Ciel Phantomhive sat in his chair gazing out his large window, the carriage with the Queen's messenger passing out of view as Sebastian walked in. The Earl knew there was yet another mission the Queen needed her Guard Dog to do this month, the fourth so far.
"Master," his butler said from behind. Ciel turned and looked up at him, the silver tray in Sebastian's hand with a single white letter placed perfectly in the middle. His butler lowered the tray on the table gently and Ciel snatched it with his hand.
Sebastian watched the young master carefully as he opened it and read to himself. Ciel looked puzzled and read it again, which made Sebastian raise a eyebrow. "Is there something wrong, my lord?"
Ciel remained silent as he carefully read the message again, ignoring his butler. Once he read it, he gently tossed the pages onto the table toward Sebastian, turning his chair to face out the window again as Sebastian read over the message. His face remained expressionless as he read the letter. Only at the end of the third page, scribbled almost like it was a last minute addition, did Sebastian look confused.
"Did the messenger seem odd to you?" Ciel asked, his hands intertwined as he looked at where the carriage was last seen, unconsciously rubbing his ring.
"He was the usual messenger, my lord," Sebastian replied, coming to his master's side. "Whoever wrote the message did it somewhere between the Queen and the messenger."
Ciel nodded in agreement, closing his eyes for a moment. When his eyes opened he had determination in his eyes.
"Tomorrow we will look into the case," the young Earl said mostly to himself.
"And the warning?" His butler asked.
"Whoever the Queen wants out of the chess game," the corner of Ciel's mouth curled up in a small smile, "obviously knows we will be coming. It makes our job that much easier when they come to us."
"Yes, my master," Sebastian smiled slightly as he bowed. "Dinner will be served at six. Will there be anything else?"
"No," the young master said, returning to look at the letters.
Sebastian bowed again, his grin fading as he walked out the door. There was something about the message that concerned him. First, who could have gotten to the letters before they got to the messenger? There were few people who could, and most were not of this world. Secondly, why would anyone want to warn the Earl? He had little to no allies in England's underworld, and even fewer in his social circle which was nonexistent. And thirdly, how did they find out that the Queen would send her Guard Dog all the way to Scotland to deal with them?
Sebastian could only think of one who would take the risk of warning the young master, and he shivered at the thought of running into him again.