To Death Shall Thy Part

Chapter 26 - A Detached Family

The first letter addressed the concerns of Druex's anonymous donations and contributions to the medical fund, either for Catherine or his charity. Nonetheless, it was not in the two doctors' interests to delve deeper into the subject. Perhaps if it were during another time, it would be a topic to discuss over tea, but with the tangling of Catherine and the bunch, they were eager to know the young lord's response to the issue.

"Can't you hurry up and open it already? tsk..." Losing her patience, Doctor Helene scolded Lord Zachary while glaring at him; however, instead of hurrying, Lord Zachary ignored her and continued at his own pace, leaving Doctor Helene frustrated.

"hmm..." After opening up the letter, Lord Zachary was more silent than before and showed a contemplative look. Curious, Dr. Helene took it upon herself to take the letter and read it. After seeing the response, she was confused.

"What does he mean by this? what is he planning on doing?" Doctor Helene inquired, a thousand questions racing through her mind about the contents of the letter.

"I don't know, but one thing is for sure: He trusts the Moriarty Brothers, so we should too. Well, he already said his stance on this matter; all we can do is keep Catherine safe and make sure there are no mishaps." Lord Zachary ended the topic on hand and tried to dismiss Doctor Helene.

"But what—" Lord Zachary abruptly cut Doctor Helene off and sent her straight to the door before she could finish her sentence.

"No buts; go on now. Go and sleep." Irritated, Doctor Helene left in an angry mood.

At the Faucigny Estate

In his study room, Hendrix is quietly watching the sun go down until it is nighttime. He has been like this for the past few days after receiving a letter from Doctor Zachary of St. Mary's Hospital. Some of the maids that are under the first son are afraid of making the slightest noise so as not to evoke his anger. Going on with this kind of daily routine, the butler just shakes his head in disappointment.

When it was time for dinner, the butler called to him and reminded him, but, even after the maids repeated calls for dinner, he did not respond. But after a while, he suddenly stands up and calls for the butler.

"Yes, sir, you called for me." After entering the study room, the butler said respectfully.

"Prepare the carriage, I'm going out for a bit." As Hendrix instructed, he put on his coat and grabbed something from his desk, keeping it in his suit pocket. After making sure everything is set, he hastily went down the grad stairs followed by the butler.

"Hendrix, where are you going at this time?" Lady Isabella, the Duchess of the Faucigny Family, asked as she saw Hendrix in a hurry, walking up to the door.

Out of politeness, Hendrix halted on his footsteps and bowed to the duchess. "Mother, did you just finish dinner?"

"Yes. What about you? You did not join us for dinner, and yet, you are going out at this time of the night, Are you alright, Hendrix?" Lady Isabella asked, her tone laced with concern as she looked at Hendrix and took a glance outside.

"I am fine, Mother. I will just meet someone, I won't be long." Hendrix assured his mother with a smile. But despite that, Lady Isabella becomes even more worried.

"The two of you are the same. You all have grown up, go, go ahead and leave." Lady Isabella said reluctantly.

After hearing what his mother had said, Hendrix was stumped for words; he did not know how to comfort her. To alleviate the awkwardness, he abruptly blurted out words that, instead of calming his mother, made her even more depressed.

"She is a grown woman with a mind of her own. Let her be. Why care about her? Let her do as she wishes. "

"Let her be? And you asked, Why should I care about her? It's because I'm her mother! How could you say that to your own sister?" Lady Isabella lashed out at Hendrix after hearing his words, not caring about all of the servants in the room.

"Mom! "That's not what I meant." Before Hendrix could explain any further, from the corner of his eyes, he saw the shadows of his father emerging from the dining room. Hendrix, who disliked having conversations with him, especially about Catherine, abruptly ended his conversation with his mother and ran out of the mansion, boarding the carriage at lightning speed and informing the coachman of his desired location before they left.

Seeing how her son is avoiding her husband, Lady Isabella sighed and also went upstairs, also ignoring her husband. Instead of going to the main chamber, she went to an empty room and shut down the door loudly. The atmosphere within the Faucigny Mansion has been cold and detached ever since Catherine's departure. Still grieving about her daughter leaving home, she has long ignored her husband behind the scenes and would only talk to him in public.

After being ignored by the mother and son pair, Lord Frederick just kept silent and dismissed all of the servants, then proceeded to walk towards the main bedroom in a lonely manner. Looking at the big and empty bed, he remembered how, in the past month that he had been sleeping alone in the king-size bed, and how his wife was still angry at him for what happened. Lord Frederick just sighed and went on drinking whiskey for the entire night.

After leaving the mansion, Hendrix contemplated in the carriage about the things that happened. He sigh in annoyance as he scolded the coachman to drive faster. Within a few minutes, he finally arrived at a shabby-looking bar within downtown, emerging from a carriage with no crest, Hendrix went into incognito. After looking left and right, seeing that he was not recognized by anyone, he then enter the bar.

Different sights and smells greeted him as soon as he set foot inside; there was shouting from a group of men in a corner and another from behind the table. Disgusted by the mixed smell of cigars and whiskey, he quickly took a glance around the room to look for someone. Within the more secluded corner of the room, he saw a man with a brown hat raising his right hand as a sign of his presence. Without dallying, he walked in his direction in a fast and steady manner.

"Why did you choose this place? You could have chosen a more secluded area than this rowdy bar." As soon as he arrived at the table, Hendrix complained and kept looking left and right before settling down. The man in front took off his hat out of respect and bowed apologetically.

"So sorry, young master, I couldn't find a much better place than here to talk. I am a bit acquainted with the folks here, so they are not a problem. Besides, with their cover, your incognito would be more successful."

"Fine, I will not push the matter further." Hendrix seems to trust this man, as he spoke to him with ease.

"So, Master, what would you like me to do this time? What kind of service would you like me to do?" The man did not dally any further and went on official business.

"Detective, I want you to investigate someone for me. Look up anything that you can find about him. I want all information." After saying that, Hendrix took a photo out of his suit pocket and put it on the table. Pointing at the man in the photo, he smiled sinisterly and said his name in a very cold voice. "He is Luke Rosenthal."