Eloise ran through the corridor silently crying.
"Miss..." Odette ran after her silently crying for her to stop.
Eloise ignored her and ran into their suit.
In the room, her mother was sitting on the couch with a gleeful smirk. But as soon as she noticed her arrival she stood up in shock. "Eloise... you're crying."
"Just stop. Stop all this! I don't want to get married. You know why mum, because none of these gentlemen who you deem to be exceptional will value me. Never! So, you have to stop this vain effort at finding me a boyfriend. it's not helping." She sobbed loudly.
She did not know why. But today hurt more than she had expected. Maybe it must have been the viscount's snippy words or marques' jest attitude he had towards her.
Or maybe it was the duke who enraged her so.
The man who she respected and looked up to suddenly pushed her into this situation without a word of warning.
She hated it.
She felt betrayed.
"Eloise dear," madam Ayles hugged her trembling shoulders tightly. "My baby, don't cry. Mommy is here."
Eloise sobbed hugging her tightly. "I just learned that we can't own money… what kind of life will woman lead mum... what will we do? do we have to depend on a man to make us comfortable? Is It not okay for us women to make our own living?"
"Shh baby, it's okay. Mummy is here for you. We will manage. My brother will help sort this out,"
Eloise let out a loud sob. "That too we have to depend on a man… why? I hate it so much... I hate this…" she ran into her room crying her heart out.
Madam Ayles silently wiped her own tears. "What happened? Who hurt her like this?"
Odette was also sniffling. "It was the viscount and the marques. They made fun of her when she suggested her business idea."
"Oh, those vile men. let's go talk some sense into them. How dare they make fun of my baby." madam Ayles stormed out of the room to the duke's study. The door was ajar.
She stormed right in. "Where are they? Those men who talked bad about my daughter?" she looked around. Only the duke was standing in the corner of the room with a wine bottle in hand. He looked utterly downcast.
"Young duke, name those who hurt my daughter right now. I'll have a private talk with their mamas. Is this how their parents taught them to behave?"
The duke remained silent.
"Young duke?" she walked up to him.
Raymond was silently holding the wine bottle. "She cried didn't she….I'm sorry madam Ayles I don't think I can help you with this pursuit of yours. And I believe you shouldn't try to hurt Eloise even more." He faced her at last.
The man looked tired and broken. "She is a special woman. She does not deserve to be restrained and constrained by a man."
Madam Ayles silently gazed at him.
"madam… I will make it so that woman can hold their wealth. So please… let her be happy."
Madam Ayles was speechless for a moment. "you are willing to bend the world for her… I... I don't know what to say. Young duke…."
"you didn't have to say anything, madam. It's what I can do and will do for her. She… she is like the light in this dim world. I would do my utmost care that small flicker of light doesn't go out."
Madam Ayles stood there peering up at the young man. this man was willing to go to such lengths for his daughter… but she couldn't approve of their relationship. 'Isn't this the kind of love I want for my Eloise? It's heartbreaking that he is sick... if he was normal…'
She sighed softly. If this young man was healthy, she would have gladly married her daughter off to him.
But he was not.
She did not wish for her daughter to suffer the same pain she did. Losing a husband is like losing a part of your soul. it's very hard to overcome that heartbreaking feeling.
Shh felt tears pool in her eyes.
"Young duke… I..."
"...." The duke simply gulped down the wine and peered at the wooden door of the window.
"How sick are you, sir?" she whispered ever so softly.
"I'm not normal…." The man scoffed. "The sun hates me... I hate myself…" he said in a soft whisper.
"Pardon me for asking you this, but you are not dying?"
Duke Raymond just glanced at her with ha soft smile. "I wish I was."
"Then…. Then what is stopping you from courting my daughter? Is she not what you are looking for lord?" madam Ayles was furious. She had thought that this man was keeping a distance from her daughter only because of his physical ailments but no. he simply did not wish to get close to her daughter. 'What is wrong with my darling Eloise? Why is he acting like she is a disease of some sort?!'
"I like her." He said with the most genuine smile on his face. "In fact, I like her a little too much. But my situation does not allow me to get into a relationship madam. I can walk in the sun," he held out his hand.
The back of his hand was completely burned as if someone had taken a fire kindle to it.
Madam gasped. "oh, dear it's bleeding. We have to do something." She ran to him and hurriedly wound his burn with her kerchief.
Raymond watched her with an unknown look in his eyes. "This is what happens if I go out in the sun. will you be willing to give your daughter away to a monster like me,"
Madam Ayles simply gazed up at him with a smile. "Do you know something, when my baby was born everyone called her a monster. A witch with pure white hair. They said that she is a hail bringer of doom. Tsk tsk, but my daughter is normal as day." She patted his hand softly. "And so are you. Young duke, you are not a monster. You are the kindest man I've ever met. So of course, I would give my blessings."
Raymond froze over. "You…. You're not scared of me? What if I hurt your daughter? You have to understand I'm not normal in any way."
"So what? my daughter is not normal as well. She is adorably abnormal. So together you both will make a wonderful couple." She patted his shoulders. "Have some confidence and learn to love yourself. Only when you love yourself will you have the love to give to others" Madam Ayles backed away. "Your relationship is something you have to fix if you wish to. I won't intervene any longer."
Duke Raymond gazed at his bandaged hand and at the old madam smiling kindly at him. 'is that what a mother's love feels like…. I forgot after such a long time…...'
Madam asylee left after saying this.
Raymond was left with so much to think of. His love for Eloise was apparent by now. It was like an uncontrollable flood. He couldn't stop it. then he would just accept it and deal with the consequences.
As a half vampire, there is a lot he can't do.
'Will Eloise accept me like this? will she be able to love me after seeing me like this?'
He gazed at the bandage again. 'Am I not a monster?'
The whole night he stood there thinking about his feelings ad what he was going to do with them.
The next day at dawn he walked out of there as a new man. The first thing he did was find his friend and went to the suit the Ayles family was staying in.
Knocking on the door he anxiously waited.
A young maid opened the door, yawning. "Oh… oh I'm sorry your highness please come on." She led him into the parlor room. "I'll inform the madam."
She ran in a hurry.
Raymond sat there gazing at the particular door. From this distance, he could hear the movement inside the door. It was likely that Eloise was wide awake but getting ready for the day.
'Wonder if she slept well...'
Just as he was thinking of this the door swung open.
Elsie walked out yawning. "Odette, do you have some ice… my eyes are swollen like a pig…." She then gazed at the two men sitting in the parlor room and froze. "Oh. It's you… it's early." She gazed out the window. The sun hadn't come out yet.
Raymond shot up anxiously. "Eloise..."
"If you are here to apologize don't bother. I will forget about your mishap this one time. Let's just go on as business partners."
"I want us to be more than business partners." He said softly.
"w-what?" Eloise gazed up at him in shock. "Did my mum put you up to this? I do not like this joke, duke."
"I do not jest. I want to be your husband… Would you allow me to court you, miss Eloise?"