"Have you heard that one of our peers was found dead a night ago? It’s been concluded that he drank too much and had a nasty fall, hitting his head," Zayne shared.

"You know this, yet you would continue to keep your home pitch black and get drunk? Do you not think it is time for you to allow the sunlight to touch your floors?" Damien asked, tired of the darkness.

"I know my way around my mansion. If you need, I can have a servant offer you a candle during your visits," Zayne suggested.

"I would take that candle and set your home on fire. One day, I am going to come here and find you dead. I’ll send notice to your family and leave you be," Damien said, not wanting to get involved.

"You wouldn’t. You care for me too much to react so poorly to my death. I wish all of you would stop thinking that I am trying to kill myself. There are just some days when I am not in the mood to be so lively," Zayne said, but there was more to it.

"Hmm."

"Anyway, at first they thought someone hit him over the head with an object, but there wasn’t any evidence to prove it. It didn’t seem that he had been robbed, so they wrote it off as an accident. Do you not think it is odd that two of our peers died in an odd accident?" Zayne asked, thinking of the death before.

"No," Damien replied.

"Truly? The death before was strange, and the guards didn’t know the cause of death. I’m starting to think someone is plotting against us," Zayne concluded.

"Is that so?"

"Yes!" Zayne exclaimed. 𝐟𝕣𝕖𝐞𝐰𝕖𝚋𝐧𝗼𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝗰𝐨𝐦

"Some of you are fools who are too trusting of the people around you. You get drunk and let your guard down. If they are targeting you, you are all making it too easy," Damien said, holding no pity for the victims.

"Dear Damien, doesn’t your younger brother often drink and gamble? I hear he is upsetting a few gentlemen. If he didn’t have you backing him, Kyle would be seriously injured by now. You need to break his habit," Zayne urged Damien.

"I’m going to break his leg. I’m tired of him wasting money and the company he keeps. I’m going to end it," Damien said, a plot already in play.

"I don’t think you should break his leg since he has a bright future ahead of him. I suggest you cut him off for a few days. Make him feel what it is like to struggle. Send him to be with my uncle for a few days," Zayne said, followed by laughter. "That might make him lose his mind."

"I know what to do with Kyle. I’ve seen that you are alive, so I am going back to my home," Damien said, setting his empty glass down before standing up.

"You will leave already? It is not fair for you to leave so soon after disturbing my slumber. I can’t believe you would abandon me to go back to your wife. I am hurt," Zayne said, placing his hand on his chest.

"You’ll know pain if I hit you. I have business to tend to, and yes, I prefer the company of my wife. I will return to see that you are still well. By then, allow some light to enter your home," said Damien.

"I think the candle idea is what you must get used to. I’m going to come tomorrow night to have dinner with you. Don’t forget, you need my help with my uncle!" Zayne yelled as Damien walked away. "I am going back to bed," he muttered.

***

Back at the estate, Eloise walked around with her maids following her.

"Do the Hawthornes host balls in the estate like they used to?" Eloise asked, turning around to face the two women.

"I cannot think of a day when the Hawthornes hosted a ball," Hannah said, failing to recall a date. "Lord Hawthorne isn’t fond of letting many people into the estate unless they are family or friends. His aunt is the one who hosts balls and other gatherings in the Hawthorne name."

"I see. I won’t change their way of hosting gatherings," Eloise decided.

Eloise also wasn’t ready for the responsibility which came with being a host.

"If I may," Hannah requested to speak.

"You may," Eloise allowed.

"If you want to host a social gathering, the Hawthornes have other homes around the town. Even townhouses like where the young master Quinn stays. Lord Hawthorne might be against it, because there was an instance where he was stabbed-"

"Stabbed?!" Eloise exclaimed, shocked by the news. "I didn’t know this. Who did it?"

"I was not here at the time, but I heard it was a relative who wasn’t pleased he wasn’t granted control of the estate. Forgive me if I have repeated a rumour which might not have the true motive of the relative, but Lord Hawthorne was indeed stabbed," said Hannah.

Eloise thought of whether she had seen a wound. ’You’ve been avoiding his body.’

Eloise started to understand more of why more of the Hawthornes were not seen inside the estate, and why Damien was against allowing others inside his home.

Eloise turned around to continue with her walk, but stopped once again when she noticed a figure lying on the floor.

"Kyle? Kyle!" Eloise yelled, realising who it was. She ran towards Kyle, believing he was ill. "Send for help," she instructed her maids.

Kyle rolled onto his back, annoyed by the noise. "Why are you being so loud?"

Eloise stopped right before she could kneel beside Kyle. "You are well?" She muttered, puzzled by why he laid on the floor.

"I was before you started to shout. I am only resting here," Kyle said, opening his eyes. "I had a bit too much to drink and needed to lie down for a moment. You may ignore me."

"Is this normal for you? Do you not think others would assume you are unwell?" Eloise asked, slowly coming down from her worry.

"The maids are used to seeing me like this. Why do you think they weren’t so quick to run? You are the only one who isn’t used to this. I must confess that seeing how concerned you were was wonderful. You are starting to feel like family," Kyle said, reaching to pat Eloise’s shoulder.

"Do not touch me," Eloise said, swatting Kyle’s hand.

"If this is your usual behaviour, then I pity the future that awaits you. Do you act so carelessly because there is someone to save you from the consequences of your actions? Are you a child who needs to be watched constantly, or a young man capable of making good decisions?"