When Charles Gallagher’s hand stretched to grab Eve, Vincent pulled Eve back and stepped forward. For a moment, Charles turned confused, while Eve turned worried.
“What do you think you are doing, Vincent?” Charles narrowed his eyes in slight surprise.
“I was going to ask you the same, Charles,” Vincent’s voice had turned low, and the air around him had turned dangerous. “This is little Allie’s governess. And she would very much like this woman to continue working here as would I.”
Charles raised his hands, moving up and down in front of his coat to show the mess that had been made, “I don’t care if she is the governess. What she did is unforgivable, and she has to bear the consequences for her actions. What would you have done if you were in my place?”
Vincent hummed, his eyes moving across his uncle’s coat, and then said, “To begin with, I would not be walking behind or…standing. But if it was me, I would have punished them. You ask such a silly question,” he smiled.
Eve’s eyes turned wide, and she turned to look at Vincent with disbelief.
“Then it is settled,” said Mr. Charles, going back to grab Eve.
This time Eve took another step backwards and came to stand behind Vincent. She said, “I have already apologized and offered to wash your coat. It wasn’t my fault that the food—”
“Are you telling me the food flew by itself?” Charles snapped at her.
“It did fly…” Eve started only to mutter the rest under her breath when Vincent turned to give her a look. A look that asked if she wanted to make things worse for her.
Charles then said to Vincent, “I want to see her being punished, so that no one dares to do what she did today. And we all know, no one messes with the Moriartys or with people who are connected to them. Unless you think otherwise,” a smirk appeared on the man’s face.
Vincent nodded, somewhere agreeing with the man, and he assured the humiliated man, “As I am the one who hired her, I will see how to deal with her. And in the meantime, you can change yourself into cleaner clothes.” When he smiled, his eyes slightly closed, and the man gritted his teeth.
As much as the man wanted to squeeze the new governess’s neck, Vincent was well aware that the man cared about his reputation and appearance. And right now, it didn’t look that good.
Charles spared a glare at Eve, and he stormed out of the place.
“I am torn if I should applaud you for sustaining this far,” Vincent turned to look at the young woman, who looked slightly embarrassed. The smile on his face had dropped, and he scowled. “Or be surprised that you decided to harass a relative on the second day of your job.”
“I swear it was unintentional. The bee kept coming at me no matte—”
“Miss Barlow,” Vincent interrupted her from speaking further. “Do I look like I am someone who is interested to hear about it?”
Eve pursed her lips, a frown coming to appear on her forehead. She said, “But it really wasn’t my fault. It was because of my hair.”
“Your hair?” Vincent raised his eyebrows before his eyes narrowed.
Eve nodded, “Yes, I believe it was because I washed my hair with rose water. And the bee possibly was attracted by the scent of it. I would never waste food, lest throw it on someone—”
Vincent stepped closer to her, leaning forward. He took a long sniff of her hair.
“W—What are you doing?!” Eve quickly stepped away from him, who had come to stand too close to her. Blood rushed up from her neck to her face.
Vincent’s lips twisted, and his eyes held mirth. He said, “Checking whether your story is true or if you are making it up. I don’t think you are familiar with how things in families like ours work, are you?”
Eve warily looked at him after what he just did and looked unapologetic about it.
He said, “We aren’t forgiving towards people who commit mistakes. Which is why, one has to tread very carefully… you never know when the day might come where you step inside the mansion, but never step out the same again,” there was a sliver of warning in his words, and a subtle smile played on his lips. Noticing Eve pressing her lips, he asked, “Is there something you want to say?”
“I think I’d rather keep my thoughts to myself, Mr. Vincent,” replied Eve, and then she added, “Thank you for coming to my aid earlier.” She offered him a slight bow.
The wealthy people were rich with arrogance and pride, but they were poor when it came to being kind and humble, Eve thought.
Vincent’s eyes slightly narrowed before he said, “You should head back to the piano room. Allie will join you shortly.”
“Um, there is something that I wanted to ask. If it is alright,” Eve added, her blue eyes staring into his hazel eyes. She noted how his iris was slightly coppery.
“What is it?” Questioned Vincent, running his tongue across one of his canines.
“It is about Allie,” said Eve, and he titled his head as if waiting for her to continue. “Not that it matters much, but has she always been like this? Unable to speak.”
A sudden air of hostility started to fill around them. A slight annoyance flashed through Vincent’s eyes. He said, “If it isn’t an issue, there’s no point in discussing it.” The look in his eyes had turned cold, “Also, I thought I made it clear to you how to address me.”
“Yes, Master Vincent,” replied Eve, feeling his gaze pierce her soul. There was something very unnerving with the way he looked at her right now.
Vincent let her know, “One silver coin from your next month’s wage will be deducted for what you did today.” Before she could argue, he said, “Consider this to be the easiest way of you to get off the hook.”
Eve’s eyebrows furrowed, and she watched him start to walk away. The distance between them started to grow, and then he suddenly stopped.
She wondered what he wanted to say. He said, “Rack three from the bottom, fifth book. Page seventy-eight.”
He didn’t wait to explain what his words meant, and Eve watched him disappear on the other end of the corridor. Shaking her head, she returned to the piano room.
When Eve reached the piano room, she walked to the rack of books. She stared at them before pulling out the fifth book in the third rack and going to the page number that Vincent mentioned. Her eyes skimmed through the page.
“These are… the benefits of different roses,” Eve murmured.
Hearing the room door slightly creak, Eve caught Allie walking towards the table and sitting down. She closed the book that she had been reading.
“You still have a good twenty-five minutes of break, Miss Allie before we continue with your studies,” said Eve, closing the door behind her and making her way towards the study table.
Allie didn’t reply, but she didn’t break eye contact between them. Eve didn’t mind the silence between them. Compared to most children, the little girl was certainly the most well behaved out of them.
“Did you have a good meal?” Eve asked the girl.
Allie’s eyes fell on Eve’s hand, which held the lunchbox. But she did more than just look at her governess’s hand. Her eyes fell on the woman’s neck. She quickly met Eve’s eyes and nodded to the woman’s question.