Chapter 44

The following day, Eve slept a little longer than she usually did. Tired from the little trip she had taken to the town of Hollow Valley the previous evening.

When the curtains of her room were suddenly pushed aside, Eve frowned and squinted through her eyelashes and saw Eugene tying the ends of the curtain and opening the windows of her room.

“Good morning, Miss Eve. Did you sleep well?” he asked her.

“Mm, I think. What time is it?” Eve asked him while wanting to stay in bed a little longer today.

“I would say you have a good thirty minutes left before you head out to leave for Skellington,” replied Eugene, and Eve’s eyes snapped to look at the clock on the wall.

“Oh no!” She quickly pushed the blanket away from her and placed her feet on the ground. She started to pick up her things from the cupboard. “Why didn’t you wake me sooner?”

“I didn’t know that you hadn’t woken up yet and were still sleeping,” Eugene promptly answered and then said, “I have prepared your breakfast. Would you want me to pack your breakfast too?”

“Yes, that would be great! Thank you, Eugene! You are an angel!” Eve praised him and quickly picked up her clothes and disappeared into the bathing room.

At Eve’s words, Eugene waved his hands while at the same time taking her compliment, he closed the door behind him as he left.

The previous night the young miss had worried him, and when she had returned, he was finally relieved, and his shoulders relaxed. But the young miss looked as if something occupied her mind.

‘We were worried about you, Miss Eve! Did the vampires make you work more?’ were the first words that flew out of Eugene.

‘Forgive me for making you worry, I am feeling better than morning,’ responded Eve.

Lady Aubrey closed the book that she had been reading, and she got up from her seat, ‘That is good. Eugene’s hair almost turned entirely gray.’

Eve bowed her head at the older woman. Though Lady Aubrey appeared to look relaxed and not worried, unlike Eugene, who was ready to camp outside the house, the woman hadn’t moved from her chair until she saw Eve enter the house.

‘I went to visit the town of Hollow Valley,’ said Eve, and the woman nodded.

‘Did you like it?’ Lady Aubrey asked her.

‘So far, not much I think,’ answered Eve, and Lady Aubrey nodded before walking past them and going to her room to sleep for the night.

Coming back to the present, Eugene stepped into the kitchen to pack Eve’s food so that she could save time. When he went to tie the lunchbox in the cloth, he noticed something.

“Eh, is the cloth torn?”

He raised the piece of cloth in front of him, took a close look at it and noticed two holes. And the material around it looked stained as if someone had tried to drag it.

When it was time for Eve to leave the house, Eugene handed her the lunchbox which also had her breakfast. She noticed the change of cloth in which he had wrapped.

“The earlier cloth will need some mending. I will have it done before you come back from work,” informed Eugene.

Mend? “Was there a tear?” Asked Eve.

“Just two tiny holes,” replied Eugene and Eve frowned at the information. Perhaps it was not a ghost but something else that she couldn’t see? But then, there was nothing that had caught her eyes. “Have a good day at work today, Miss Eve,” Eugene bowed, and Eve bowed back.

Leaving the house behind, Eve quickly made her way to where the local carriage was as she didn’t want to be late. Especially with yesterday’s events with Lady Annalise. Once she took a seat in the carriage, she opened her lunch box and ate the breakfast that Eugene had prepared. With only two passengers, she didn’t stop herself from finishing her breakfast in the carriage.

Just until evening, and then she would be free to do what she wanted tomorrow as she was off from work.

Once the carriage stopped at Skellington town, Eve stepped down and started to walk in the direction of Moriarty’s mansion. On her way, she couldn’t help but keep an eye to make sure to not cross paths with Mr. and Mrs. Walsh.

Reaching the Moriarty mansion, Eve walked past the servants, who were busy watering and trimming the plants there. Two maids were at the front of the mansion’s entrance, quickly wiping the floor spotless.

Later that day, she spent half of her day with Allie until the little girl was summoned for lunch in the dining room. Eve finished her lunch and visited the powder room to wash her hands.

Someone caught hold of her arm on her way back and harshly pulled her inside an empty room and closed the door.

Before she could make out what was going on, Mr. Morris curled his fingers around her neck and pushed her against the wall.

“Have you told anyone that you saw me last night there?” Demanded Mr. Morris, his eyes glaring at her while there was a hint of nervousness.

“No,” Eve tried to shake her head, but the man’s fingers had tightly curled around her neck, ready to choke her. “I did not say anything to anyone.” She tried to unwrap his fingers.

Eve’s eyes were fixed on the man’s scar. There had been blood in the past… a lot of blood on the face, she thought to herself.

“Was it my wife who sent you?!” He questioned her in a low, threatening voice.

“I have never met your wife, I don’t know her,” Eve tried to speak.

Mr. Morris continued glaring at her, making sure she was telling the truth. Then he said, “You better keep your mouth shut about seeing me in ‘Little Teeth’s Inn’, else I will make sure to disappear you from here.”

No… this wasn’t the man, thought Eve to herself.

“Do you understand?”

Eve head-butted with him, making both of them wince, while the man released his hands around her neck.

She quickly kneed him between his legs, which made the man wince harder, and he fell to the ground.

“You bitch!” Mr. Morris cursed her while groaning on the ground.

Eve shook her head as her head had turned disoriented because of head butting with the man. This couldn’t be the person, who had killed her mother, thought Eve to herself. She questioned him,

“How many people have you murdered?”

“What?!” Mr. Morris held a bewildered expression. “How dare you accuse me of murder?”

“Tell me?” asked Eve, while the man was still waiting for the pain between his legs to leave.

“I will fucking ruin you for this!”

When Mr. Morris tried to grab her leg, and have her shut up, Eve punched him. It wasn’t just the man who winced in pain. She replied back to him, “Try to come near me again and I will scream that you tried to molest me!”

It wouldn’t be her losing the reputation but him. After all, he did come from a higher family.

Before Eve could leave the room, the room’s door burst open.

“What do we have here? I didn’t know you were planning to steal our governess for your children, Mr. Morris. How rude,” Vincent remarked with a worried look on his face. He said, “I hope you didn’t agree to it, Ms. Barlow, Allie would be very sad.”

Eve gritted her teeth and replied, “I think more than his children, Mr. Morris is in need of a governess for himself, and it would be better if he hired one quickly.” Turning to Mr. Morris, she said, “I have nothing to do with your wife,” and muttered under her breath, “There are barely any decent men in the society,” her words included Vincent in it, which had him raise his eyebrows.

Eve noticed Vincent had a cup of tea in his hand while he looked at her and his eyes then shifted to look at Mr. Morris.

“Mm, having fun in ‘Little Teeth’s Inn’. Was it with the busty lady?” Vincent offered a cheeky smile to the man, “Don’t worry, Lennon, your secret is safe,” he made a zipping action.

How long was Vincent listening to their conversation for him to have picked the Inn’s name? Asked Eve.

…and he was sipping tea.