36: Mother whose hands are tied

Mother whose hands are tied

Noticing the red drop of blood on the ground, Eve felt her soul slip out of her body.  0

It was as if everything had slowed down when she saw Lady Annalise angrily making her way to where she was. At the same time, Allie's hand inched closer to the drop of blood, similar to a small child whose hand reached out to a candy sold at the merchant's shop. 

Eve quickly dropped the flowers from her hand, and it fell on the ground, covering the drop of blood. 

"What are you doing sitting there on the ground, Allie?!" Lady Annalise looked furious, and her glare shifted at Eve. 

Hearing her mother's voice, the little girl turned distracted from the blood, and she quickly stood up. Like an obedient child, she held her hands in front of her. 

"You," Lady Annalise took a threatening step towards Eve, while Eve took a quick look at her finger and pressed it against the side of her dress. "What do you think you are doing here? Were my words not clear for you to not understand?" 

Eve held a calm expression on her face. She noticed fire sparking from Lady Annalise's face.

"Good morning, Lady Annalise," she greeted the woman and said, "I thought I already made it clear that I won't be accepting your offer."

"Looks like you leave me no option, but to take matters into my own hands," Lady Annalise had never come across such an impudent woman before, especially not one who belonged to a poor town like Meadow. 

At the back, the butler finally freed himself from the bush that he had fallen on a second ago. Though the thorny bush scratched and pierced through his skin, Alfie looked perfectly fine and wiped the little blood with his handkerchief. 

The butler walked up to where Lady Annalise stood, and he bowed, "Milady, what do you think about these flowers to be sent to Lady Margaret?"

Lady Annalise's eyes snapped at the butler, her glare so intense that had the butler immediately said, "I will look for better ones at the front," and he started to walk. 

"Alfie," Lady Annalise called the butler in a harsh tone, who quickly stopped while scrunching his face. "You can look for the flowers right here, and not in the front garden."

She was well aware that the butler was about to go and fetch her stepson. Alfie bowed his head, slowly turning around and walking back to pluck some other flowers. 

Lady Annalise then looked at her daughter, who was looking at the ground, not daring to raise her head. But what popped the vein in Lady Annalise's forehead was her daughter's dress smeared with mud and dirt on the front of it. 

"Allie, get inside and change your clothes. I don't even want to start on what you were doing," Lady Annalise ordered her daughter. "Get inside now." 

Allie glanced at Eve, and Eve offered her a small smile of assurance. The little girl walked away from there, disappearing into the back door of the mansion. 

Now that Lady Annalise had come to know that the human was late in teaching her daughter, without any prior notice, she said, "How irresponsible of you. Not only do you waste your time by coming in late, but bring her here, to only misguide the etiquette Allie has learned up until now."

Eve frowned at Lady Annalise's words. She hadn't forgotten how the woman had scolded her daughter a while ago. 

"I don't know how any one person can lose their etiquette just by walking in their own gardens. If a child is so quick to lose them, it only means that the child's previous governesses didn't do a good job in teaching them," replied Eve, who wasn't intimidated by this woman. Maybe she was Mrs. Annalise Moriarty, but Eve didn't care about her status. If there was one thing that did worry her, this woman was not a human, but a night creature, who could suck her blood out and kill her. 

"Silence," Lady Annalise snapped at the human, and she couldn't help but want to show the lowly human her place. Her eyes fell on the flowers that were lying on the ground. 

Eve's eyes followed where the woman was looking, and she hoped the drop of blood had dried by now. 

"You don't know what I can do, Miss Barlow. Things that you can't even imagine," Lady Annalise was angry and, at the same time, upset that her happiness had been short-lived. Worse, the Dresford girl had even dared to mock her family regarding it. 

Eve politely replied to the woman, "I am sorry, Lady Annalise, but I am supposed to answer only to my employer and no one else. I would appreciate it if you discuss this matter with young Master Moriarty, instead of trying to threaten me or my family members. I am only doing my job."

If only her husband would give her enough authority to overrule her stepson's decisions, Lady Annalise thought to herself. She couldn't argue with the human, but she didn't hold back in reprimanding her, 

"As Allie's mother, I know what is best for her. It would be better if you teach her something valuable in the piano room, like writing and reading books. I can tell that children from your town grow up rolling in the mud like pigs, but we don't accept it here."

"I will keep that in my mind, Lady Annalise," replied Eve without being fazed, which only struck a nerve in Lady Annalise. 

All Eve was doing was to take care of Allie. But Lady Annalise opposed the idea. Even though Eve didn't hail from a wealthy background or high status, she was still rich when it came to manners and how to treat people properly, without considering the clothes they wore or the coins in their pockets. 

Eve let her shoulders relax when she saw the woman swiftly turn and make her way back into the mansion.

At least she didn't need to worry about anything for now, and she looked down at the flowers. Bending down, she picked them all in her hand. She noticed the small darkened spot on the ground. The drop of blood had dried. 

The butler had heard every single word of the conversation that just took place between the two women. He didn't dare to intrude himself in it. After all, that would only warrant his tongue being pulled and cut. 

Eve apologized to the butler, "I am sorry about the flowers." She knew that as the flowers had been dropped on the ground, they wouldn't be used to send them to anyone. 

"Please do not worry. I will pluck the other ones. Let me take those and throw them away," he stretched his hand with a slight bow. 

"Is it alright if I take them with me?" Eve asked him, and Alfie raised his head in slight surprise. 

He then nodded, "Yes. It should be alright, milady."

"Thank you," replied Eve, looking at the flowers she said, "It would be a pity to throw them away when they were plucked only a few minutes ago," she smiled. 

"Would you like me to bring you tea later to the piano room?" Alfie inquired, and Eve shook her head. 

"I think I have had enough tea for the day, but thank you for asking me," said Eve, and she walked in the same direction where Lady Annalise and Allie had stepped inside.

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