Sebastian came back several hours later, looking marvelously displeased with Eleanora tied up and slung over his shoulder.
"You look pretty awful," Ciel commented, staring at his face. It was covered in bruises and cuts and his nose had been bleeding. Sebastian glared at him in response and dumped the maid onto the floor.
Her arms and legs had been tied up and she was gagged. She was also missing her skirt.
"Sebastian!" Madam Red said, horrified. "What did you do to her?"
"I didn't do anything," Sebastian growled. "She forced me to do it."
"Where's her dress? What happened to it? Did you…" She glared at the butler, who glared right back.
"She tore it off and threw it at me to distract me and for it to be easier for her to run. I think it's somewhere in an alley if you want me to find it."
"Well, I don't care if she gave you trouble or not; this is no way to treat a lady; untie her this instant!"
Sebastian rolled his eyes, knelt down next to Eleanora, and untied her. She remained completely stiff throughout the whole thing, but as soon as the last rope was gone, she punched him, sending him flying, and then she leapt on him with her hands around his neck…
He slapped her away and pressed her to the ground. She bit his hand and his grip weakened, allowing her to kick him away and aim for another punch…
The fight continued for a while with Madam Red and Ciel watching it dumbly. Eventually Eleanora was pinned to the ground with her legs being held down by Sebastian stepping on them, with him holding her arms behind her back and with his other hand pressing her head down on the floor.
"Oh…kay," Ciel said hesitantly. "Sebastian, get off of her."
"WHAT? But she…"
"Eleanora," Madam Red said sternly. "I don't know what you think is going to happen to you, but I assure you that no one in this house wants to hurt you in any way, shape, or form."
"Unless, of course, you attack first," Sebastian said, hissing into her ear. She glared up at him.
"Which, I'm sure, that she won't," Madam Red said. "Get off of her."
Sebastian growled again into her ear and hesitantly rose up, allowing Eleanora to stand up as well. She brushed herself off a bit and attempted a curtsey, which was a bit difficult as she truly wasn't wearing a skirt.
"Now then, Eleanora," Ciel said, looking only at her face, "what do you know about the murders of the nobles."
"Nothing, sir," Eleanora said nervously, staring at the floor.
"We know that's not true," Sebastian said.
"Shut up, tootsie," Eleanora snapped at him. Sebastian looked as if he wanted to kill her.
"Now, now, you two, play nice," Madam Red said in a too-cheerful voice.
"Yes, it's not fair to get upset at her because she beat you," Ciel said, looking at Sebastian.
"She fought dirty."
"That's how you win, cupcake."
"Don't call me cupcake, you little…"
"Sebastian!" Ciel said and the butler calmed down, looking a bit penitent but mostly angry.
"Eleanora," Ciel said, turning back to the maid. "We know that you know something. Just tell us what it is and we'll leave you alone."
"But…" she said weakly.
"But what?"
"But I don't trust you," she thought. "I don't trust you and I don't trust your aunt and I especially don't trust your cute little cupcake of a killer butler."
There was silence and then Madam Red clapped her hands.
"I'm sure that she's tired," she said. "In fact, we all are. So why don't we all go to bed and we'll talk about it in the morning?"
"That's a good idea," Ciel said, standing up. "Sebastian, show the lady to her room."
Sebastian bowed.
"Certainly, my Lord."
"Room? What room?" Eleanora asked, looking around at them all in a panic.
"The room that you're staying in while you'll be living with us," Ciel said. "Where did you think that you were going to sleep? The floor?"
"But…I didn't tell you anything…"
"Yes, but there's still the ball that you have to help us with."
"What? Seriously? There's an actual ball? I thought that you just made that up to…" She broke off, looking nervous.
"No, it's real," Ciel said. "And in fact, we're pretty lucky that you're the one who knows something. Sebastian said that you were the most competent servant in that house—by far."
"Oh," she said. "How nice."
"Sebastian, take her to her room."
"Yes sir."
Eleanora looked around; her suitcase was in the room; she grabbed it before the butler did.
"I can take that for you," he said.
"No, it's fine," she said, moving it away from his grasp. He shrugged and left the room, Eleanora following him.
"The servants are already asleep," he called behind him, "but I've already told them about you so we can spare the unnecessary introductions. Here we are:"
He opened a door and went downstairs to the kitchen.
"These are the servants' quarters. Kitchen, storage; the men's rooms are down that hallway," he pointed. "The day starts at 5:00 in the morning, breakfast is at seven, lunch is around one in the afternoon, dinner is around eight and everyone goes to bed at ten. Your room is up here:" There was another staircase leading upwards; they went up and arrived at another hallway filled with rooms. "This is Mey-Rin's room; she's another maid; this is Grell's room, and this…"
"Wait, why is Grell's room up here? Shouldn't he be downstairs with the men?"
"Usually, yes, but not in this case."
"But why is he up here?"
"To ensure the safety of the other men," Sebastian said darkly and opened up another door. "And this is your room. The bathroom's to the side; everyone gets their own; I expect you downstairs and ready to work at around 5:30; do I make myself clear?"
"Yes sir. Thank you."
Sebastian nodded and prepared to leave.
"Sir?"
"Yes?" He turned back.
"Am I really…safe here?"
"Of course."
"Nobody will hurt me?"
"Yes."
"No one will kill me?"
"Goodness, no! What on earth gave you that idea?"
"Oh, alright. Thank you sir."
Sebastian nodded again.
"Sir?"
"Yes?"
"I'm sorry that I hit you."
"Oh!" he turned to look at her, surprised. "Oh—It's…nothing, really. Don't…worry about it; I've had worse."
"No, but I truly am very sorry for hitting you and fighting you and kicking you and biting you…And I'm sorry that I called you a cupcake."
"It's alright," he said, smiling. "Don't worry about it."
"If you're sure…"
"I'm positive. Good night, Miss Black."
"Good night sir."
Sebastian nodded and finally left, leaving Eleanora alone in the room. She looked around, trying to grasp what had happened to her. She was now working as a temporary maid for an Earl. Her life wasn't in danger (yet) and she still had a job. She wondered about all the luxury around her; the room was huge and it had its own bathroom. Her room at Mrs. Standfield's was about the size of a closet and everyone shared the bathroom…if you could call it a "bathroom," that is. The butler was still creepy but now less so, as she knew how professional he was. Besides, now he deserved her respect, as he was now her boss.
She sat down on the bed and marveled at its softness. She hadn't had such a nice mattress in a very long time; it bounced a bit and everything. But what was she to do about the information? She couldn't remain silent forever.
"I'll tell the Earl when the time is right," she thought to herself. "Sometime when the time is right."
She prepared herself and went to bed, secretly praying that the time would never be right.
