A/N: Unedited at it's best, please do point out any typos if you see them lol
"You have made yourself quite comfortable here, Lady Kiara." A deep voice came from behind her.
The lady turned around.
Count Monroe smiled politely at her. Red hair parted from the left side, swept behind and tied in a pony behind his head. Beard trimmed to perfection and moustache groomed beneath a strong, long nose. He wore a well-ironed black coat and pants. A golden rose brooch on his breast pocket and it's chain pinned to the black tie.
"Good morning, my Lord." Lady Kiara bowed. "A beautiful morning, is it not, my Lord?"
"Not for everyone, I am afraid, Lady Kiara." He gestured at the hallway exit.
Lady Kiara walked out with the Count beside her. The blood on the doorknob of Ada's room called out for her immediate attention as she walked past it.
Should I tell the Count?
Is he credible?
She curbed the urge to take a closer look.
"Your mornings start early," Count Monroe spoke from beside her.
"No, my Lord, yours start late—" Lady Kiara closed her lips shut in regret, but laughed softly behind her gloved hands to not to appear offensive.
To her relief, the Count laughed too. "You possess a merry disposition, Lady Kiara. Surely you must be an awful company when one wants to cry their heart out."
"I have been told I am an awful company regardless of the situation." She shrugged as they stepped out of the hallway into the backyard.
"Up until now, what you have been told seems wholly untrue."
Five servants rushed towards the Count and held the large umbrella above his head, shielding him from the sun rays.
Lady Kiara did not correct him and stepped further into the backyard. The dead bodies had been removed. The soldiers were now pouring water and salt on the stained grass.
"What is the status of my missing knights, my Lord?" She asked.
"Worry has made a permanent residence in your heart. This might cause you to be ill, I am afraid."
"My heart seems fine to me."
"The illness comes with advancing age."
"I received this splendid trait of being a worrywort from my father's side. The finest specimen exhibiting it is my aunt. The devil of a woman is still alive after exploiting the world's resources for over hundred years."
Count Monroe laughed. "Mayhap, she is an exception."
"I concede." She smiled. "Inheriting her exceptions is the prime part of my nightly prayers, my Lord."
"Prayers seldom yield fruit. If possible, you must choose to take least risk."
"That is a pessimist bend of mind." She pointed out. "My father taught me, greatest risks bears sweetest fruits, my Lord."
"I can not challenge that idea." Count Monroe quirked his eyebrow. "Unless I wish to have your father challenging me for a duel."
"My father is not that easy to flare up." She chuckled. And he has better things to do, she added mentally.
The guards were leaving the backyard after coating the blood tainted grass with salt and lime. They bowed and departed in a formation.
"We are not on the same page on that matter."
"We are not on the same page on any matter, my Lord."
The Count smiled and hummed. "The progress of the conversation does indicate that." He walked forth and gestured towards the way ahead for Lady Kiara to do the same. "Do you care for a cup of tea before breakfast?"
So, you are not going to impart any information about my knights? Lady Kiara thought to herself as she nodded in compliance.
"About my departed knights—" Lady Kiara spoke as they rounded the corner. "—when are there bodies leaving for my homeland, my Lord?"
"Once we fulfill the formalities here, their bodies will be sent away without any further delay." He informed.
"How long will that take, my Lord?"
"At the least one more day."
Reaching the front door of the mansion, Lady Kiara glanced towards the Count beside her. His age was more then what was engraved in the folds of his skin. Time had been merciful to the the pureblooded vampire beside her. He must have been a fairly handsome man in his prime and continued to be one even past it.
"I request you to hasten the process, my Lord," Lady Kiara stated as they entered the mansion and headed towards the parlor. "Back home, we have procedures of our own to follow. That would take some time as well. Meanwhile, the family and friends of the departed soul would suffer, my Lord."
"The matters are being handled as swiftly as possible. However, too much haste proves detrimental in the future, lest we miss something of great significance." The Count signalled to a maid nearby, sending her scurrying away.
"I understand, my Lord. Yet, my heart goes out to the men and women left behind. It is only appropriate to hand them their loved one as soon as possible, my Lord."
"We are finally on the same page, Lady Kiara." Count Monroe nodded. Sitting on the plush chair across to where was Lady Kiara sitting, he crossed his legs. "As I said, we are hoping to be as quick as possible."
"I offer my heartfelt gratitude for that, my Lord." She smiled at the man, who offered one back.
Separating them was a round glass table. A newspaper was placed on it. Count Monroe picked it up. "It is my pleasure. In fact, it is my duty."
"Duty reminds me, your armsman—" Tucking the strand of an errant tendril behind her ear, she leaned forward. "Is he looking over the investigation of the case regarding missing knights as well?"
"Yes, Lady Kiara, he is." He tilted his head to the side. "Why do you ask? Did you find anything amiss?"
"Oh, no." She shook her head. "I was merely curious." Leaning back in the chair she was sitting, she continued. "What was his name again? Sir Nile?" She squinted her eyes and angled her head to her left, looking up in concentration. Stroking her chin, she wondered out loud. "Or was it Sir Kyle?"
"Names rarely matter, Lady Kiara." The Count chuckled. "You are a young one. It is adorable to see you attempting at knowing names and such."
Lady Kiara sobered up.
"Why not?" She asked, her tone grave. "We are going to work with them. How disastrous can it be to know their names?"
The Count sensed the sudden change in mood as well. He straightened his back. Face void of expressions, he leaned forward, regarding Lady Kiara with an unblinking stare.
"Have you ever been to a farm, Lady Kiara?" He asked, his voice dropping a few octanes. "They do not give names to the cattles. Do you know why?" He paused waiting for the Lady to answer.
She did not. Her eyes burned into his fervently. Her mouth set in a strict line.
Assured she would not be replying, he continued. "Because they are going to sell them, slaughter them."
"Names bring attachment, Lady Kiara." He voiced out. Slowly, deliberately. As if to tame a petulant child.
"Furthermore, we are of different stations. Maintaining that distance is another duty of an aristocrat." He added and leaned back.
The parlor was drenched with cold silence. The droplets of tension dribbled down the ceiling and soaked the guards standing in their stations to their bones.
Two aristocrats— both unrelenting, both unwavering— sat across each other as the palpable tension made the air thicker and thicker. It was suddenly hard to breathe.
Blood red eyes clashed with darkened browns. Their stubborn gazes fought for dominance.
Lady Kiara suddenly broke into a smile.
"Heavens!" She sighed. "Such resistance against telling a simple name."
"It is no resistance. Being a responsible adult, I merely considered it to be my duty to acquaint you with the societal etiquettes we follow here in the Monroe Mansion. You are to be my daughter-in-law, after all."
"Is that so? Then I have no right to be doubting your intentions." Lady Kiara nodded; her practiced, polite smile back in the place.
"Of course not. What would you suspect anyway?" He opened the newspaper and leaned back.
"Something, anything. Since you do not wish for me to know the name of a mere armsman." She shrugged.
Two maids entered the parlor, cutting off whatever Count Monroe wished to say. One with a kettle and tea cups in a tray. Another with refreshments. The butler trailed after them. Placing the trays on the table, they bowed and left. The butler curtsied and rose his head. He informed. "The breakfast has been prepared."
"Serve it." The Count did not wait for Lady Kiara and stood up. "I hope you do not mind, Lady Kiara."
Kiara stared at him for a moment.
Is this how you wish to play, Count Monroe?
So be it.
She smiled and rose from her chair. "Of course not, my Lord."
Bet I can play better then you.
A/N: Thoughts on Lady Kiara and Count Monroe?
Guess who do you get to meet on the next chapter ;)