Bab 10: Inside the ceramic
On returning to her town, Eve muttered,
"One day I will show you that there are people like me, with a better character than what your wealth cannot amount to."
"How dare I? He should be happy I didn't beat him with my umbrella," she said to herself as she continued to walk towards her home. To think that the man had tried to threaten her after proposing such an absurd thing. "He needs a governess more than his child."
And while Eve continued to walk with quick footsteps, with her eyebrows slightly furrowed, she failed to notice that her muttering had gained the passerby's attention.
She had hoped that she would finally get the job. But to think that the man of the house had turned out to be such a disgraceful man, she wondered if all the wealthy folks were like this. She closed her eyes and muttered again,
"I am going to get scolded again because of that scum—"
"Which scum?" She heard a male voice, whom she was familiar with, and her eyes flew open.
Startled, she had almost crashed into him. Almost, thought Eve in her mind.
Two good steps away from her stood a tall man. His combed hair and eyes were black like the midnight sky without the stars or moon. A beauty mark rested below the corner of his right eye. The expression on his face was calm. And though he wore better clothes than most people in the town of Meadow, obviously because he didn't belong here, it was the kind smile on his lips that stood out in him.
Eve quickly took herself to greet the man by bowing her head, "Good afternoon, Mr. Sullivan."
"Good afternoon to you too, Ms. Barlow, but it seems like your day hasn't been that well," Mr. Sullivan's words were calm and collected. There was not a time when Eve could spot a single ruffled feather on him.
Noah Sullivan was the son of Duke of Woodlock. Though Eve had never met Senior Mr. Sullivan, she could only understand why Woodlock town was peaceful. One look at Noah, and it was enough to know that he was a man of honour. Almost twenty-nine in age, rumours had it that he would soon take his father's position.
"You seem upset," noted Noah, watching her with a relaxed smile.
Though Eve was only a fellow woman of the Meadow town, Noah and she had somehow turned acquainted with each other. And they enjoyed each other's company enough to share a few words when they caught sight of each other in the town.
Remembering the unpleasant incident, Eve pursed her lips and said, "It was just an unfortunate accident that wasn't taken into account this morning," while explaining, she waved her hand that had the umbrella that almost hit Noah if he didn't bring his hand forward to stop it gently. "I am sorry," she apologized, retracting her hand.
"Don't be," replied Noah, not offended, as he was used to Eve's possible accidents that came from her clumsiness or enthusiasm sometimes. Weighing the words he had earlier heard her speak, he said, "Sometimes, we can only foresee things that we have experienced, and it is impossible to take into account because life is unexpected, Ms. Barlow. I hope it wasn't another incident of you pouring tea on someone."
"You heard about it," muttered Eve, her cheeks turning slightly pink because he was the last person she wanted to know about what had happened. Noah was someone she looked up to.
A chuckle escaped from the man's lips, and he brought his hand in front of his mouth and cleared his throat. "You are the famous governess-who-poured-hot-tea," he informed her. "You are famous."
"I don't think I am looking for that kind of attention," Eve turned slightly embarrassed. Bad attention like that was making it harder for her to land a job in a good house.
She noticed Noah offer a slight bow to one of the men, who walked not too far away. And while her eyes wandered around, they fell on the two women, who stood on the other side of the street. They admired Noah from afar, whispering something between each other. And just when Noah's eyes met the women, he bowed his head, and the women did the same with a smile and a twinkle in their eyes before they hurried from there.
With the man who was going to be a Duke, he was also a fairly handsome man with polite manners, which had garnered him enough affection from the women in this town. Especially eager mothers who wanted to marry off their daughters to this eligible man.
"If you would like, I could talk to a few people and see who might be willing to hire you?" Noah offered to help her, but Eve shook her head.
"Aunt Aubrey wouldn't like it and I wouldn't want to impose on you," Eve smiled at Noah.
It wasn't that he hadn't offered it three months ago, but the young woman had refused it. As if she wanted to find a job without relying on anyone. Not wanting to force her, he gave her a nod.
For a moment, he parted his lips as if to ask her something.
Hearing the tower bell ring loudly, which resonated through, Noah said, "I should get going, Ms. Barlow. Like many other times, it was a pleasure talking to you. Let me know if you do need my help, my offer stands."
"Have a safe journey, Mr. Sullivan," Eve bowed. Noah smiled at her before walking away from there.
When Eve reached the house, she gingerly pushed the gate's latch and stepped inside with a dazed look. A sigh escaped from her lips. She was twenty-four, an age by which most women were married. But marriage wasn't what concerned her.
A scar was left behind many years ago… and she was looking for it. And she knew if there was a way to find it, it was by going through wealthy families. Her shoulders drooped, wondering how long it would be before landing a job.
Eugene, who had been watering the plants at the corner of the garden, noticed his young miss, who looked disappointed. It seemed like the lady had failed in her interview this time too.
Dropping the water can on the ground, he wiped his hand while walking toward the young lady. He welcomed her, "Welcome back, Lady Eve. How was the weather today?" He inquired.
"Quite harsh. For a moment I thought my umbrella would be damaged," replied Eve, and her eyes fell on the rosebuds of a nearby bush. "I thought it would take a week before the buds come. They already look pretty," she remarked, bending down to take a closer look.
"I made sure to fertilize the soil and put a plank above it for shelter. Would you like me to pluck one out for you when they bloom, milady?" Eugene asked.
Eve shook her head, "No. Let them be. I will take them when they are about to wither."
"Let me go make a glass of cold lemonade for you. I am sure you must be parched while being outside for so long," Eugene was the first to walk, and after five seconds, Eve left the side of the bushes and walked inside the house. He informed her, "Lady Aubrey has gone out to Mrs. Henley's house."
"I thought Mrs. Henley was going to have her family over," replied Eve as she started to climb the stairs.
Eugene craned his neck before stepping out of the kitchen and replied, "Oh, she does have her family over. Lady Aubrey said that Mrs. Henley's grandchildren have come over, and she wanted Lady Aubrey to meet them—Miss!"
Eve had lost one of her footings, and she quickly held the wooden railings. "I am fine," she replied, feeling her heart race.
"You should be careful while walking. The stairs are always the trickiest," there was worry in the servant's voice. As he knew what Eve was, he was aware of her legs that weakened at times.
"They are. God Bless Mr. Dawson's soul for building such strong walls and railings," Eve laughed, because with the number of times she had placed her hands on them in force, God only knew how nothing had broken yet. "I will take a bath. You can keep the lemonade on the dining table, Eugene."
The look of concern on Eugene's face didn't disappear, but he nodded, knowing the young miss would want some time for herself.
Reaching the room, she picked up her clothes and headed to the bath. But when she pulled out the ceramic vessel which held the salts… it was nearly empty.
Bab 11: Deeper side of the alleys
Eve stared hard inside the ceramic vessel as if her bath salts would magically appear if she tried harder. And she did try it, nearly glaring at it before giving up and sighing.
"How did I forget to refill it?" She put her hand inside the vessel and touched the bottom surface, only to feel her fingers touch the little amount of grains left in there.
Unlike when Eve was young, she didn't have to depend on bath salts every day. When she turned eighteen, her body had finally turned accustomed to her legs, but that didn't mean she was free from using the bath salts. In a week, she had to use it at least once. The longer she took to bathe herself in the salts, the weaker her legs turned.
She already was clumsy enough. The last thing she needed was to fall flat on the ground.
Once she was done taking a bath, she changed herself into a dress and walked down to the kitchen. Picking up the cool lemonade in her hand, she took a couple of sips before asking Eugene, who was cleaning the island of the kitchen,
"Do we have Sour rocks in the storage room?"
Eugene paused what he was doing and nodded, "We must have enough to last you for the next four weeks. Would you like me to bring some of them to you?" he asked her.
"I will take it," replied Eve, and she walked to the storage room, where the servant followed her from behind.
"Did you run out of it?" Asked Eugene, and Eve nodded.
"I did. I won't be needing it for the next three days, but it would be better to stock them," Eve had bent down, pulling out a small bag that was hidden behind the other vessels. When she opened the gunny bag, there were small black rocks. After she went through another vessel, she said, "We are out of Ivory dust. Seems like a trip to the deeper part of the market is required."
"Let me accompany you," Eugene offered, and Eve gave him a small nod.
It wasn't that Eve wasn't capable of taking care of herself. But Lady Aubrey had never approved of Eve stepping into the darker side of the market, and the older woman preferred that Eugene accompanied Eve.
If Eugene knew to identify the rocks, he would have gone to buy it himself. But there had been a couple of times when he had been fooled by being given simple rocks of no purpose. In the beginning, years when Lady Aubrey had taken Eve in, she knew a merchant who sold it. But three years ago, the seller had disappeared without a trace.
Even though their town was occupied by middle and lower class human families, the items that were of no use to the humans were sold right in Meadow without their knowledge.
Eve and Eugene reached the market by foot, which was located in the corner part of the town.
"The weather seems to have changed quite quickly since the last two hours," commented Eugene, while he looked up at the sky that had turned cloudy.
Thankfully for Eve, she had carried her umbrella with her.
The pair shopped for other regular things so that they didn't look suspicious before coming to stand in front of the human merchant's shop, who sold different rocks.
"Good afternoon, Lady Eve. Did the stones help in blocking the water seepage?" inquired the merchant.
"Yes, it did. But I believe we will need some more of those," Eve smiled. She explained, "With the house being old, it needs constant care."
"I can only imagine," the merchant agreed. "You don't have to come all the way here for that. I can always send these things through your servant."
"This gives me an excuse to come out and take a stroll in the market," Eve moved closer to look at one of the gunny bags before she raised her eyes to look at the merchant throwing white stones into the gunny bag. "It looks like you have fancier looking ones. How much are these?"
The merchant gave a glance and replied, "Those are rather new and of very high quality. It costs fifty shillings, but if you are going to buy, I will sell it for thirty."
"That is very kind of you," replied Eve.
Since the past, wealthy men were only aware that mermaids made use of salts, but they weren't able to figure out what kind because there were two components mixed in it—Sour rocks and Ivory dust. This is why it made it easier for Eve just to buy the rocks and then crush them for use.
"Shall I add them?" Inquired the merchant, eager to sell and make his profit.
Eve turned distracted when she heard a little commotion take place further inside the alleys of the market. It had not only attracted hers but a few others' attention. The only difference was that the humans went back to what they were doing, trying to avoid the darker side of the market. While Eve stared in that direction.
The clouds above the town of Meadow had come to hover, growling softly.
"Maybe next time I visit," she replied. She paid the merchant the money, who handed the bag to Eugene. "Thank you."
"Lady Eve, this is the way," came the startled voice of Eugene when he caught Eve taking a step in the opposite direction.
"Would you like to take a walk with me, Eugene?" There was a look of curiosity in her eyes, which Eugene turned wary of.
"No… I think my legs are tired, and we—Wait! I am coming!" Replied Eugene when Eve started to walk in the opposite direction. Catching up with her, he whispered hurriedly, "I don't think it is safe for us to walk where you plan to walk right now, miss."
"I felt I heard someone scream, and it was very faint," Eve replied worriedly.
"I think that is a sign to walk away and not towards it," Eugene looked around them as they continued to walk. The people on this side of the alleys wore long cloaks, and they didn't look like people who were kind or had good intentions.
"We'll take a quick look and leave," said Eve because she knew if she didn't take a look right now, she would keep wondering if someone had been in trouble. "There's nothing to worry. We are still in our own town."
Though the wind that blew was cold, Eugene had begun to start sweating. He kept an eye to make sure no one was looking at them, but he knew sooner or later, people would.
Eve's blue eyes tried to find anything that could stand out, but so far, in the places they had walked past, everything appeared to be normal. As the scream had been faint to her ears, she wasn't sure if it was a male or a female's voice.
Soon drops of water started to fall, first softly before increasing the pace. Both Eve and Eugene had pulled open their umbrellas and positioned them over their heads.
The rain blurred the vision of their surroundings after a few steps. The town's men and women hurried back to their houses while some took shelter. Then there were a few who continued to linger in the darker alleys of the market.
"Lady Eve! Maybe we should come back after the rain," said Eugene.
He was right, thought Eve. There was no way she would be able to see anything in this rain, and she nodded.
"Okay, let us head back!" she agreed because they would only be wasting time.
Having walked quite a reasonable distance inside the darker side of the market, the two started to walk back.
Eve couldn't help but turn to look behind her, her eyebrows slightly knitted. When she turned back, she noticed a black wall.
Wanting to avoid it, she placed her foot back. At the same time, she realised the wall wasn't a wall but a person in a black cloak. Her eyes fell on a dark silvery hair head behind which copper-red eyes stared back at her.
While placing her foot back, Eve slightly twisted her ankle, and her eyes widened when she started to fall back.
The umbrella that she held flew out of her hand, and her other hand reached toward the man. The man tilted his head, and soon Eve's bottom kissed the ground.
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