I felt distinctly guilty for waiting to open the queen's letter until the next morning. After my encounter with Sebastian, I fell into a deep and completely dreamless sleep, empty like the sleep after heavy grief. Sebastian hadn't come to dress me in my night clothes or to hang my suit up. My clothes still lay in a heap on the floor when he woke me with my morning tea and toast. The stack of letters we had recovered from the previous night was on the tray along with the newspaper. I opened the letter with the royal seal as Sebastian picked up the clothes and tidied the room with swift movements.
He didn't speak so I chose to ignore him as I braced for what the letter might contain. I noticed it hadn't yet been opened. The thug intended to deliver the letter to another party then. It made sense. He didn't strike me as a criminal mastermind.
"My Dear Boy:
It has been brought to our attention that shipments arriving from the East are going missing. We understand that the importation of goods from China is a complex operation and that the current restrictions on the opium trade are causing unsavory entrepreneurs to seek alternative means of business, however, this interruption in trade has potential to damage our economy.
We request that you employ your investigative skills to unlock this mystery. A status update is requested upon your receipt of this letter.
-V"
So, the Queen suspected that I had missed her letters. This was further proof that something larger was going on. The only course of action was to pay a visit to that dimwitted dope fiend Lau. It was always a headache to attempt to speak to him but he was connected with both the legal and the illicit import business in London and he was pliable enough that I knew I could get information if he had it.
I sighed and rubbed my eyes, setting the letters aside.
"Sebastian, we're paying a visit to Lau this evening. No sense in going until dark. He's probably no good this time of day."
"Yes, my Lord," Sebastian said.
I watched Sebastian as he gathered the tray with my uneaten breakfast and left the room. Regret for the previous night soured my stomach. I had let my selfish feelings interfere with the business at hand. Besides, what was I to Sebastian? Only a meal to be anticipated. Why torment him with something he can't yet have? What if I had pushed him too far and he broke the contract? He was a demon after all and they can only be trusted to a certain point. But I had trusted him completely hadn't I? Everything I had, everything I was rested upon Sebastian's capable shoulders, spurred on by my anger and need for revenge. I laughed to myself at the absurdity of it until I felt like crying. By that point, Sebastian returned to help me dress for the day.
My first task was to write a quick note to the Queen. I didn't bother putting it through the post but instead paid a private courier to bring it directly to the palace. Really, the day that the Queen couldn't rely on the Royal Post was a sad day for England. I dealt with Funtom business and waited out the day until I felt confident that Lau would be receptive to my visit.
I called on Lau at his establishment in the East End. He was situated on a mountain of silk pillows, his companion, the always scantily clad Ran-Mao, lounging across his lap. He didn't seem at all surprised to see me as I ascended the stairs to his private den. The room was dim and a thick smoky perfume hung in the air. Gilded dragons and ornately painted wood carvings decorated the walls. There was no real furniture to speak of, but there were many cushions and pillows scattered about the room as well as a few low tables. I chose the one closest to where Lau reclined and sat down. Sebastian melted behind me into the shadows of the room.
"Ciel Phantomhive. How very nice," Lau said by way of greeting. "We know why you are here."
"Do you?" I asked. I had learned not to take everything that Lau said at face value as he often spouted a fair bit of nonsense before anything of any substance came out of his mouth.
"Yes we do, don't we, Ran-Mao?" He affectionately stroked her head as if she were his pet.
"I'm wondering if you've encountered any interruption in your trade lately. Any shipments going missing? Any new importers on the scene that may be causing you trouble?"
"Yes, trouble," Lau nodded, still stroking his pet bodyguard.
"Yes?" I pressed.
"What?"
"I asked if you had encountered any new blood in the trade." I tried to push my frustration down, but my anger was as ever-present as my butler.
"Oh. Now that you mention it, there is a new fellow who recently entered the market. His product is an inferior blend. Not suitable. I'm not sure where he came from, but he does seem to have ample resources behind him," Lau explained in his sleepy sing-song way.
"How long ago did this man appear?" I asked.
"Oh. Ran-Mao, how long ago was it? Two week ago, perhaps?" Ran-Mao said nothing but looked at Lau quizzically then continued to stare in my direction. I took this as an affirmation.
"Two weeks," I repeated. "And what exactly did you notice?"
"Well, I noticed that some of my customers were missing, only to have them return later in the week with the sickness."
"The sickness? You mean withdrawal from opium?"
Lau nodded and his eyes opened just slightly for the first time since we began talking. "They had gone to this inferior product and missed the dragon completely."
This information was apparently very significant to Lau because he watched my reaction as he said it before settling back into his relaxed stupor.
"What else can you tell me?" I asked.
"I don't think this is his only trade. Perhaps he has larger ambitions."
"Such as?" Honestly, this conversation was wearing on me.
"Museum pieces. Artwork. China has a history much deeper than England and the treasures are very valuable."
"Smuggling and bad opium?"
"Would you care to stay? I'd be happy to show you the difference in quality." Lau lounged back even further into his nest of pillows as Ran-Mao reached for a long pipe and prepared it with a ball of sticky resin.
"No. I think not." I stood and Sebastian handed me my hat and walking stick.
"Ah well. I'll have you someday, Ciel," was Lau's parting remark as I made my way back down the darkened stairway and into the relatively fresh air outside. My head ached and I was glad when Sebastian closed the carriage door and we began to move along the jostling cobblestones.
Sitting back in my study I looked over the other stolen letters again finding nothing of value. Why the post? What was I missing? Surely this couldn't be to steal my personal letters. Not entirely anyway.
I was used to unknotting this sort of mess, but the process was still tiring and all the more stressful because I wasn't entirely sure how long Her Majesty had known there had been a problem or how many letters she had sent me. The unreliable nature of the post was a problem. I let my mind drift for a while as I watched the fire, hoping that something new would occur to me. However, my mind betrayed me by drifting to the previous night and seeing Sebastian start to lose control.
"Young Master?" Sebastian said softly from the doorway, startling me nearly out of my chair.
"For God's sake! Could you try to make a little more noise next time? You nearly gave me a heart attack!" I spat at him.
"Apologies, My Lord. Shall I fetch some brandy to calm your nerves?"
"No. What is it you want? Why have you disturbed me?"
"A message arrived from the courier, My Lord," he said and handed me the folded paper.
I recognized the stationary even without the royal seal. A quick note that was likely penned while the courier waited. Inside was an address and a time next to tomorrow's date.
"1A Assembly Passage – 9 pm."
I folded the page back up and glanced at Sebastian. He watched me carefully but without expression. There was nothing specifically troubling about the look other than the fact that he made eye contact in a way that was unfitting for someone in the serving class. In light of his recent behavior, it made me uneasy. I felt my face flush and turned back to look at the fire.
"Leave me," I said.
"Yes, my Lord."