In the time of evening, Vincent stood on one of the balconies of the mansion. He held a glass of whiskey in his hand, gently swirling it while resting his forearms against the top of the railing.
He noticed a carriage that didn't belong to his family enter through the gates of their mansion. Raising the glass to his lips, he took a sip of the alcohol and watched a servant step out of it.
"Looks like the news has arrived sooner," Vincent murmured to himself and took another sip from the glass.
Hearing footsteps from behind, Vincent turned his head to the side to see who it was.
"Good evening, Vince," greeted Marceline. "I heard that you went to meet Ms. Hooke. Is she as pretty as mother described her to be?" She came to stand next to him with a little distance between them, leaning her entire back against the railing.
Vincent turned to his sister and said, "She seemed like you."
Marceline raised her eyebrows and asked,
"Like me?" She softly chuckled, "I don't think anyone can be like me, brother. Not as pretty as me. You should know that the women who belong to the Moriarty family are flawless. No one can compare to us. Before it was mama, and now it is me," between the kind smile she wore, there was a slight glimpse of conceitedness in it.
"It is true, no one can beat you. You have always been the brattiest one," stated Vincent with a straight face and the smile on Marceline's lips faltered.
"I will miss you when you get married and live in your own mansion," said Marceline, ignoring her brother's previous words.
"I wish I could say that I share the same sentiments. But it isn't I but you who should start packing because I am not moving from here. Father has already found a match for you."
Though the smile on each of the siblings didn't disappear, their eyes did subtly narrow, and Marceline's eyes narrowed more, "Your jokes don't scare me. Go scare someone else."
The smile on Vincent's lips pulled up further, and he chuckled, "Oh, little Marcie. If it is true, does it scare you?"
Marceline didn't answer Vincent, but her hand reached out for the glass of whiskey, which had an obvious scent of blood in it. But Vincent only took the glass away from her reach and instead drank the entire liquid in one gulp.
She gently clenched her jaw and exhaled. She said, "I guess I will have Alfie make a glass of it later. By the way, I heard something happened between Mr. Morris and the governess, and you were with them," Marceline continued to stand straight without taking the support of the railing. "Don't tell me that you are interested in the human. Did you fall in love with her?" She carefully weighed her brother's expressionless face.
"Are you?" Vincent returned the question to her and saw Marceline's face turn red.
"Why would I be in love with a woman and that too a lowly human at that?" scoffed Marceline with disbelief.
"It was only a question, sister," Vincent drawled, noticing another carriage enter the mansion, and this one belonged to the council. His eyes shifted back at her, "There's no need to be flustered."
Vincent placed the empty glass on top of the railing.
"Sire, the carriage is here," Alfie interrupted them.
Vincent offered a quick smile to Marceline while she stared at him before he left the place to walk away from there, followed by the butler. As he climbed the last flight of stairs, he saw Lady Annalise standing there with a letter in her hand. She raised the letter in her hand and demanded,
"Is this true?!"
"What happened?" Vincent asked casually as if unaware of today's events.
"Marques Hooke's sister, the girl's aunt wrote to me telling she doesn't want to do anything with the Moriarty's and would prefer to never build an alliance with us. She said Ms. Hooke has been crying and has locked herself in the room. You better fix this," Lady Annalise said in an exasperated tone.
"It seems like we have terrible compatibility. Looks like you didn't know my tastes in women after all," remarked Vincent.
Lady Annalise crumpled the letter that was in her hand, and she tried to keep her mind calm.
"All you had to do was to take Ms. Hooke out for lunch," Lady Annalise gritted her teeth.
"I did and she enjoyed the cakes there. You can ask her that," remarked Vincent, "Ms. Hooke probably realized how crazy our family can get and the marriage wouldn't work."
Lady Annalise was sure that Vincent must have done something for Lady Camille to write the letter, where she now strongly opposed this alliance. She didn't know what to do with him anymore. She doubted any woman could handle him, and it was because she knew that Ms. Rosetta Hooke was an agreeable lady.
"If that is all, I have more important matters to attend to. Now, if you will excuse me, mother," said Vincent, walking past the woman and disappearing from the hallways.
Marceline, who had heard the last part of their conversation, slowly stepped down the stairs. Coming to stand where Lady Annalise stood, she placed a comforting hand on the woman's shoulder.
"First appointing the governess and then this. Soon people will hold little to no respect to the Moriarty family," said Lady Annalise with a frown.
"Don't worry, mother. I won't let our family name be sullied and neither will Vincent," Marceline assured the woman with a smile. "I think the situation with Ms. Hooke can be easily fixed with a simple invitation to the oncoming ball that is going to be held in our mansion. A ball is a great time for not only interactions but also to lift one's mood. Don't you think so?"
"You are right," replied Lady Annalise, the frown on her forehead smoothening.
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