I had fallen asleep at my desk. This was not uncommon, but it was bothersome, as I invariably woke with sore neck and shoulders and felt utterly wretched for the rest of the day. It wasn't good for someone of my profession to be unable to think clearly due to a night of poor sleep. Especially not now. Not with the situation as it was. The dead might be inclined to wait patiently in their graves but the constables were not so understanding. I could almost feel them breathing down my neck, just waiting to swoop in and replace me with someone more... qualified.
A man, in other words.
The pounding at my door startled me awake. I gasped, sitting bolt upright at my desk. It was a small office cramped with my desk, books, and a small liqueur cabinet for when I was entertaining clients. I rented the rooms above a widow's house in a crowded area of London where the houses were jostled shoulder-to-shoulder, vying for room. I checked the clock on the mantle. Nearly midnight. I hissed in frustration, both at myself and the intruder that was still banging irritably at the door. This wouldn't do. He'd wake my landlady at this rate. I caught up my pistol and tucked it among the folds of my skirt. The darkness would conceal the weapon. Then I trotted down the stairs. I didn't take a light with me. The candle had long since gone out, anyway.
I cracked the door, leaving the chain bolted. It only opened two inches and I stared out at a tall man with fine, elegant features and a dour expression. His eyes were startling. Like rubies.
"Miss Therris?"
"Yes," I replied, "Who are you?"
He frowned and those eyes of his narrowed. I quickly took stock of the man. Elegantly dressed in black with a silk vest and a swallowtail jacket. Perfectly creased. A pin on the lapel. I couldn't recognize the crest in the darkness. Gloves. Kid? I felt a pang of envy.
Whoever he was, he wasn't of my ranking, that was for certain. I could discern the source of his displeasure easily enough.
"Forgive my lack of manners," I said, injecting a measure of ice into my tone, "but it is highly unusual for someone to call upon me at this hour that isn't a constable. And being a woman, I have learned to take precautions."
"I see."
His eyes flickered down to my skirt where I had the gun hidden. I shifted uneasily.
"Then forgive my interruption," he said. He stepped back and put a hand to his chest, giving me the tiniest of bows, so tiny someone may have missed it. Not me. I always noticed these details. "I am Sebastian, butler to Lord Ciel Phantomhive. I was informed you were working detective on the Downy Street case and wished to make some inquiries before the morning."
Ah. So the constables did intend to replace me. They had been perfectly fine with me investigating the trouble so long as it remained minor, but as soon as the first body showed up they were chomping at the bit to have one of their own in command of the investigation. Now that there was a second corpse it was inevitable. There was no use fighting it. The titled were getting involved.
I silently shut the door so I could unlatch the chain and wordlessly invited him in. He followed me up and I led him into the office, busying myself with lighting the gas lamp. I left the gun on the desk. His eyes roved across the room in professional disdain. It was unnerving. He was unnerving.
"You didn't disturb me," I said to fill the silence, "I wasn't sleeping anyway. Been trying to figure all this out."
"Of course."
And like that, his entire demeanor changed. He clapped his hands together, gently, and those cold red eyes of his closed. A thin smile spread across his lips, framed by long black bangs. I couldn't decide if it was charming or mocking and I paused, turning from the last gas lamp to face him, suddenly wary. Something just felt off.
"Then you'll be pleased to know that House Phantomhive has been asked to assist in this matter," he said pleasantly, "It must be a terrible burden for someone, to have this entire weight on their shoulders. I understand it started out as such a simple affair, yes?"
I wanted to protest. Tell him that no, I was quite capable of handling it and he could just bugger off and tell his master to come see me in person and not insult me by sending... a butler...
That's what I should have done. Instead, I just collapsed into my chair by the desk and put my fingers to my temples. Bloody hell. Two men were dead and I was about to throw help out onto the streets out of stubborn pride. The Irish blood in my family never did me any good, sometimes.
"Just a sudden rash of robbery," I said wearily, gesturing for the man to sit, "The constables wouldn't investigate at first because nothing had actually been taken. They couldn't really call it robbery then, could they? Just vandalism, they said. Rowdy kids at night. So a couple of the people that had been broken in to came and hired me on. Then one of them turned up dead and well, the police got involved then. I – forgive me sir, I didn't quite catch your name."
"Sebastian." He watched me intently with those startling eyes of his and waited for me to continue.
"Anyway," I said, "I've been narrowing down the list of suspects. It's no one local. I feel the break-ins were merely preparation for the murders. There's a constable prowling the streets of those we feel are at risk. I've been making inquiries – most of the suspects have alibis. Those that don't I've been tailing."
"Dangerous work," he said quietly and I saw him regarding my gun. I nodded slightly.
"Someone has to. There are but three names left and after that, we're out of leads."
"Well then, it is good that my master has been called in to assist. If you would provide those three names this whole affair will be out of your hands and you needn't trouble yourself."
"No."
Sebastian's manner changed. That careless dignity was gone, replaced with the cold disdain of before. There was something else underneath it as well, some implacable will that battered at the confines of the body and image of the butler and for a moment I wondered if it was the servant I should fear, and not the master of the house. The room seemed colder and the gas lamps sputtered unhappily.
"No," I repeated, "Master Sebastian, you may be a butler to an esteemed family, but you are still not one of the peerage. You understand what it is to work. This-" and I spread my hands over the paperwork and books "-is something I've worked very hard for. And the business comes in pinches and drabbles, the minor affairs handed down like scraps. 'Women should only investigate women's business', they say, and I am tired of suspicious wives and runaway boys. I doubt your master understands that – the peerage need not prove themselves. I do not have that luxury. Am I understood?"
Sebastian tugged thoughtfully at the hem of his gloves. In the light I could see that they were indeed kid leather. He did not take his eyes off me and I had the distinct impression that he was weighing me, though against what scale I could not tell. The thoughtful look in his eyes finally dwindled and was replaced by another cold and lazy smile.
"Of course," he said, "You are the detective, after all. I am merely a butler."
He stood. I stood and escorted him to the door.
"My master's house is on Havestere street," he said.
"I'll be there with sunup," I replied, "My next suspect doesn't leave the house until noon."
"Excellent. I will inform my master and we will await your arrival. Good night, Miss Therris."
And with that he was gone. I closed and chained the door behind him, letting out a shaky breath. My muscles were trembling like I had just run a race. Heavens. Hopefully the master wouldn't be nearly as intimidating as the butler. Slowly, I returned upstairs. There was still some work to be done before morning and I doubted I would be able to sleep that well, anyway. Sebastian's eyes seemed to haunt me still.
At least I wasn't his quarry. My fingers traced lightly on the scrawled address of my next suspect. In the morning, then.
The Author Says: I do believe this is my first manga fanfiction. Not terribly surprising considering how little manga I actually read, but I decided to splurge and buy a new series today and picked up the first three books of the series. Since I've got a soft spot for Victorian style England and detectives right now... yeah. Fanfic. I'm trying to pare it down to smaller chapterlets instead of one big 8,000 word story like I usually do. No promises.