Allure Of The Night

Eve looked down at her pocket watch and tapped her finger on its surface. She would need to get it repaired, she thought in her mind. Noticing Noah looking at her, she offered a sheepish smile before slipping it into her pocket dress. She asked him,Â

“Did your work in the morning go well? The one you visited in the morning,” she added.Â

“Yes, it did. It was something that was brought to my attention before dawn and I had to be there. Thank you for asking,” he answered her. “How are the people for whom you are working?” there was a look of curiousness in his black eyes that Eve failed to catch.Â

“They are just like how most of the high-class families in Skellington are, I think,” replied Eve with a little smile.Â

“I am glad that you didn’t conclude that all high-class families are like that,” the corner of his eyes crinkled, and Eve’s eyes fell on the beauty mark below his left eye.Â

“Ah, that, yes,” her eyes moved back to meet his black eyes. She said, “You are from a high class family too, Noah. You must have had good people around you to have grown up like this. I mean you are a decent and well-mannered man.”

The crinkle in the corner of Noah’s eyes subtly disappeared, and he asked, “Why do you say that. Has someone troubled you?”

Eve quickly shook her head and said, “Of course, not. No one has troubled me. I just meant to say that you are a good person. Because you offer to help me even though we don’t belong to the same status.”

“Status can be easily discarded if the person is important,” Noah’s calm and collected words struck a chord in Eve’s chest, and she stared into his eyes. She dully realized that in Meadow, she had never seen him converse with other people much.Â

Unmarried women of her town were not wrong in vying for his affections. He was a gentleman who Eve believed would keep his future wife happy.Â

Realizing they were staring at each other for long, Eve quickly lowered her eyes and cleared her throat.Â

Noah asked her, “Genevieve, if at any time there’s anything or anyone troubling you, I am always here to help. After all, we are no strangers now but friends,” and Eve gave him a nod.Â

“Thank you for your kind words. I will remember it,” said Eve, and Noah offered her a soft smile.Â

“I without a doubt believe that you are doing a wonderful job in being a governess. But,” Noah paused, catching her attention, “There is never a shortage for work, and there will be plenty more families who would love to accept you for your work. That is only if people give you a hard time.”

Eve was more than grateful to Noah for ensuring that the current family she was working for were not mistreating her. When they reached the town of Skellington, the coachman brought the carriage right in front of the Moriarty mansion’s gates and stopped.Â

And while the carriage stopped, Lady Annalise, Marceline and Eduard, who stood waiting for their coachman to bring a carriage around as Senior Mr. Moriarty was going out, noticed a fairly decent-looking carriage.Â

“Whose carriage is that?” Questioned Marceline, looking at the polished wood of the carriage and the four horses tied to its front. “I don’t think I have seen that carriage around here before.”

“I don’t know if I should be awed or worried that you have so much time to be looking at every passing carriage from here, Marcie,” murmured her father, seeing the coachman bring the carriage and bring it in front of him. “Did the man come for you?” Asked Eduard.Â

With the thought her father put in Marceline’s mind, her chin raised along with her nose, and she wondered who the man was. He had dark hair and with only his back visible to them, he seemed decent.Â

“May be he has,” replied Marceline, and she tucked a piece of her hair behind her ear.Â

The dark-haired man didn’t enter through the gates of the mansion. Instead, he stood at the carriage’s door. It was when Eve was stepping down from the carriage, it left Lady Annalise and Marceline speechless.Â

“Look at that, it is the governess and she’s come in a four-horse pulled carriage,” remarked Eduard, and at the same time, Lady Annalise’s eyes slightly narrowed. Was the human trying to show off that she had a carriage too? But it was obvious that it didn’t belong to her. Senior Mr. Moriarty then said, “Isn’t that wonderful, honey? Now you don’t have to worry about people talking of Vincent picking up a governess from a low-class.”Â

Unknowingly adding a spark of fire in the sizzling oil, Senior Mr. Moriarty stepped inside the carriage and left the place heading out of Skellington. On the other hand, Eve, who was getting down from the carriage, her umbrella got stuck, and she took a second before being able to bring it out along with her.Â

When Noah turned to the side, talking to Eve, Marceline couldn’t believe that the human was talking to someone like him. The younger vampiress commented,

“He doesn’t seem like someone from Meadow, does he? Looks like our governess has quite some connection.”

“The people of Meadow cannot afford more than two horses. The earth will tear itself apart if it did happen. Trying to behave as if they are better than us,” Lady Annalise’s words were directed at Eve, who continued to speak with the wealthy man. “Hmph,” she turned and stepped inside the mansion while leaving Marceline alone.Â

Outside the gates of the Moriarty mansion, Eve bowed at Noah and said,

“Thank you for the ride. I have reached earlier than I usually do, thanks to you.” She turned and offered a bow to the coachman, who smiled at her. She said to Noah, “Take care of yourself, and I hope your work today is easy.”

“I hope it is the same for you too, Genevieve,” responded Noah, and his eyes shifted to look at the mansion before he offered a polite bow to Eve.

Eve stepped inside the gates of the Moriarty mansion and when she turned, she noticed Noah step inside the carriage and leave.  As she made her way towards the entrance, she saw Lady Marceline standing outside, who offered her a sweet and polite smile,

“Good morning, Ms. Barlow.”

At the same time, Duke Noah’s carriage moved farther away from the Moriarty mansion. The coachman who was driving the carriage heard the Duke question him,

“When is the ball hosted in the Moriarty mansion?”

The coachman, slightly turned to look at the little open window and he answered, “In two days, Sire.” Seeing how they had stopped the carriage in front of the pureblooded vampire’s mansion, he asked,  “Are you worried about Ms. Barlow, Sire?”Â

“Not for now,” murmured Noah, and he sighed. “Who would have thought that out of all the families, she was working for the pureblooded vampire family,” he said to himself, looking outside the window before looking at his reflection in the closed window, where his black eyes stared back at him.Â