Chapter Two: As A Gentleman, He Obliges
From the start, the ride was clouded with both a silent and awkward atmosphere. Edward was looking out of the carriage window, clearly uncomfortable. Ciel, on the other hand, looked out of the other window as clusters of people passed by while Lady Harrietson was sitting proper on the opposite side of the two men, but from time to time, she as well looks out of the window with a smile as she saw glimpses of things that interested her. The two guards who were in charge of the carriage were silent, with Earl Grey absentmindedly staring straight with both hands behind his head as Sir Phipps had on his usual poker face expression, holding the reins.
After a fair amount of silence, Ciel, growing irritated, scowled. He didn't mind the silence at all, in fact, he enjoys silence, especially since his mansion is always filled with noisy servants and loud explosions every day. It was just that this kind of awkward silence was getting on his nerves.
Smirking as he remembered Edward and Lady Harrietson's first encounter, Ciel spoke up. "Something just occurred to me, why are both of you so quiet? Are you not curious about each other, especially since you will both be living in the same house for a while?"
"L-Living in the same house?" Edward stuttered with flushed cheeks. "Don't say it so shamefully!"
"It is true though," Ciel sighed as he crossed his arms, "and here I thought you were a gentleman who would not forsake a woman. As your cousin, I am disappointed in you, Edward." Ciel eyed the man beside him, his own expression looking hurt.
"Both of you really get along well, do you not?" The lady chuckled. "But Earl Phantomhive, as much as I see your argument, slowly getting to know someone is not as bad as it seems as well. Right, Lord Midford?"
"Right," Edward responded with a sigh, feeling defeated when the mission itself has not even started yet.
"Hmph, I could not care less," Ciel replied as he went back to eyeing the townspeople outside the carriage window.
The carriage took a turn into an alleyway and once it got out of the tight path, the sun shone magnificently, making them squint to varying degrees to fend off the light. Once the carriage finally pulled into a stop, the two white clad soldiers got off first, with Phipps opening the door for the three inside.
The area in itself was quite serene. There were barely any visible sounds except for the swaying of the trees along with the slight tender chirpings of the birds. One might even think that they were nowhere near London, for that matter. And there, standing in front of them, was an imposing edifice. It did not look as grand as the Phantomhive manor nor that of the Midford estate, but it was still quite grand to an ordinary onlooker.
"What is this place?" Edward broke the silence as he carefully took in his surroundings.
"You could say a vacation house, Lord Midford," Sir Phipps spoke.
Earl Grey whistled, "Quite grand for a vacation home, might I add."
"This will be where you both will be staying for the duration of this mission, Edward and Lady Harrietson," Ciel explained. "I would assume that a place like this would be less susceptible to infiltrations and–"
"Gah––!"
A cry of pain echoed nearby, making the two soldiers prepare themselves into a fighting stance with their hands ready to take out their swords. Ciel just sighed, while Lady Harrietson was surprised.
"Ugh––!" Another shriek followed.
"What was that?!" Edward asked, startled.
"You're late," Ciel eyed the figure who was getting closer until it revealed the black clad butler they saw not too long ago before they left the Phantomhive manor, "Sebastian."
"My apologies, young master," he replied has he placed a hand on his chest with a devious smile, "but it would seem that I had to take care of some business on the way."
"And what kind of business?" Edward raised an eyebrow, concern evident on his face. "It awfully sounded like someone was–"
A sudden small glint of light flickered not far off from where they were. Although the butler did not face that direction, he quickly drew a silver utensil from his coat pocket and flicked it behind him, causing another moan of pain to be heard from behind.
With a motion of dusting his hands together, Sebastian smiled as he cut the young knight's words, "Just something a Phantomhive butler has to take care of, Lord Edward."
"Now, now," Earl Grey returned to his laid back stance. "We need to get back to the queen, so might I suggest we get this done already?"
"It is also getting late," Sir Phipps nodded. "We will take care of the luggage. Come, Grey." Phipps and Grey turned and went back to the carriage.
"Well then, I will go and prepare some tea," Sebastian smiled as he led the three inside the house. "Please stay in the drawing room and I will be back shortly."
With a sigh, Edward sat on the couch while Lady Harrietson, who has been quiet since they arrived, sat beside him.
"Are you feeling unwell, Lord Midford?"
"Nothing of the sort, Lady Harrietson. Just a bit tired, I believe."
"Please," she gave him a warm smile, "just call me Annalise."
"Then, thank you for your concern, Lady Annalise," his eyes softened at the woman beside him, "Please call me Edward from now on as well."
Ciel sat on the opposite couch as the two soldiers who just finished delivering the luggage to their respective rooms came in. Sebastian followed not long after, with a cart filled with their late afternoon tea and sweets.
After everyone sat and had their afternoon tea, except the smiling butler, of course, Ciel bid goodbye to his cousin and the Lady, along with the two butlers of the queen, as they stepped out of the house. Sebastian was the last to leave, formally bowing to the two and wished both of them a good night. Then, he finally closed the door and the carriage went on its way back to the Phantomhive manor.
An hour later, Lady Harrietson and Lord Midford were preparing to go to bed after having a quick tour of the house. There were only two bedrooms upstairs, which were right in front of each other, nonetheless.
"Now that I think about it," Annalise stated with a hand still on the doorknob as she took two steps inside her bedroom, "there seems to be something missing."
"What is it?" Edward stopped in front of his closed door and turned towards the woman behind him.
"Oh my, I think we left too early."
"Excuse me?"
"We left Earl Phantomhive's manor quite too early, Lord Edward," she turned to face the knight with a worried look on her face.
"Did you perhaps leave something behind?"
"Hmm, quite so."
"Well, I'll give Ciel a call first thing tomorrow, so please rest for the night, Lady Annalise." Edward was about to open his door until he felt a slight tug on his coat. He turned to see a lightly flushed lady slightly looking at the floor. Edward on reflex gulped and looked away from the lady, unable to make eye contact for a reason quite unknown to him. "L-Lady Annalise?"
"I-If the call has to absolutely wait until tomorrow, can I possibly ask for help?"
"P-Pardon?" Edward's voice rose a bit at the sudden question. He stopped for a while and eyed the woman. 'Just what did she leave behind to require my aid?' He thought to himself. Then after a while, he straightened himself and cleared his throat. "If I may be of assistance, then of course."
"This might sound a bit unreasonable of a request," she started.
"I-It is fine," Edward assured her.
"Can I perhaps borrow a–" then her cheeks flushed deep red as she stopped midsentence. Annalise turned around and continued with a mumble barely audible for him to hear, "N-Nevermind."
'Just what is her request to make her blush and turn away?!' Edward as well had his face painted with red in embarrassment, even though he did not know of the circumstances the lady was facing.
Lady Annalise stopped in her tracks, just a few inches from her room, which made Edward twitch. He heard her mumble about something being 'uncomfortable' and not 'being able to sleep properly at night' without the item in question.
'Can't sleep at night without it?' The knight thought, 'A good luck charm, perhaps?'
"Lord Midford, can I borrow a dress shirt from you?" Annalise spoke in a small voice, startling the young knight out of his thoughts.
"Huh?" Edward froze, seeming to wonder if he heard her right.
"A dress shirt," she repeated, "c-can I borrow one?"
Confused, he asked, "May I ask why?"
"We left the manor too quickly this morning that Earl Phantomhive seemed have forgotten to have the servants load my luggage. I do not have any nightwear as of the moment, so may I borrow a dress shirt for the night?"
Edward could feel his temperature rise higher just from the thought of Lady Annalise wearing his dress shirt, or even borrowing it, for the matter! He could swear that Ciel definitely remembered, but disregarded that fact to have this event happen.
The young knight quickly turned and went into his room to hide his tomato-colored face.
"I-I guess it was too much to ask for," Annalise sighed with embarrassment and went into her own room. Before she could close it, a hand propped it open. She opened it again to reveal Edward, looking out into the hallway and quickly handing over a white dress shirt.
"H-Here!" He handed the piece of clothing, which the woman made a weak smile of relief as the knight made way to his room. He made one last thought before heading to the showers. 'C-Calm down, Edward! This is a mission!'
Author's note: Chapter two is up! I apologize for the delay and for the lack of action in this chapter. Although Sebas-chan did some stunts. Hope you enjoyed it at least. /hides in a corner/ Also, I'm going to write this series with 4 pages in MS word for each chapter since chapter one was four pages long, haha.
Merry Christmas! ^^
Thanks to those who favorited and followed! I really appreciate it and I'm hoping that you enjoy this chapter as well!
Yukio Lover: Thanks for the review! I tried my best, haha. xD