The Dowager Marchioness of Clare swept out the front door of her London lodgings imperiously. Her wary gaze swept the streets in search of Sebastian Michaelis. But, there was no sign of the butler who had come to call the previous night. A stifled yawn and a squeeze of her upper arm caught her attention. Elizabeth looked down at her precious daughter, Anne, nearly five years old, yet so tiny she could still be comfortably cradled in Elizabeth's arms.

She noticed that Anne had already managed to muss up her carefully arranged golden curls and rumple her skirts. She smiled and gave her sleepy daughter a quick peck on the cheek. The earlier hauteur she displayed when stepping out of the Atherton townhome vanished, and together Elizabeth and her daughter climbed into the waiting carriage with the help of Mr. Corey.

"To where are we journeying, my lady?" The whisper slithered over her skin just after the carriage door clicked shut. Lady Atherton could barely manage not to startle Anne awake.

"Sebastian, you devil!" She hissed furiously. Anne stirred, a stern reminder to Elizabeth to relax her grip on her child. The dark shadow opposite her in the corner of the carriage chuckled quietly.

"Forgive me-"

"Unlikely." The Dowager Marchioness stated uncharitably, brushing the mussed curls out of Anne's eyes with a delicate, gloved hand. With a lurch to the left, the carriage began trundling along the cobbled streets. She determinedly directed her attention to the grim view outside the window without so much as a sneer in the butler's direction.

Sebastian did not break the silence the mistress imposed. It permitted him the leisure of studying his potential new contract, reconciling the cheery young girl that once was with the stoic, unyielding woman in front of him now.

The brick and mortar of the city eventually gave way to flat farmland, and then to green hills and pastures. Was it her imagination, or was breathing easier once Elizabeth was away from London? The worries of society life, the suspicions, both memories and nightmares seemed to have resigned themselves to haunting the Atherton townhome. She smiled at her silly thoughts, reminding herself silently that it was her disciplinarian mother she was travelling to visit. The shadow opposite her moved, and, without thinking, Elizabeth's eyes darted towards Sebastian.

"My lady, if I may ask, what is our destination this morning?" After a pause, Elizabeth answered matter-of-factly.

"It is my belief that you are already aware of…our destination." She felt reluctant to indicate any sort of togetherness or his inclusion into the household. Sebastian noticed her hesitation and inclined his head a fraction.

"Then, may I inquire as to the purpose of our calling at the Marchioness of Midford's country estate?"

"I suspect you know that as well." Her answering smirk was uninviting.

"As you say, my lady."

"Quite. Consider this your interview, Sebastian. Impress me s'il vous plait." Elizabeth couldn't resist throwing a tidbit of French in his face, hoping to discern where the devilish butler had hidden for all those years.

"Avec plasir ma dame." With a self-satisfied smirk Sebastian threw himself from the moving carriage and flew out of sight. Utterly shocked, Elizabeth bit down on her gloved hand to keep from screaming and startling her daughter into tears. Her mind absolutely refused to provide her with an appropriate or timely response. After a moment, Elizabeth let out a harsh breath she did not realize she'd been holding in. Her decision made, quiet descended upon the carriage occupants once more as Lady Atherton returned to staring blankly out the window. Several long moments passed.

"Mama? May Edward play?" A high little voice and two small arms wrapping around her midriff warmed Elizabeth's heart. She smiled gently at her sleepy daughter.

"Yes, dear. We are off to visit Edward and your grandmother." Anne made a tiny moue of distaste at the word grandmother, and it was all Elizabeth could do not to laugh at her precious, precocious little girl. She pressed her lips to Anne's hairline briefly before replying.

"Don't pout so. Your grandmother loves you dearly-"

"Brush hair! Straight skirts! Be lady!" Anne mimicked wildly. Although, the adorable gap between her front teeth and the lack of proper sentence structure created quite the opposite effect than that earned by her imposing, strict grandmother's commands.

"Hush." Lady Atherton's voice was soft, and quieted her daughter immediately. She ran her palm over Anne's curls again.

"Please, try and rest your eyes a little more. We've more travelling to do."

Anne offered a bashful gap-toothed smile and hugged her tightly, shyly looking up at her mama until her eyes drifted shut and her grip slackened. Elizabeth ran with her thoughts once more. Rain seeped from the skies above, and she abruptly thought of Ciel Phantomhive. Years ago, on a day much like this one, her mother's steely glare kept her tears at bay upon hearing that her dearest friend and fiancé had perished in the great fire of London. Perhaps that was why Elizabeth always hated the city, but perhaps because she had also lost dear Alan, the Marquess of Clare. London was nothing more than memories and nightmares…

Sadness washed over her like water upon petticoats. Her family had fit together like a pair of crisp clean gloves; Alan, Elizabeth, Edward and Anne. Only a year ago they had been together. Now, Alan lay at rest and Edward, her dear son, resided permanently in the country with his grandmother, his ill-health making it impossible for him to come to London with his mother and sister.

"Have I ever been happy since that day?" Elizabeth wondered aloud, softly in the silent carriage. Anne stirred, and Elizabeth drew her lips together in a thin line. Ciel never drifted far from her mind. A familiar hatred sparked to life, and a flush of anger crossed her cheeks. Why had Ciel been taken from her? Why had Alan been taken from her? Why had she failed so miserably to protect them? Her delicate hand curled into a fist, and she set her jaw at the thought of those rapacious murderers escaping into the night.

"Elizabeth! Wipe that sour look off of your face. You are Anne's leading example, as I'm sure you are aware." Elizabeth jumped at the shout, close to that of an army drill sergeant. An hour had seemed like minutes, and now she looked into the eyes of her mother, Lady Francis, Marchioness of Midford.

"Good afternoon, my lady mother. It is so good to see you!" Lady Francis answered with her usual smirk and snapped at the footman to open the door. A single nudge woke Anne immediately, and Anne eagerly leaped into the arms of her grandmother.

"Anne Victoria Francis Atherton, you look slovenly! What have you done to your skirts?! Has your tiring woman run a brush through your hair today?!"

Lady Francis held her granddaughter back at arm's length for a close inspection, making Anne giggle. A steely glance from her grandmother silenced her, and Anne turned her shining green eyes towards her mother, who gratefully took the footman's hand and gracefully descended from the carriage. Lady Francis did not discover anything else untoward about her only granddaughter and sent her on with a maid to attend to said imperfections. Lady Francis snapped her fingers and two parasols were put into their hands. She motioned for Elizabeth to open her parasol and follow her into the gardens.

"How has Edward fared this month, mother?"

"He had a bout of illness after his last outing. He's much farther behind in his studies now. I've tried pushing the boy, but his health is too fragile for him to accomplish anything. A waste, Elizabeth-"

"Edward is my son, mother, and your grandson-"

"Have I ever disputed that? I only say that he could never have lived up to my expectations if he were my son." Elizabeth fought hard to stifle her building anger and continued speaking with her mother as they walked through the garden.

From afar, the black butler observed them impassively. His eyes occasionally darted to an area of interest on the grounds, but always his eyes returned to Elizabeth. He could sense the mounting anger, the delicious bitterness in her soul. Sebastian slid strings of hair behind his ear and swiftly moved away from the country estate. A corner of his mouth turned up briefly before he put on his mask of pleasant indifference. Lady Elizabeth could well be his next contract. Except she belonged to Ciel. But not longer. So mayhap there was no hesitation to be had about procuring this new soul.

Rain continued to pound against the windowpanes that day as Elizabeth sat with her frail son in his bedchamber, watching him play soldiers with Anne. His hair, once the color of corn silk when he was little, had begun to turn brown from his seclusion. His wide grey eyes appeared a little sunken, and often he would turn away from his sister to stifle a coughing fit.

In despair, Elizabeth left her children in the care of their nanny and fled to her own rooms. She sat on the edge of her large fluffy bed and listened to the buckets of rain hammering the country manor roof. Despite that time spent staring blankly into nothing peace did not come for her. A rap on the door made Elizabeth start, and she answered with more anger and venom than she had in the first place.

"Sebastian Michaelis to see you ma'am." The maid curtsied and waited for instructions as Elizabeth stared again. Of course he came back. What did you expect from a former retainer of the Phantomhive family?

"My butler from London." Elizabeth said, promptly miffed at herself. She needn't explain his visit to her mother's maid. What was it that set her on edge about this devil?

"Send the man in, Brigit."

"Will do, ma'am."

Impeccably dressed as always, Sebastian strode into the middle of Elizabeth's bedchamber. The maid left and they gazed at each other for a moment. Elizabeth spoke first, her voice flat.

"You survived."

"An understatement, my lady."

"I am appalled."

"My apologies. But, my lady, are you impressed?"

"Not in the slightest." Sebastian smiled apologetically, hiding the extent of his knowledge. Calmly and impassively, the demon continued to watch her. Just as Elizabeth opened her mouth to dismiss him with finality, Anne burst into her room indecorously and on the verge of tears.

"Mama! I've left Teddy in London! Please, Mama, I no sleep-"

"Cannot sleep, darling. Please calm down." Anne wiped her nose and clasped her hands behind her back sadly. With a gentle smile, Elizabeth bent down and quickly wiped Anne's nose herself with a handkerchief.

"I cannot sleep without Teddy, Mama."

"Miss Atherton, that will be unnecessary." Anne turned to look up at Sebastian as the tall butler towered her and her mother. Elizabeth's grip tightened on her daughter's shoulders when Anne's puzzled gaze returned to her.

"What is uniss-…uneccessury-…"

"Un-ness-ess-aree, Anne darling." Elizabeth corrected quietly. Anne looked up at Sebastian again. With a quick smile, Sebastian opened his black jacket to remove a small, soft white bear, looking stylish in its ironic dark fur coat and red felt hat. With a squeal of delight, Anne wrapped her delicate fingers around the bear. Sebastian relaxed his grip with a nod, letting the girl bring the bear into her chest and hug it tightly. The tears abated instantly. She whirled around to depart.

"Oh thank you Mama! Thank you sir!" The door shut behind her softly, leaving Elizabeth kneeling on the floor and Sebastian standing in front of her, eyebrows raised. Having understood his meaning, Elizabeth offered a disbelieving huff as she accepted his hand and rose to her feet.

"Such impropriety. Imply one thing about our respective positions-"

"I dare not, my lady." Silence reigned for several long moments. With a roll of her eyes, Lady Atherton finally conceded.

"Consider me impressed, butler."

"Thank you, my lady. May I inquire as to my first task?"

"Your first order is to find Lau, the opium dealer." Sebastian felt the devious thrill emanating from her soul and found himself reluctantly intrigued.

"May I ask as to why, young mistress?"

"If I could be certain of your utmost confidentiality…"

"Effective immediately, madam."

"My husband dealt with the trading companies of the Far East. I should like to revive his expansive business holdings, and so am going to reopen dealings through Lau. Now, if you'll set our meeting up…?" Elizabeth had turned away by then and did not see Sebastian's unearthly grin.

"I certainly will, madam."

"Sebastian…"

"Yes, madam?" She looked over the demon once, eyes unexpectedly lingering on his wide-set shoulders.

"Your attire is several years out of date. I expect better from the butler of the Atherton household. See to it before I summon you again."

"With much gratitude, Marchioness. I shall tend to that errand."

Sebastian happened upon Lau shortly after departing from the country home of the Marchioness. He lay on his divan flanked by two small immodest Chinese girls, who fawned over him by batting their long lashes and fanning themselves with delicate, intricately designed paper fans. Sebastian glanced around as he walked towards the Chinese trader.

Thick and heavy drapes smothered the light that otherwise would have filled the room. A dark navy color and low lamplight splashed across the walls. A heavy smoke drifted up from the stairs nearby, and his acute sense of hearing allowed him to pick up a range of giggles and nonsensical murmurs. Clearly, the merchant preferred to remove himself from the open corruption of his opium den. He left a few steps between himself and the dealer when he ceased his long strides across the room. Lau blew a ring of smoke in Sebastian's face before truly realizing who stood in front of him.

"Sebastian! Come, come, take a seat. This is only water vapor in my pipe, you understand."

"We have not had the chance to meet in many years, Lau. Is your sister still about?"

"…Ah yes, Ran-Mao. When it suits her she does spend time in the East End entertaining herself with the…business I have there." Sebastian gave Lau his most obliging, innocent smile.

"Of course. Speaking of, I have come with an opportunity to further your business interests. My mistress would like to engage your services." Lau put his pipe into the hands of the girl to his right and leaned forward eagerly.

"Lovely. I had heard rumors that something was afoot with your new mistress."

"Already? And what precisely have you heard?" Lau colored a little and spread his hands with a shrug. The two girl smiled.

"Ah well, I was hoping you knew."

"You have absolutely no idea, do you Lau?"

"Not at all."

"Then please allow me to enlighten you. Lady Atherton would like to recover what is left of the late Marquis of Clare's interests abroad. Perhaps even expand when the time comes…" Lau widened his eyes.

"You mean…Elizabeth of Midford? Phantomhive's sweetheart?"

"Former sweetheart, Lau. That was many years ago, and as I am sure you are aware, Lady Elizabeth did marry." Lau nodded and narrowed his eyes, but the gleam of intrigue had not left them.

"Yes, a splendid, extravagant affair. I was invited. Then a certain…unknown decided to pursue the Marquis. They achieved success eventually. A lamentable loss, just as Vincent Phantomhive was. As Ciel Phantomhive was-"

"Back to the point, Lau. Lady Atherton would deeply appreciate your services, and I am here on her behalf to invite you to…perhaps make a social call the next time she is in town."

"Of course. Perhaps when the coldest weather or the persistent rain deters prying eyes and ears on the street?"

"I quite agree, as I believe my mistress would. We shall expect you in the afternoon one day then."

"Lovely. Does that conclude your errand here, or would you perhaps enjoy an hour downstairs?" Sebastian bowed his head humbly, his hair hiding the grim smile.

"As the butler of the Atherton family, it goes without saying that my behavior is always above reproach."

"Is that so? Well then, bye!" Lau's customary farewell was abrupt, and he immediately turned his attention back to the ladies at his side. Sebastian solemnly slithered away from the dingy hole of depravity and made for the country estate of the Marchioness.