Allure Of The Night

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“Of course, Lady Aubrey,” Eugene offered a bow to the respected woman. “Shall we leave now?” He asked his wife, who nodded twice just out of nervousness.

Eugene and Rosetta climbed on the coachman’s seat, sitting in the front together before they left the front of the house. And while the couple left for the Council, Lady Aubrey decided to take a walk in the town as it had been quite some time since she had strolled through the streets she was familiar with.

With the weather perfect enough to keep the cold away as the sun was out, Lady Aubrey picked up her long staff before locking the house and placing her foot on the streets of the Meadow. The birds chirped, and so did the people of the town.

“Lady Aubrey! How lovely to see you! Did you just return?” Asked one of the women from the town, who offered her a bow.

“Good morning. Yes, we moved back yesterday. How are you doing, Agatha?” Lady Aubrey asked in politeness.

“Very well, milady. I was wondering if Genevieve is continuing her job as a governess. I was hoping to send my daughter to her,” the woman chimed with a smile.

“That sounds wonderful,” Lady Aubrey said with a smile. Society, Lady Aubrey thought in her mind. The same people who had once questioned about her teaching Eve were now keen on teaching their daughters.

“I cannot wait to have my daughter learn under her. She is a remarkable woman!” The woman named Agatha said loudly for the older woman to smile.

Eve had indeed turned into a remarkable woman, Lady Aubrey thought to herself. She woman had taught Eve everything she knew, but it wasn’t her teachings but the way Eve truly was, which exhibited the right qualities.

The town people looked at Lady Aubrey with more respect than before. It was because she was now related to the highly known Moriarty family. People bowed down to the wealth, power, and status that Eve had married into.

“Good morning, Lady Aubrey!” Another townsfolk greeted her.

“Good morning,” Lady Aubrey politely smiled. In the opposite direction, she saw Mrs. Humphrey and Patrick walking after visiting the market as they carried groceries in their arms.

Mrs. Humphrey quickly stopped walking and offered a deep bow, “Lady Aubrey, it is good to see you!”

“I wish I could say the same after what I heard, Mrs. Humphrey,” Lady Aubrey responded after she had heard about the incident the townsfolk had put Eve through during her absence. “But what happened is in the past, and I believe you have grown wiser than the last time we saw each other.”

Mrs. Humphrey nodded with her eyes on the ground or looking elsewhere without meeting Lady Aubrey’s eyes as she was too ashamed. It was because their house had been burned down almost to the ground during the outbreak of the fire in the town. Though later, it was built up by the help of Eve’s husband.

“My sincere apologies, milady. We heard it from that woman, and misconstrued it with wrong information. My son and I have learned our lesson,” Mrs. Humphry then jabbed her son’s side, who quickly bowed.

Patrick said to Lady Aubrey, “If there is anything you need help with, please don’t hesitate in letting me know, Lady Aubrey. My family and I will be more than happy to help you with anything.”

Lady Aubrey stared at the duo and responded, “I will be sure to let you know if there’s anything,” and she walked past them.

When she came across the stand where the newsletter was being sold, she heard the young boy shout to the walking crowd,

“Fresh news! News about the Duke’s death! Come read it! Only two shillings!”

Lady Aubrey walked towards the young boy and pulled out her purse before giving the boy three shillings. The boy offered a more heartfelt smile at the sight of the extra shilling before he handed the newsletter to the older woman.

She walked to the side as she read the front page that read– ‘Duke Noah Sullivan murdered’ in block letters, and this had her eyebrows furrow deeply.

“What in God’s name…” Lady Aubrey whispered as her eyes raked through the news in there.

Like Lady Aubrey, others who read the news were shocked to hear that the young Duke of Woodlock had been murdered. One of them asked,

“How did this happen? When a Duke isn’t safe, how can we expect people like us to be safe here at all?!”

Whispers and murmurs followed, while Lady Aubrey wondered if Eve had heard about it and, if she had, what was going on in her mind. With that thought, the older woman cut short her stroll and returned to her home with the newsletter.

By the time Eugene and Rosetta’s carriage arrived at the Council, the news about Noah’s death had reached everyone. Some of them made plans for early tea so that this matter could be discussed and shared on who knew what.

Eugene parked the carriage in the parking place, and they walked towards the building. Rosetta walked closely next to her husband and whispered,

“This place looks busier than usual.”

“Have you visited the Council before?” Eugene asked her, and she nodded.

“I have. A few times in the past with my father, because I used to like walking in these corridors…” Rosetta replied to Eugene before clearing her throat. It was because, in the past, she had come here with the intention of snagging a councilman as her husband. It was because her mother had brought her up with the thought that she was supposed to find a man of status to marry, and she had only followed it until she met Eugene. She said in a low voice, “I think they are working on some high profile case, which is why there’s so many feet out in the corridor.”

As it was the first time Eugene was in the Council’s corridors, his black eyes looked at everything that moved and stood. Once they went to submit the application letter that he had in his hand, in one of the offices, the main clerk informed,

“You will need to wait two days for the application to be submitted. Usually the approval takes a few hours, but the Council has been busy since yesterday and has been buried in other work.” The clerk didn’t know why the Council was hiring a human when hiring a vampire, or a werewolf would do them well.

Eugene nodded, “That’s fine. I am more than happy to receive the work here.”

“Mm, your qualifications seem alright, though you don’t have an actual degree. But your recommendation is strong,” the clerk said, eyeing the application in his hand, which had the Moriarty’s house’s name and stamp on it.