Sebastian led Elicia out of the guest room and down the hall. He stopped and opened a door for her.
"Just in here, we have the recreation room."
Elicia stepped inside and began to look around, making more mental notes. The young woman prided herself on her photographic memory. It helped immensely when she was working. She was capable of memorizing nearly anything in a matter of seconds.
"As you can see, it is furnished with a billiard table and other gaming equipment as well as many of the Funtom Company's products. Our goal is to provide guests with ample entertainment."
She looked to her right and saw a man and woman playing cards at a small table against the wall.
"My, who have we here?" the man smiled as he stood up. "It isn't much I know, but do make yourself comfortable. As you can see, the recreation room is furnished with a billiard table and other gaming equipment as well as many of the Funtom Company's products."
This was sounding rather familiar. Elicia looked over and saw the woman at the table look at the man's cards while he spoke. She smiled to herself when the man wasn't looking.
"Our goal is to provide guests with ample entertainment. Please, come take a seat. I'm sure you will enjoy yourself."
Sebastian came to stand next to Elicia. "Thank you for such a detailed explanation of the room, though I must say it sounds familiar as if I've heard it somewhere before," he said, echoing Elicia's earlier thoughts. Elicia smiled as Sebastian turned to look at her. "If you please, this man is Mr. Lau. He is the head of the English branch of a Chinese trading company, Kunlun. Mr. Lau, this is a friend of Lady Elizabeth's. She will be attending the ball tonight."
Mr. Lau smiled and leaned in close to her. "Some advice, miss. Be careful. Phantomhive Manor is absolutely crawling with dangerous beasties." He leaned back which Elicia was glad of because she did not enjoy having her personal space invaded in such a way. "You wouldn't want to be eaten by one, now would you?"
"Of course not," Elicia laughed. "Thank you for the advice, Mr. Lau. I will do my best to heed it."
Sebastian took her hand and led her to the next room.
"May I present to you our library, the pride of the Phantomhive estate."
Elicia was astonished at the sight of so many books. She could stay in here for hours on end and be content. Despite it all, Elicia loved a good book. She did whatever it took to get a new one. It passed the time in between jobs and allowed her to forget what she did for a living. For just a few hours, she was allowed to go to another world where everything was different.
"The family heads have gathered books for generations," Sebastian told her. "The result is a library comparable to those at any university."
A paper airplane sailed through the air and hit Sebastian on the forehead. Elicia did her best to suppress a laugh when she saw his eye twitch in annoyance. If he noticed, he didn't seem to care.
An Indian man with vibrant purple hair came up to the butler. "Ah, brilliant timing! I was growing ever so bored."
Another man with a turban atop his head came up behind the purple-haired one. "Please, Prince Soma, we are in the middle of your studies."
Elicia raised her eyebrows. This purple-haired man was a prince? That was quite impressive that someone like Ciel associated himself with someone so high up in the world.
"Agni, everyone needs a rest now and then."
"And from what I can see, it seems you were studying quite diligently," Sebastian remarked, noticing the torn out page of the book he was reading. "A friend of Lady Elizabeth's is visiting today for tea. She will also be attending the ball later this evening."
Agni looked behind Sebastian so he could see Elicia. "Is this her, Sebastian?"
Sebastian looked at Elicia. "Miss, please allow me to introduce you to a friend of my master's, the 26th child of the king of Bengal, Prince Soma Asman Kadar, and his very capable butler, Agni."
"Namaste jī," Agni said as he pressed his hands together and bowed his head. She noticed his right hand was covered in bandages, and she couldn't help but wonder why that was.
"Prince Soma, Agni, this is—"
"Beautiful," Soma finished.
"Sire?" Agni said in surprise.
"Oh!" Soma leaned in close to Elicia, a blush on his cheeks. Elicia leaned back a little at the sudden invasion of her personal space yet again. "Hello, miss, I am Prince Soma! I fancied you immediately. Would you like to be my handmaiden?" He leaned back and looked away from her, the blush even deeper on his face. "Or if you'd prefer it…my…my wife."
Elicia's eyes widened a little. Ciel Phantomhive surrounded himself with rather unusual people. In moments such as this, she rather hated her pretty face.
"Oh, Prince Soma!" Agni exclaimed, tears beginning to pour down his face. "At last! You've finally found your soulmate! Your true love! Your happiness is mine, and it almost overwhelms me! Oh, Kali, I implore you, bless these two young people, and grant them a long life together!"
"Agni…"
The two men embraced as they began crying. Elicia looked up at Sebastian and silently begged for help.
"I fear you may be making the young lady uncomfortable," Sebastian told the weeping men. "Perhaps you could propose at a later date?" He looked down at his pocket watch then at Elicia. "It's almost time for tea, miss. You must be thirsty. Shall we?"
Sebastian took her hand once more and led her out to the garden. Everyone gathered at a small tea table set up beautifully for the guests in attendance.
"May I?"
The butler pulled out a chair for Elicia, and she took her seat. He then went over to a cart and began pouring tea for everyone.
"Today, we have Nilgiri tea. I expect you will appreciate its refreshing aroma and its rich flavor."
"Nilgiri, huh?" Soma remarked. "It brings back memories."
"If I'm correct, 'Nilgiri' means 'blue mountain'," Lau explained. "This batch fetches an especially good price."
Sebastian set out plates along with the tea. "Accompanying the tea is a Dundee cake. This treat is made from a batter of rum and various dried fruits, studded with roast almonds."
"Oh, it looks delicious!" Elizabeth squealed.
Elicia gently grasped the teacup and was about to take a sip when she noticed what was on the side. She held it up to her eye level. It had a beautiful rose painted intricately onto the fine china.
It reminded her of a tea set she had once used when she was a little girl…
"Hm, not bad," Ciel commented after taking a bite of the cake.
"Thank you, my lord," Sebastian said with a small bow. He looked over at Elicia. "I cannot help but notice how you're admiring that teacup, miss."
Elizabeth looked at the teacup. "Hm? Is that…Oh, my!"
"Yes, it's a Vienna Rose. I thought the flower on the cup would set off the loveliness of the young lady to advantage."
"Good heavens! It's genuine?!"
"Yes, apparently it was one of Empress Maria Theresa's favorite pieces," Ciel answered.
"A fine item befitting the status of an earl," Lau put in. "I can scarcely imagine what it would be worth on the market."
Feeling slightly overwhelmed with her confusing emotions and the unusually happy memory, Elicia went to go put the teacup back on the saucer. But she was a bit too out of it for her to completely process what she was doing, and she accidently spilled the tea in the cup all over the front of her dress. She quickly stood up in embarrassment as everyone at the table gasped.
"Oh, goodness!" Elizabeth cried.
"This is no good," Sebastian muttered.
"Indeed," Lau added. "It would be criminal to chip a cup as priceless as that one."
So far out of all the people she had met that day, Lau was Elicia's least favorite person which was saying something because she didn't really care for anyone at the table.
"Sebastian, would you see that she's all right and prepare her a fresh change of clothing?" Ciel ordered. "The frock in the dressing room should do nicely."
Sebastian looked at Ciel in surprise. "That dress, master? Are you sure?"
"Yes, it's fine."
"Very good." He knelt down next to Elicia. "Pardon me, miss. If you don't mind, I'll help you inside."
Elicia gasped as he hefted her up into his arms. She hoped nobody, especially him, noticed that she was blushing terribly, something she wasn't sure she had ever done before. She hadn't been expecting this to happen. It was quite embarrassing, but there was nothing she could do about it now.
Sebastian carried her inside the manor and up to the guest room. Elicia's heart was hammering in her chest at their closeness and the feeling of someone carrying her without ill intentions in mind.
Snap out of it! she chided herself. You're working! Not to mention you have orders to kill this man!