A quiet knock on the door in the pattern of a waltz. That was what they had established as the distress call in case Cain needed Riff to assist him in investigating. But, that night, there was no investigating, and Cain was surprised to hear the knock on his own door. He rose quickly and cracked the door to see Riff with his face downcast and mien abnormally disheveled.
"What is it?" Cain opened the door for his servant to enter. Riff took the invitation slowly, and finally began to raise his face to see Cain's. It was even paler than his typical ivory shade and his eyes were filled with thin red branches. "Riff, you are not well!" he exclaimed upon seeing the altered state of his manservant. He took Riff's hands and led him to a chair in the corner, and knelt down to examine his face. "For heaven's sake, please tell me what is wrong, what I can do to help, anything!"
Riff met his concern with a pained smile. "I think I will recover," he said, putting his hand on Cain's. "But, I needed to see you." Cain grasped his hand and held it tightly.
"Is it about that woman?" Cain asked. It had only been a few hours since his attempted murderess had permanently left his household. "Dear Riff, do not concern yourself with her petty acts of vengeance. She will not bother us ever again." Cain sat back onto his heels, still studying Riff's face. Some of its color had returned, but it was not as it should have been.
"Yes, I know, but I—" his voice lost its strength. "Just looking at those fish, knowing that it could have been you. I've failed you, my lord. I haven't protected you as I promised." Cain brought himself close enough to take Riff's face in his hands.
"Riff, no one but God or the Devil will be able to separate us. We've taken our vows, sworn ourselves to each other." Cain's eyes shut slowly as he closed the space between them. "No one can break us."