
Some of the guests looked at them, who bowed at Vincent. She whispered, “I am not here for your amusement.”
“Ah,” Vincent softly sang before saying, “Finally opening up to the possibility of marriage. I told you not to settle with a human and you are doing just the opposite.”
Eve slightly gritted her teeth, before she retorted, “Whom I speak to shouldn’t matter to you.”
“Don’t tell me you have fallen for Henry. Your taste sure is poor,” Vincent remarked, and Eve stopped walking.
“You are insulting the person who invited you here. Mr. Quintin has been polite to me and I don’t see a reason why I shouldn’t return the same gesture of politeness,” replied Eve.
“I heard he’s a clingy man, and I don’t think it fits your qualifications to be your husband,” Vincent spoke in a matter-of-fact tone.
“If I didn’t know you better I would have thought you were jealous, Mr. Moriarty,” said Eve, and again started walking.
Vincent’s eyes subtly narrowed before a cheeky smile appeared on his sinful lips. Catching up to her, he questioned, “Do you want me to be jealous?”
“No, I want you to stop using me for your entertainment,” Eve looked at Vincent and said, “It isn’t like you even know what I want in a husband.”
“Considering your previous taste, I would say it isn’t that far from it. Only difference being, it is a human. You know what it means?” Vincent asked her, and Eve wished she could wipe the smile off his face.
“Keep your nose out of my business?”
“Oh, little girl, you ask for the impossible. I am not a stranger anymore, neither are you. And what you are doing is a downgrade,” commented Vincent.
They heard the clinking sound of the glass against a fork. The old butler informed them, “Everyone is requested to join for lunch in the dining room.”