Though they were at a reasonable distance from where Vincent and Eve stood, Vincent heard the man introduce himself to her, "I am Gage. Gage Wolton."
"Genevieve Barlow," replied Eve, with a cautious tone.
"On a second thought I feel we have met but at the same time I feel we haven't. Isn't that odd?" Asked Gage, and Eve only nodded.
"I am not sure about it," Eve softly laughed, and Gage was eager to agree to her words. He looked around her before he said,
"It looks like you have come by yourself, how about I accompany you to the hall and keep you company?" Asked Gage, who seemed like he wanted to have Eve next to him and take her somewhere deserted before drinking her dry.
"I do have company. A little girl," replied Eve and the man's eyebrows furrowed.
Gage didn't speak for a second, and he then asked, "We met in Hollow Valley, didn't we?"
Eve shook her head, "I don't think so."
"Are you sure?" Asked the vampire with a frown.
"Positively sure," affirmed Eve, offering him a polite smile, "If you will excuse me now, Mr. Wolton."
While the vampire tried to process and remember where he had met Eve before, Eve had taken five steps away from him, and she was more than relieved when her eyes fell on Noah Sullivan. Her face brightened like Christmas.
Noticing this, Vincent smirked.Â
"There's always something more to look forward to, isn't it?" Vincent said to himself before leaving where he had been standing until now.
When Noah saw Eve, he smiled at her with his usual kind smile. Eve walked towards him, meeting him halfway and bowed. She said,
"I didn't know you were invited to the ball today." There was surprise and relief in Eve's eyes.
"It is the prerequisite of being a Duke now that makes it a compulsion to attend as it would be rude to reject the invitation," replied Noah, and he returned her bow. A faint blush rose on Eve's cheeks when Noah picked her hand and kissed the back of it, "You look more beautiful than usual today, Genevieve."
"You look good too," complimented Eve, bringing her hand to her side.
"I had second thoughts about attending the ball, but somewhere I hoped I would see you here. It is always good to have someone you know around, don't you think so?" Noah asked her in his calm voice, and his words brought a smile to her face.
"It is true," As she said this, Eve noticed Noah's eyes looking past her. When she turned around, she saw Gage standing a little behind them and staring at her. She offered a small smile to the man and then said to Noah, "Would you like to walk to the hall together?"
"More than happy to," replied Noah. As they continued to walk, the Duke spared a look at Gage before looking back at the woman next to him.
As Eve and Noah walked together, they gained a couple of stares from the people on their way. Eve was happy that she didn't have to be alone now, while also knowing that she and Noah would have to part later as he was a Duke, who would need to speak to people, while she would have to look for Allie.
Though Eve, who was used to people's stares, this was the first time many people were staring at her, and it made one of her feet almost twist, but she quickly caught hold of her footing. The women staring at the human stealing the light softly chuckled at the human's inability to handle herself well.
"Are your shoes troubling you?" Asked Noah in concern as Eve looked like she had trouble walking.
"They are great. I am just not used to…"
"People looking at you?" Noah completed her words, and Eve's eyes met his before she nodded.
"Not exactly that… It is the first time I am in a place like this," Eve cleared her throat while feeling Noah's gaze on her too.
"There's no need for you to feel self conscious, Genevieve. By the time the evening is over, you will be used to it," he said to her with a polite smile. "Did Eugene bring you here?"
"Yes, he is waiting in the carriage," replied Eve. The sooner she was done taking care of Allie, the sooner she would return home with Eugene.
After a few seconds of silence, Noah asked her, "The vampire back there, did he trouble you?"
Eve shook her head, "He didn't." She gave him a curious look, and Noah shook his head with a smile before looking ahead.
Noah remembered the night he visited the inn, where he had seen a woman with golden blonde hair leave the inn. He had doubted if that person was Eve, who had visited the inn, but he had brushed it away. But now he wondered if she did visit the inn and if she did, what was she doing there?
Eve looked at Noah from the corner of her eyes, watching him with a smile, until she heard Vincent's voice that had her eyes look away from the Duke.
"Duke Sullivan, how kind of you to attend the ball by taking some time off from your busy schedule."
Vincent walked towards them with a bright smile on his lips. Eve offered a small bow.
"Mr. Moriarty," the Duke greeted before the two men exchanged a handshake. "Thank you for inviting me. I couldn't refuse, especially when it came directly from you."
Eve's eyes moved to look at Vincent, who continued to have the trickster smile on his face, and he said to the Duke, "I see that you have already met with our capable governess," he turned to look at Eve, who turned worried about what he was going to say. If she was a walking catastrophe, then Vincent was the instigator of the catastrophes.
"Yes, Genevieve and I have met long before she came to work in your mansion," Noah smiled looking at Eve and she smiled back at him. The Duke then said, "Unusual, isn't it. To have a human for a governess in your mansion?"
Vincent's lips twisted, before his dark red eyes stared at Eve, who was internally praying for both the men to walk in opposite directions and not talk anything about her. She didn't know that Vincent and Noah were familiar with each other.
"Mm, not as unusual as for a Duke to be friends with someone from a background he wouldn't mingle," replied Vincent and he added, "Not that it is wrong. It is just a little uncommon."
"Uncommon is what we perceive it to be, Mr. Moriarty. You mustn't be familiar with it," Noah responded to Vincent's words. The smile on his lips wasn't as kind as it was for Eve and was instead formal.
"You would be surprised to know how familiar I am being with the concept that you speak of," Vincent's eyes held humour in them. He asked, "Are you enjoying the position of Duke? The last I heard you weren't interested in it. What changed?"
This caught Eve's attention and she turned to look at Noah, who stared at Vincent with his black eyes. The Duke answered with a serious face,
"I came to realise that there are people who need to be protected and I would be able to do that with being Duke. With position comes power. If there's anyone who knows it, it should be you," and a kind smile appeared on his lips. He said, "I heard that the council wants you to join them."
Vincent continued smiling and Eve only looked at him with a weary expression. He said to Noah, "The old people from the council always like to steal others' time, and I like to keep mine to myself. Not to mention I lack the same incentive or purpose as others do."
Seeing the two men's conversation shift in discussing about their work, Eve let an internal sigh of relief, which was until she heard Vincent say to her,
"Ms. Barlow, I thought you were going to see where Allie is and assist her. Did your attention get directed to something else?" his eyes held mischief in them, while Noah looked like he didn't catch the meaning behind Vincent's words.
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