The head butler was in the dining room, pressing the top of his pocket watch when one of the maids came looking for him.
"The table has been set," the maid informed him.
"Alright," he replied, looking up from the watch while still clicking the clock to set the time. Putting the watch in his pocket, he went to look for his master to let him know that dinner was ready. He went to Lord Nicholas" room and then to the study room, to see if he was there but he wasn"t.
Wondering if his master was at the clock tower, he made his way up there to see Lord Nicholas and Lady Heidi standing next to each other. Though it was dark, his vampire eyes caught sight of their hands linked to each other. The sight would have surprised anyone else but it didn"t come as a surprise to him. There was a reason why he was asked to serve at the Rune"s mansion and for such a long time. It was subtle but he had noticed at times how his master resembled like a hawk when he looked at the lady who now stood next to him. It wasn"t in a bad way but there was something very different about it.
Before he could leave without making a sound, his master who was facing in his direction looked at him to which the butler bowed his head. Turning around he left the place, stepping down the circular stairs of the clock tower.
Exiting the entrance to the clock tower he wondered what it meant though. Lady Heidi was engaged to Mr. Lawson. Then there was the truce which had to be up held at any cost. Seeing a servant approach with a bucket of water and a cloth in the back of his pocket. He was a new recruit to join the household servants at the mansion.
Stanley asked, "What are you doing here?"
"You asked me to clean the stairs," the boy reminded him. Stanley did remember telling him that but he had asked it in the morning and it was night now.
"Aren"t you early," the butler commented sarcastically to see the boy scratch the back of his neck, "Leave it for today. You can do it early in the morning tomorrow."
At the tower clock, Heidi stood with Nicholas, his cold fingers holding her warm hand in his as they stood there in silence.
Her mind went through the words he spoke and she looked up at him to see like usual he was already looking at her. A soft smile on his lips which was as harmless as the drizzle of rain that fell from the clouds. In response her heart squeezed in her little chest. She wanted to pick the easy road he spoke about and it was tempting. So tempting that she would have picked it in a heartbeat if her circ.u.mstances were different.
"I don"t know...I don"t know if I will be left stranded if I picked the easier road. Even though the other one is difficult, I at least know where it is going," she said looking him in the eye.
"Is that what worries you?" he tugged her hand to bring her closer to him, "What if I said that you wouldn"t be left stranded? What is it that you worry? Tell me and I will see to it that you have nothing to think about but me," he spoke the last few words in a whisper.
"What about Warren?" she asked worried.
She wasn"t a bachelorette but a person who was promised to be Warren"s wife. It was something she reminded herself every time her eyes fell on the lord. Even with her heart that belonged to Nicholas she didn"t have the courage to step forward into the unknown territory.
"In a few weeks of time I will be married to Warren for the truce. Isn"t that what you and the council decided?"
"The truce can be nulled. I would but right now it is important the process of the truce carries forward," Nicholas began to explain, "There are people whom I need to s.h.i.+ft from my empire through it. When I visited Woville I heard there were men and women trying to provoke the council to eradicate half-vampires as some of them don"t turn well as you know. We the lord"s, who are in charge have been keeping a regular check and the count of vampires who were turned. But there is someone who is corrupting the already turned half vampires to kill people."
"Did you find who it is?"
"We haven"t. Thanks to the black witches increase in activities, it is easier to blame them to cover up the tracks of the vampires before being killed. We wouldn"t want to cause any harm and mistrust arise in the empire."
"I see," Heidi wondered who might it be. Her first thought went to Duke Scathlok but she doubted it could be him. He was a human who dislike vampires. To turn humans into half vampires, he would have to have help from a willing vampire.
The half vampires weren"t a problem unless they weren"t turned properly. Humans who couldn"t cope with the transition and infusion of the vampire venom, usually lost their mental as well as physical balance. Due to this even though few humans who craved for an extended life stepped back at the thought of losing their life forever while going through the transition phase. It was the first time she had heard about a already turned vampire turning corrupt.
"Will Stanley and the others be safe?" she asked worried.
"They will be fine. I have already spoken to Reuben about it. Stanley is a smart man to fall into the trap. Rather it would be the other way around. I believe most of the order letters have already been pa.s.sed around all the four empires to keep an eye on any suspicious activity," Nicholas answered seeing her nod her head, "I will handle everything, darling. Didn"t I tell you, you have nothing to worry while I am here," he a.s.sured her, "Or is it that hard to choose between Warren and me?" he sounded a little irked as he asked her but his face still holding patience. His eyes looking right into her while waiting for her to respond.
"You know it isn"t that," unable to handle the intensity his eyes held, she dropped her gaze, "I understand the situation but what you"re asking for isn"t right."
The lord was giving her hope which she hadn"t imagined since her mother pa.s.sed away. She wanted to break the boundaries to go to where he was. But was it alright to choose? When he leaned forward, she closed her eyes instinctively but he didn"t do anything and instead let her hand free.
Opening her eyes, she noticed that his face was void of any emotions.
"I guess you are right. You are nothing but a woman who was brought for the truce, to marry my cousin. Perhaps, you should marry Warren. That"s what"s right after all and we shall part ways like nothing happened. I will be going back to my chambers," he stepped back away from her. Seeing Lord Nicholas turn his back to her Heidi wasn"t sure what to do. She was exhausted with the day and her mind and heart was barely functioning.
"Nicholas-"
"What?" he cut her sharply, giving her the cold shoulder. Heidi could already feel the gap that had begun to form between them. It was as if her chest was being hollowed by his behavior.